Yes, but as the article says, it isn’t all bad news. Our county NGOs and the Tribes have been responsible for helping turn the tide on this issue locally. But as it has been for decades, Puget Sound growth is rampant, we don’t get the funding needed and we are not protecting our salmon habitat from development effects too close to their banks. The concerns we should have about this development was even evident when our newly elected County Commissioner Greg Brotherton was mysteriously quoted when asked about the Growth Management Act just this week in the PT Leader as saying, “I think that our growth management is out of balance, but I think that growth management is important.” Not sure how to read that. Is he in favor of what the GMA has done or not? If not why not? If so, what would he change to make it “in balance?” Meanwhile, the situation is in general, pointing to more losses around the Salish Sea. One area that has been a focus of some groups, is the mismanagement of shoreline habitat by the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). They continue to allow shoreline development with not a complete understanding of forage fish spawning habitat, especially favoring wealthy shoreline developers over gathering the evidence needed to make a scientific based decision. And the beat goes on.
After 20 years and nearly $1 billion spent on Washington state salmon recovery programs, most salmon are still in decline, a state report has found. The 2018 State of the Salmon report by the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office is a sobering read: Across the state, and in its jewel, Puget Sound, salmon are struggling to survive despite efforts of every kind to prevent extinction. The news isn’t all bad: some runs, such as summer chum on the Hood Canal and fall chinook in the Snake River are doing better and near their recovery goals. And habitat restoration, from taking out dikes to fixing highway culverts that block salmon migration boosts salmon populations, the report found. The problem is that more habitat is being destroyed, more quickly than it can be fixed as the state continues a turbocharged growth spurt that is chewing up salmon habitat with roads, pavement, housing and commercial development. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)
Filed under: Around the Salish Sea, fisheries, fishing, Puget Sound | Tagged: Greg Brotherton, Puget Sound |
