October 2004

Welcome to our monthly E-Bulletin. Our goal is to provide you with regular brief updates and highlights on the significant progress all of us are making on elements essential to the success of salmon recovery.

The Ground Is Being Tilled for Progress in the Skagit
During the summer, a group of leaders from the farm community and tribes publicly announced a new partnership, the Skagit Tribal-Agricultural Alliance, to seek ways to rebuild runs of the Skagit River salmon and support the long-term prosperity of agriculture. Leaders from both the agricultural community, Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle Tribes are now working to finalize an accord that defines their hopes and the actions they will foster for both salmon and agriculture. They are working to have the accord finished late this fall. Also, they are developing a work plan that will further define the future of this partnership and will actively pursue funding to staff their joint efforts.

In a separate process, the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle Tribes, through the Skagit River Cooperative and with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, are developing a scientific plan for the long-term recovery of salmon in the Skagit. This plan will be available by the first of January 2005. The Tribes are interested in peer review of their scientific work and encourage the interest of others in helping apply the best science now and in the future to the important task of recovering salmon in the Skagit. Also, the tribes encourage other groups and governments in Skagit County and across the Puget Sound region to consider their individual and collective role and contribution to the actions believed necessary to protect and restore Skagit River runs.

Contact: Jim Kramer at jkramer@sharedsalmonstrategy.org

Please see the guidelines for story contributions for the types of stories we would like to highlight. Send your ideas to Jagoda Perich-Anderson at jagodapa@sharedsalmonstrategy.org, or call at 206-447-8667.
 

Watersheds Receive Feedback on their Plans
Watershed planning groups around the Sound submitted their individual draft recovery chapters at the end of June this year. Thanks to these submittals and subsequent meetings in August between watershed leads and the Technical Recovery Team (TRT) and policy reviewers, folks in the Shared Strategy now have a good idea of what they have and still need to build a Puget Sound recovery plan.

Watersheds provided a strong foundation of significant proposals from which to build a strong regional plan. A small sampling includes proposals to (see linked summaries below for complete lists):

• Enhance water storage on the Green River to help improve flows and fish passage above Howard Hansen Dam.
• Increase protection for existing habitat through improvements to Critical Areas Ordinances in King and Pierce counties, and the city of Bainbridge Island.
• Address the most significant landslides in the Stillaguamish watershed and decommission logging roads.
• Remove two fish barriers on the Middle fork of the Nooksack River that can increase the numbers of chinook by 30%.
• Acquire Dosewallips floodplain and Skokomish Valley conservation easements on Hood Canal.
• Move the source of municipal water use in the Nisqually to improve flows and support growth management.
• Improve hatchery management by all tribes and the State of Washington.
• Reduce harvest to support recovery.
• Change hatchery management practices on the Nisqually to integrate with the natural stock.
• Protect 1,483 acres and restore 1, 237 acres of the estuary in the Snohomish watershed, plus significant restoration of the estuaries for the Stillaquamish, Nisqually and Dungeness river basins.

There are many other efforts underway in the watershed work that in the next couple of months will become significant proposals improving the conditions for fish.

There are two main components of what is needed to submit a regional recovery plan to NOAA-Fisheries in June 2005. The first is to build regional consensus on long-term goals and on the next ten years of actions. The second is improving the technical support for the actions and commitments for the recovery plan.

Based on achieving this two-part approach in the coming months, the Shared Strategy staff, with concurrence from the TRT, prepared individualized feedback summaries for each watershed.
The Watershed Feedback Summaries identify additional policy decisions and questions that need to be answered to meet the needs of a regional recovery plan. The details were discussed with the Shared Strategy Development Committee and they support the overall direction. The TRT will send out specific technical feedback in early November 2004 intended to help strengthen the technical foundation of final watershed chapters.

The Watershed Feedback Context letter sent to all watersheds describes what is meant by regional consensus, the intent of the feedback, a review of the recovery criteria, and status of how key regional issues will be addressed.

Access the Watershed Feedback Summaries by clicking on any of the links below:

• Nooksack
• San Juan Islands
• Stillaguamish
• Snohomish
• Whidbey and Camano Islands
• Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish
• Green/Duwamish
• East Kitsap
• Puyallup-White
• Nisqually
• South Sound
• Hood Canal—Summer Chum
• Hood Canal—Chinook
• Elwha-Dungeness

Contact: Margaret Duncan at mduncan@sharedsalmonstrategy.org or Elaine Kleckner at ekleckner@sharedsalmonstrategy.org

This section highlights news from a few watersheds each month. Send newsworthy items to Jagodapa@sharedsalmonstrategy.org.
 

Regional Consensus Building Begins
The Shared Strategy process is entering the regional consensus building phase of the work for the final recovery plan and its implementation. Building regional consensus at this magnitude has not been done before and is simultaneously daunting and inspiring. Over the remaining months of this year, local and regional participants in the Shared Strategy will work together to develop a clear picture of what recovery for salmon in Puget Sound means over the long-term, what they can accomplish in the next ten-years, as well as the funding and other regional decisions that are needed to be successful.

