WRIA 1 SALMONID RECOVERY PLAN

Update No. 3– May 2005

This is the third issue of Whatcom County’s WRIA 1 Salmonid Recovery Plan Update. Whatcom County sends out this e-newsletter to report on the progress of the plan.

If you’d rather not be on the e-mail list, send an e-mail to John N. Thompson at jnthomps@co.whatcom.wa.us or call 676-6876.

For general information about salmon recovery in Whatcom County, visit the Whatcom Salmon Recovery website at http://whatcomsalmon.wsu.edu.

This update’s topics include:
1. Shared Strategy Update
2. WRIA 1 Salmon Recovery Board
3. Draft Recovery Plan Update

1. Shared Strategy Update

Timetable
The Shared Strategy for Puget Sound is a not-for-profit organization that is coordinating the compilation of the recovery plan for threatened salmon species in the Puget Sound Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU). An ESU is a geographic region containing significant populations of threatened or endangered salmon and forms the geographic basis for recovery plans under the Endangered Species Act. Water Resource Inventory Area 1, often shortened to WRIA 1, is one of fourteen watersheds preparing “chapters” that will roll-up into the regional plan. A separate regional group is also compiling a chapter to address estuarine and nearshore marine restoration issues and needs. Information regarding the Shared Strategy for Puget Sound can be located at: http://www.sharedsalmonstrategy.org/.

Whatcom County, on behalf of the WRIA 1 recovery partners, submitted a status report to the Shared Strategy for Puget Sound on June 30, 2004. Shared Strategy and the NOAA Fisheries Technical Review Team reviewed the status report for both policy and technical content and provided both verbal and written feedback. This feedback is being incorporated into the next drafts of both the technical and summary documents, currently in development. In order to achieve a final recovery plan, the Shared Strategy timetable has three key dates:

• April 30, 2005 - The fourteen watersheds around Puget Sound and the nearshore group delivered their draft plans to Shared Strategy. WRIA 1 submitted the full technical plan document that includes the eight key 10-year actions and the draft commitments, resources, and conditions necessary to implement those actions.
• June 30, 2005 - Shared Strategy submits the regional plan to NOAA Fisheries and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Each of the fourteen watersheds’ plans and the marine nearshore plan will be chapters in this regional plan.
• Fall 2005 - NOAA Fisheries accepts formal public comment on the regional plan.
• By December 31, 2005 - NOAA Fisheries completes its review of the regional plan and issues a decision to whether to approve the plan or not.

See item 3 (Draft Recovery Plan Update) for more information about the local recovery plan.

2. WRIA 1 Salmon Recovery Board

Board Is Now Lead Entity
The interlocal agreement establishing the WRIA 1 Salmon Recovery Board became effective in October 2004. Board members include representatives from the Nooksack Indian Tribe, Lummi Nation, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Whatcom County, and the cities of Bellingham, Blaine, Everson, Ferndale, Lynden, Nooksack, and Sumas. The structure of the Board is composed of two caucuses, the local government caucus and the salmon co-managers caucus (the two tribes and WDFW). Board decision-making is by consensus between the caucuses, with each caucus first reaching agreement among its own members. This two-vote system relies on consensus of the two caucuses for specific Board actions to move forward. The Board’s mission covers three areas:

• Completing the Salmonid Recovery Plan
• Implementing the Salmonid Recovery Plan
• Providing Lead Entity responsibilities in support of successful salmon habitat project development, prioritization, and funding.

January Board Meeting
On January 18, 2005 the Board held its first meeting as lead entity for salmon recovery, assuming the role from Whatcom County, which had served as lead entity the previous five years. The Board has delegated the lead entity administrative functions to the Lummi Nation. The priority focus will be on providing administrative support for the 2005 State Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant cycle, the primary funding source for large-scale habitat restoration projects. Limited support for the completion of the recovery planning process may also be provided, pending Board direction. Alan Chapman, ESA Coordinator for Lummi Natural Resources, is overseeing this transition. He can be reached at 360.384.2207 or alanc@lummi-nsn.gov.

At the January meeting, the Board approved a schedule for completing the recovery plan and established a Steering Committee to do work in support of the Board and bring recommendations to the Board for decisions. The Board’s decision to establish the Steering Committee, in effect, affirms the continuity of the group that has been meeting for over 18 months to develop the plan. The immediate job of the Steering Committee has been to finish up the salmon recovery plan (both technical and summary documents) for WRIA 1 and lay the ground work for implemenation. After the plan has been completed, the Board will review the purpose of the committee and amend it, if necessary.

3. Draft Recovery Plan Update

Plan Will Have Two Parts
The WRIA 1 plan will have two parts: Part 1, an executive summary, will be a clear narrative that presents the basics of the plan. It will focus on ESA listed chinook and bull trout and will lay out the goals, assumptions, rationales, and lead agencies or organizations for actions to take place over the next ten years. Part 2, the technical document, will contain the complete and detailed information about the plan. This document will represent the “best available science” that has gone into the planning process, as well as describe in greater detail the current and future actions needed to restore listed salmon populations, ensure that no harm is done to other salmonids, and ultimately ensure the health of all WRIA 1 salmonid populations.

Drafts of the two parts of the WRIA 1 Salmonid Recovery Plan were submitted to Shared Strategy at the end of April. They incorporate feedback from the NOAA Fisheries Technical Review Team and the Shared Strategy Policy Analysis Group received over the winter, as well as WRIA 1 Stakeholder Group comments received last year.

Schedule
Whatcom County has taken the lead on the executive summary portion of the plan, while the Nooksack Tribe and Lummi Nation have focused on the technical document containing the full scientific background and basis for the eight key actions.

• June – Initial commitments, conditions, and resource needs package is endorsed by WRIA 1 Board members and submitted to Shared Strategy
• June 30, 2005 – Shared Strategy submits regional plan to NOAA Fisheries and US Fish and Wildlife Service for scientific, policy, and legal review.
• Fall 2005 – Formal public comment period held by NOAA Fisheries and US Fish and Wildlife Service; opportunity for WRIA 1 Salmon Recovery Board, individual governments, and the public at large to comment on the WRIA 1 specifics and the regional plan.
• December 2005 - NOAA Fisheries will accept the Shared Strategy regional plan if it is found to provide sufficient certainty that extinction will be avoided for the listed salmon species.
  

For more information about the recovery plan, please contact John N. Thompson, Whatcom County Water Resources Division, 322 N. Commercial St., Suite 110, Bellingham, WA 98225, (360) 676-6876 or JNThomps@co.whatcom.wa.us.