AN ACT Relating to invasive aquatic species; amending RCW 77.08.010, 77.12.020, and 77.15.290; reenacting and amending RCW 77.15.080; adding a new section to chapter 77.15 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 77.12 RCW; creating new sections; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes the potential economic and environmental damage that can occur from the introduction of invasive aquatic species. The purpose of this act is to increase public awareness of invasive aquatic species and enhance the department of fish and wildlife's regulatory capability to address threats posed by these species.

Sec. 2. RCW 77.08.010 and 2001 c 253 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

As used in this title or rules adopted under this title, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Director" means the director of fish and wildlife.

(2) "Department" means the department of fish and wildlife.

(3) "Commission" means the state fish and wildlife commission.

(4) "Person" means and includes an individual; a corporation; a public or private entity or organization; a local, state, or federal agency; all business organizations, including corporations and partnerships; or a group of two or more individuals acting with a common purpose whether acting in an individual, representative, or official capacity.

(5) "Fish and wildlife officer" means a person appointed and commissioned by the director, with authority to enforce this title and rules adopted pursuant to this title, and other statutes as prescribed by the legislature. Fish and wildlife officer includes a person commissioned before June 11, 1998, as a wildlife agent or a fisheries patrol officer.

(6) "Ex officio fish and wildlife officer" means a commissioned officer of a municipal, county, state, or federal agency having as its primary function the enforcement of criminal laws in general, while the officer is in the appropriate jurisdiction. The term "ex officio fish and wildlife officer" includes special agents of the national marine fisheries service, state parks commissioned officers, United States fish and wildlife special agents, department of natural resources enforcement officers, and United States forest service officers, while the agents and officers are within their respective jurisdictions.

(7) "To hunt" and its derivatives means an effort to kill, injure, capture, or harass a wild animal or wild bird.

(8) "To trap" and its derivatives means a method of hunting using devices to capture wild animals or wild birds.

(9) "To fish," "to harvest," and "to take," and their derivatives means an effort to kill, injure, harass, or catch a fish or shellfish.

(10) "Open season" means those times, manners of taking, and places or waters established by rule of the commission for the lawful hunting, fishing, taking, or possession of game animals, game birds, game fish, food fish, or shellfish that conform to the special restrictions or physical descriptions established by rule of the commission or that have otherwise been deemed legal to hunt, fish, take, harvest, or possess by rule of the commission. "Open season" includes the first and last days of the established time.

(11) "Closed season" means all times, manners of taking, and places or waters other than those established by rule of the commission as an open season. "Closed season" also means all hunting, fishing, taking, or possession of game animals, game birds, game fish, food fish, or shellfish that do not conform to the special restrictions or physical descriptions established by rule of the commission as an open season or that have not otherwise been deemed legal to hunt, fish, take, harvest, or possess by rule of the commission as an open season.

(12) "Closed area" means a place where the hunting of some or all species of wild animals or wild birds is prohibited.

(13) "Closed waters" means all or part of a lake, river, stream, or other body of water, where fishing or harvesting is prohibited.

(14) "Game reserve" means a closed area where hunting for all wild animals and wild birds is prohibited.

(15) "Bag limit" means the maximum number of game animals, game birds, or game fish which may be taken, caught, killed, or possessed by a person, as specified by rule of the commission for a particular period of time, or as to size, sex, or species.

(16) "Wildlife" means all species of the animal kingdom whose members exist in Washington in a wild state. This includes but is not limited to mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. The term "wildlife" does not include feral domestic mammals, old world rats and mice of the family Muridae of the order Rodentia, or those fish, shellfish, and marine invertebrates classified as food fish or shellfish by the director. The term "wildlife" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of wildlife members.

(17) "Wild animals" means those species of the class Mammalia whose members exist in Washington in a wild state and the species Rana catesbeiana (bullfrog). The term "wild animal" does not include feral domestic mammals or old world rats and mice of the family Muridae of the order Rodentia.

