Salmon solution: $1 billion plan
The most expensive, far-reaching strategy for saving Puget Sound salmon ever devised is out for public scrutiny.
The voluminous Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan proposes doubling spending on salmon recovery -- a commitment of more than $1.1 billion in federal, state and local funds over the plan's first 10 years. The anticipated payoff: big jumps in chinook populations throughout the region.
"It's the first time I've been given reason to hope we can reverse the losses," said Curt Hoetling, a Whidbey Island resident and former Alaskan commercial fisherman.
"The work is ahead, but just getting to this point ... is to me inspiring and extraordinarily encouraging," Hoetling said in remarks at a Seattle public meeting Wednesday night.
The plan is the culmination of years of work spent developing strategies for rebuilding the Sound's chinook, bull trout and Hood Canal chum populations. In 1999, the fish were declared "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
As the plan goes forward, people in the Seattle area can expect to see:
- Removal of riprap, sea walls and other shoreline-hardening features in favor of more natural beaches.
- Protection of remaining natural shorelines, with trees planted to improve shade.
- Placement of log piles in rivers and streams to create pools harboring young salmon.
- Replacement of pipes that carry streams under roads so salmon can reach better spawning grounds.
- Work to make docks and the Ballard Locks more salmon-friendly.
Support for the effort comes from diverse interests, including dozens of cities, counties, business interests and conservation groups. But not everyone is onboard -- and even supporters aren't sure that there is enough money and momentum to get the job done.
Key Seattle-area tribes have been absent in the process, leading to concerns over the likelihood of success without their participation. There are also unresolved issues surrounding the negative effects of hatchery fish on wild fish recovery.
Some critics have questioned the wisdom of investing millions in healing rivers flowing through urban areas, rather than diverting money to pristine streams where recovery seems more likely.
And no one is sure how climate change could disrupt the effort. A failure to adequately plan for a warmer world was one of the key criticisms raised at Wednesday's meeting.
In recent years, warmer temperatures have already harmed Seattle-area salmon populations passing through the Ballard Locks and into Lake Washington.
Even though the plan was put together by local interests, the ultimate responsibility for safeguarding salmon to satisfy the Endangered Species Act falls to the National Marine Fisheries Service. An agency spokesman said the final version should be approved by the end of the year. The plan addresses 15 watersheds, each with a textbook-sized chapter of its own.
"It's an important milestone," said Mary Jorgensen, King County coordinator for salmon recovery in the watershed that includes Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, and the Cedar and Sammamish rivers.
Local government officials hope a federally sanctioned plan will shield them from potential lawsuits alleging that they aren't doing enough to bring back chinook runs. They believe it could improve their chances of getting more money from state and federal budgets to get costly restoration work completed.
Continue reading this story from the Seattle P-I:
Salmon solution: $1 billion plan
