AN ACT Relating to salmon enhancement; adding new sections to chapter 75.50 RCW; creating new sections; and making an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) Salmon are a remarkably productive natural resource which have a profound economic impact on the state of Washington. The renewable nature of the resource, aided by human technology, can dramatically increase the supply of salmon. The restoration of salmon runs will result in an enhanced recreational and commercial fishery which will improve the quality of life for all of the state's citizens.

(2) Salmon enhancement is a state-wide responsibility, resulting from a myriad of development projects, frequently at the expense of the salmon resource. The state has not made a major commitment to salmon enhancement in the last ten years and this is an appropriate time to invest in this resource to reach our enhancement goals and our state's economic development goals for the next century.

(3) Cooperative efforts such as watershed planning, improved forest practices, the Pacific Northwest power planning council, fisheries volunteer projects, cooperative management between the state agencies and the Indian tribes, and a number of other progressive accomplishments have paved the way for a major new salmon enhancement program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The director shall implement the salmon enhancement plan as authorized in sections 2 through 4 of this act. Moneys appropriated to the department for purposes of the salmon enhancement plan shall be expended on projects which achieve the following principles:

(1) Enhance native stocks, and attempt to enhance without transplantation of stocks;

(2) Use of appropriate technology to assure cost-effectiveness, avoiding over-capitalization or under-capitalization;

(3) Emphasize distribution of effort to many areas within each watershed;

(4) Balanced production among the five salmon species to approximate the species composition at the beginning of Washington's salmon fishery;

(5) Involve the public in the decision-making process and allow participation in education and fish production activities; and

(6) Maintain appropriate emphasis on goal-oriented research to continually improve salmon survival.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The specific project proposals which will be considered for construction under the 1989 enhancement plan will be initially developed by the department and then be considered by the salmon advisory council. The council will advise the director as to the suitability of the proposed projects. Prior to expenditure of moneys for construction or operation of a proposed project, not including site acquisition, the director shall hold at least three public hearings to solicit public input on the proposed projects.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The legislature finds that it is in the best interest of the citizens of the state to achieve an early implementation of salmon enhancement to achieve the goal of doubling the salmon catch by the year 2000. It is necessary to begin work on a number of important projects before the department's salmon production plans are due (Columbia river, March 15, 1990, and Puget Sound and coast, January 1, 1992), in order to assure the maximum opportunity for recreational anglers and the economic health of the commercial salmon industry.

(2) The early implementation salmon enhancement projects shall be limited to the following:

(a) Cooperative net pen rearing of salmon for recreational fishery enhancement;

(b) Habitat improvement or restoration projects;

(d) A pink or chum salmon spawning channel or net pen rearing project, or both, in north Puget Sound;

(e) A captive wild brood stock project;

(f) A new salmon hatchery on the Wynooche river;

(g) A project to reestablish salmon runs in areas behind hydroelectric dams.

(3) The director shall allocate funds to each of the above projects in such a way as to assure that each project category receives adequate funding.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Sections 2 through 4 of this act are each added to chapter 75.50 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. To carry out this act, the sum of six million dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the department of fisheries from the general fund for the biennium ending June 30, 1991.