WSR 23-11-051
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 23-67—Filed May 12, 2023, 10:35 a.m., effective May 27, 2023]
Effective Date of Rule: May 27, 2023.
Purpose: The purpose of this emergency rule is to close recreational fisheries in some waters of the Snohomish River system.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-312-040.
Under RCW
34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: Limited allowable take of wild Chinook in the Snohomish system necessitates strict controls to conserve impacts for pink and coho fisheries this fall. The Snohomish wild Chinook population saw a record low return of 1,023 in 2019, the year when dominant age class four-year-old Chinook returning in 2023 would have been hatched. There is now significant concern for a poor return of wild Chinook to the Snohomish [River] and its tributaries this year.
There is insufficient time to adopt permanent rules.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: May 12, 2023.
Kelly Susewind
Director
[NEW SECTION]
WAC 220-312-04000FFreshwater exceptions to statewide rules—Puget Sound.
Effective May 27, 2023, until further notice, provisions of WAC 220-312-040 regarding recreational fishing seasons for the Snohomish River system shall be modified as described below. All other provisions of WAC 220-312-040 not addressed herein, or unless otherwise amended by emergency rule remain in effect:
(1) Effective May 27, 2023, until further notice, the following waters are closed to all fishing:
(a) Cherry Creek
(b) Raging River
(c) Skykomish River, North Fork
(d) Skykomish River, South Fork, from mouth to 600' downstream of Sunset Falls fishway
(e) Snohomish River, from mouth to confluence of Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers
(f) Snoqualmie River, from mouth to Snoqualmie Falls
(g) Sultan River
(h) Tolt River, from mouth to confluence of North and South forks
(i) Wallace River, from mouth to 200' upstream of water intake of salmon hatchery
(2) Effective May 30, 2023, until further notice the following waters are closed to all fishing: Skykomish River, from mouth to U.S. Hwy. 2 Bridge (near Gold Bar)
Reviser's note: The bracketed material preceding the section above was supplied by the code reviser's office.