Salmon Conservation in the Pacific Northwest

An important environmental problem that has faced the Puget Sound area, not to mention the greater majority of the Pacific Northwest, is the decline in salmon runs. A few years ago in 1999, “the federal government announced that it would add nine species of Pacific Northwest salmon to the Endangered Species List” (Seattle Supports...) in hopes that new regulations would help return salmon to their native areas.

One city that has been (or will be) significantly affected by any decisions to help or not help salmon is Seattle, Washington. If the salmon are to be restored to the rivers, then Seattle residents will have to make changes in their own lives to try to accommodate the fish. This would include, but is not limited to “cleaning up rivers that run through urban and suburban areas, restricting suburban sprawl along salmon spawning streams, controlling residential fertilizer use, and possibly placing limits on water use in drought seasons” (Seattle Supports...). There are skeptics who fear that the restrictions that come with the listing of salmon as endangered will cause a backlash against the Endangered Species Act.¹ But, there are still those that have high-hopes for the future. They foresee new regulations as possibly improving urban development, and making Seattle a cleaner city on the whole. The greater area of the Puget Sound may also benefit from these changes. If the new guidelines are followed, it should be seen that salmon runs will improve. In 1999, Seattle-dwellers were very enthusiastic about helping the salmon survive, and have proven that by accomplishing much in the “2000 Salmon Plan,” the Tri-County Model 4(d) Proposal, and other plans that were instated.

Three counties in the Puget sound area (King, Pierce, and Snohomish) are working together on the Tri-County Model 4(d) Proposal. This plan of action would include improving road maintenance practices, better ways to secure federal funds, and more agreements between local governments. One of the key components of the proposal is the “4(d) rule” which “prohibits ‘take’ under the Endangered Species Act that makes it illegal to harm Chinook or their habitat. The rule also lays out criteria for evaluating local proposals for limited legal exemptions or ‘take limits’.”² While the counties are cooperating amazingly well to help the salmon, the plan does allow them the freedom to work on their own to make changes that might be relevant to their specific areas. Because of this ability, and the drive to conserve a communal resource, one county has taken the initiative to go that next step and institute changes for itself.

In August of 2002, King County was congratulating itself on its achievements in salmon conservation. The people were proud that they had “taken the initiative to collaborate with regional partners and make progress towards conservation on the ground” (King County...). By adjusting and modifying the Model and Biological Review to fit the requirements of their own environment and needs, they have been able to create schemes of management that work in their specific area. Despite the current achievements and all the advancements that have been made toward salmon restoration, continuing effort is still greatly needed. Since conservation is the ultimate goal, then a further push in this direction will be needed to maintain (or attain) adequate funding, partnerships, and cooperation to keep improving salmon runs.

Other groups have been monitoring the salmon over the past few years, as well. In September, 2002, a two-year review, called the Resource Management Plan, conducted by the state and local tribes documents the progress of Puget Sound Chinook hatcheries. Based on these findings, the state and tribal fisheries have put together a new and comprehensive scientific framework for operations.³ Hatcheries in the past have often done more harm than good, but in this new plan are outlined ways for these industries to help recover the naturally spawning salmon and also maintain sport and commercial fishing. Hopefully by supplementing current salmon runs with hatchery fish, progress can be made towards their restoration to native grounds. Studies have been conducted to try to prevent deleterious effects by hatcheries and their fish to native salmon. Changes to hatcheries and procedures are in the works. These would include terminating net-pen operations, changing production levels and operations, adjusting hatchery release practices, state-of-the-art fish-health monitoring, facility disinfecting and disease management procedures.⁴

All this effort has begun to pay off, though. In Lake Washington, returning king salmon numbers have been reasonable. The estimated 7,000^* kings that have returned may be small in number compared to that of 2001, but is not as bad as some past years. Sockeye numbers have been very good, as well, reaching about 10,000^*, which is thought to be quite a lot of salmon. Unfortunately, there have been only about 3,300^* coho returning to the lake, which is a very small number. This is possibly due to all the anglers on the Strait of Juan de Fuca catching a good number of the migrating salmon. There has not, however, been any need to close the sport fishing of coho yet.

With the continuing efforts of those living in the Pacific Northwest, salmon runs should continue to rise in number. By living in a more environmentally conscious way, by cleaning up streams and river banks, and helping out wherever and however possible, things can be changed for the better for salmon. If the new rules and regulations take effect and actually work (which they should), we should begin to see small masses of salmon once again. The Pacific Northwest area has depended on the salmon for much over the years, and it would be a shame if the area lost their icon now, when we are just beginning to fully realize how much these fish would be missed.

¹ “Seattle Supports Listing of Salmon as Endangered Species”

²“Tri-County ESA Partnership Highlights Successes; Completing Final Salmon Recovery Plan”

³“State, Tribes Release 2-year Salmon Study”

⁴“State, Tribes Release 2-year Salmon Study”

^*Statistics from “State, Tribes Release 2-year Salmon Study”

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