Two Big Wild Fish Wins
+ Hatchery Facts & Great Habitat Work
|
Gimongous Win for
Puget Sound Wild Steelhead
In a huge win for Puget Sound's wild steelhead recovery efforts, we settled our lawsuit with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). As part of the settlement, WDFW will cease the planting of Chambers Creek steelhead in all but one Puget Sound river until NOAA approves each specific program. The agreement also establishes a twelve-year moratorium of such hatchery plants in the Skagit River system, Puget Sound's largest tributary and most important wild steelhead river. Filed March 31, 2014, the suit sought Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance for WDFW's "Chambers Creek" hatchery winter steelhead programs. Since the first listing of Puget Sound salmon under the ESA in 1999, almost all of WDFW's hatchery programs in the region have continued to release large numbers of juvenile salmonids without the scientific evaluation and legal permission required by the ESA. Learn More
|
Win #2:
Elwha Court Ruling Sets Important Precedent
In a big win for wild fish, a federal court ruled on March 26 that federal agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to adequately consider alternatives to the proposed large-scale releases of hatchery salmon and steelhead on the Elwha. The hatchery programs approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) authorize the release of over 7.5 million hatchery fish each year into the Elwha River. NMFS only evaluated two different-sized programs--one that would release the entire 7.5 million and one that would release zero hatchery fish. Judge Benjamin Settle held that the government's plan was unsupported and arbitrary. This is probably the first time in Washington that an agency hatchery plan was challenged and found to be inadequate with basic environmental laws. Learn More
|
Share the Facts
Did you know that wild steelhead have declined 97% in Puget Sound since 1895? And NOAA recently rated twelve of twenty Puget Sound populations as having a "high" risk of extinction. Wild Steelhead Need Your Help! Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife hatcheries are harming Puget Sound's wild steelhead. Share these important facts with friends, family, and colleagues, and help protect this magnificent fish. |
Restoring Access to Over 12.5 Miles of Prime Wild Fish Habitat
Fish passage restoration projects are among the most cost-effective approaches to restore the productivity of our watersheds; removing man-made impediments to fish passage can reestablish access to miles of streams that fish historically used. This summer, Wild Fish Conservancy will be constructing seven fish passage projects in Puget Sound and coastal Washington watersheds, restoring access to over 12.5 miles of spawning and rearing habitat for wild fish. In addition to improving upstream and downstream passage for fish, the projects restore the downstream delivery of sediment and wood, an important natural process that contributes to the health and resilience of watersheds. The projects are funded through the state's Family Forest Fish Passage Program and by Williams Northwest Pipeline. Learn More
|
GiveBIG is Back!
We are participating in The Seattle Foundation's fourth annual GiveBIG on May 6! Support Wild Fish Conservancy and tell your friends about this one-day event. Donations made to WFC through The Seattle Foundation's website will be matched thanks to the Foundation and GiveBIG sponsors. This is a one-day event, so mark your calendar's. Learn more at seattlefoundation.org/givebig and stay tuned for details! |
5,000 Native Trees Planted to Improve Wild Fish Habitat
Wild Fish Conservancy, in partnership with the King Conservation District, recently completed a floodplain restoration project on a farm on the North Fork of Cherry Creek near Duvall, WA. The purpose of the project was to fence and revegetate a 25ft-wide buffer along each bank of the ~3800ft stream channel to improve instream habitat and water quality for native fish and wildlife including coho salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout. WFC planted the riparian buffer with approximately 5,000 native trees, shrubs, and live stakes. Learn More |
