Inslee outlines salmon recovery
By Terry Murry on Thursday, December 16th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
LA CONNER – Washington Gov. Jay Inslee Tuesday proposed new strategies and investments to protect and restore salmon. He made the announcement from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community reservation and was joined by people from the Swinomish, Tulalip and Nisqually tribal communities, legislators and state agencies who work on salmon, water, and habitat issues.
The proposal calls for several actions which include correcting fish passage barriers while restoring salmon access to historical habitat, build climate resiliency and align harvest, hatcheries, and hydropower with salmon recovery.
Inslee also proposes strengthening science, monitoring and accountability. His proposal also expands state efforts to correct fish passage barriers, mitigate the impact of existing barriers, and prevent new barriers from occurring. To achieve these actions, Inslee unveiled a budget and policy changes for 2022, which would invest a total of $187 million in salmon recovery.
Inslee’s announcement comes on the heels of his environmental proposal as he readies his agenda for the 2022 session of the Washington Legislature. All of his proposals must be approved by lawmakers.