Consensus on these issues is critical for completing the recovery plan, to achieve NOAA and USFWS endorsement, and for continued funding. Various state and congressional leaders have suggested that without a comprehensive recovery plan and regional consensus for implementation, funding from federal and state sources will be difficult to maintain, and increasing funds to the levels necessary for recovery will be impossible.

The Shared Strategy’s regional policy group, The Development Committee (DC), will send a letter to local leaders requesting their active participation in the consensus process over the next several months.

Contact: Jim Kramer at jkramer@sharedsalmonstrategy.org

Shared Strategy Summit—Confirming Regional Consensus on Recovery
The Summit is a key milestone in that it begins to integrate the final stages of the planning phase with the beginning of the implementation phase. It is the place for tribal leaders, elected officials at all levels of government, federal and state agency directors, watershed leaders and community members representing a variety of interests to direct their collective efforts for the salmon and affirm their commitment to salmon recovery.

Everyone attending will have the opportunity to influence key elements of the regional recovery plan that will be completed by June 2005. Participant input and recommendations from break-out sessions will be reported to the whole assembly, and will inform final plan content.

Leaders from all interests participating in the Shared Strategy will confirm regional and local watershed recovery goals, ten-year objectives, the conditions that need to be in place to make implementation commitments, and the funding needed to achieve plan actions.

The Summit is also the first chance for people to see how individual planning efforts will come together to create a comprehensive regional salmon recovery strategy—a shared strategy built on the foundation of local initiatives. You will hear about innovative and significant proposals, projects and incentives that meet the needs of both people and salmon.

We are also bringing back the Awards Banquet by popular demand on the evening of the 26th. You won’t want to miss this fun and energetic celebration of the many fine examples of progress to restore salmon runs under way across the Puget Sound.

Look for a registration brochure in November—and come. You won’t want to miss it.

Contact: Jagoda Perich-Anderson at jperichanderson@sharedsalmonstrategy.org
   

It’s time to ‘Fall for Salmon’
King County presents “Fall for Salmon,” a series of activities and lifestyle tips that celebrate the salmon and raise awareness to ensure these amazing fish continue returning to their ancestral homes forever.

“Fall for Salmon” runs through November and is a perfect opportunity to witness one of the Pacific Northwest’s most important natural resources.

To learn everything you need to know about specific locations where you can see salmon returning and useful information about what you can do to help ensure the fish keep coming back, visit:

http://www.dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/PI/FAll4Salmon/

Fifth Annual Northwest Salmonid Recovery
Presented by the Northwest Environmental Training Center
October 26-29 at the Mountaineers Center, 300
Third Avenue W, Seattle, WA

This conference is dedicated to people working to restore Pacific Northwest salmonid populations. Each session provides practical information, methods, and resources to help attendees better perform their salmon recovery efforts. The goal of the conference is to foster a sense of stewardship and hope by providing current fisheries science and successful solutions for salmonid monitoring and recovery. Our session topics are:

• Session I - Stock Status, Recovery Science, and Recent Developments
• Session II - Habitat and Population Assessment and Monitoring, and
• Session III - Restoration Science, Criteria, and Methodology.

Information can be found at
http://www.nwetc.org/salmonid_conf_04.htm.

Any questions can be directed to Micah Bonkowski at 206-762-1976, or mbonkowski@nwetc.org
at 206-762-1976, or mbonkowski@nwetc.org

Improving Community Involvement in Watershed Stewardship
Satellite and Video Streamed Conference
November 16, 2004
9:00am – 11:30am (PST)

Call your local County Extension office to ask about seating at their facility. For more information, please email seagoj@wsu.edu or call Jan at 509.865.8655. Updated site information is found at http://wawater.wsu.edu/.

Three watershed communities speak from their experience and share successful strategies for drawing local advocacy. Through videoed visits in three Pacific Northwest communities, we observe various organizational models that have created solid partnerships among local governments and natural resource management agencies and fit the community.

Visiting the Walla Walla River Basin we find concerns ranging across dry-land wheat production, irrigated agriculture, a tribal fishery, and forest interests all meeting at tables on both sides of the of the Washington-Oregon state line to co-manage the water resources for the best future of all interests. The Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative in Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho draws from all segments of the population for a Board that sits as a forum for natural resource management agencies and the community to meet and share concerns for a sustainable environment for all inhabitants. Curry County Oregon’s South Coast Watershed Council is a umbrella group for several river watershed councils in an area of the Oregon coast featuring incredible diversity: there are five wild and scenic rivers as well as three wilderness areas; several hundred miles of streams and rivers; dozens of rare plants and animals, and a multitude of other attractions as well as harvesting of forests and agricultural land.