(18) "Wild birds" means those species of the class Aves whose members exist in Washington in a wild state.

(19) "Protected wildlife" means wildlife designated by the commission that shall not be hunted or fished.

(20) "Endangered species" means wildlife designated by the commission as seriously threatened with extinction.

(21) "Game animals" means wild animals that shall not be hunted except as authorized by the commission.

(22) "Fur-bearing animals" means game animals that shall not be trapped except as authorized by the commission.

(23) "Game birds" means wild birds that shall not be hunted except as authorized by the commission.

(24) "Predatory birds" means wild birds that may be hunted throughout the year as authorized by the commission.

(25) "Deleterious exotic wildlife" means species of the animal kingdom not native to Washington and designated as dangerous to the environment or wildlife of the state.

(26) "Game farm" means property on which wildlife is held or raised for commercial purposes, trade, or gift. The term "game farm" does not include publicly owned facilities.

(27) "Person of disability" means a permanently disabled person who is not ambulatory without the assistance of a wheelchair, crutches, or similar devices.

(28) "Fish" includes all species classified as game fish or food fish by statute or rule, as well as all fin fish not currently classified as food fish or game fish if such species exist in state waters. The term "fish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of fish species.

(29) "Raffle" means an activity in which tickets bearing an individual number are sold for not more than twenty-five dollars each and in which a permit or permits are awarded to hunt or for access to hunt big game animals or wild turkeys on the basis of a drawing from the tickets by the person or persons conducting the raffle.

(30) "Youth" means a person fifteen years old for fishing and under sixteen years old for hunting.

(31) "Senior" means a person seventy years old or older.

(32) "License year" means the period of time for which a recreational license is valid. The license year begins April 1st, and ends March 31st.

(33) "Saltwater" means those marine waters seaward of river mouths.

(34) "Freshwater" means all waters not defined as saltwater including, but not limited to, rivers upstream of the river mouth, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs.

(35) "State waters" means all marine waters and fresh waters within ordinary high water lines and within the territorial boundaries of the state.

(36) "Offshore waters" means marine waters of the Pacific Ocean outside the territorial boundaries of the state, including the marine waters of other states and countries.

(37) "Concurrent waters of the Columbia river" means those waters of the Columbia river that coincide with the Washington-Oregon state boundary.

(38) "Resident" means a person who has maintained a permanent place of abode within the state for at least ninety days immediately preceding an application for a license, has established by formal evidence an intent to continue residing within the state, and who is not licensed to hunt or fish as a resident in another state.

(39) "Nonresident" means a person who has not fulfilled the qualifications of a resident.

(40) "Shellfish" means those species of marine and freshwater invertebrates that have been classified and that shall not be taken except as authorized by rule of the commission. The term "shellfish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of shellfish species.

(41) "Commercial" means related to or connected with buying, selling, or bartering.

(42) "To process" and its derivatives mean preparing or preserving fish, wildlife, or shellfish.

(43) "Personal use" means for the private use of the individual taking the fish or shellfish and not for sale or barter.

(44) "Angling gear" means a line attached to a rod and reel capable of being held in hand while landing the fish or a hand-held line operated without rod or reel.

(45) "Fishery" means the taking of one or more particular species of fish or shellfish with particular gear in a particular geographical area.

(46) "Limited-entry license" means a license subject to a license limitation program established in chapter 77.70 RCW.

(47) "Seaweed" means marine aquatic plant species that are dependent upon the marine aquatic or tidal environment, and exist in either an attached or free floating form, and includes but is not limited to marine aquatic plants in the classes Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, and Rhodophyta.

(48) "Trafficking" means offering, attempting to engage, or engaging in sale, barter, or purchase of fish, shellfish, wildlife, or deleterious exotic wildlife.

(49) "Invasive species" means a plant species or a nonnative animal species that either:

(a) Causes or may cause displacement of, or otherwise threatens, native species in their natural communities;

(b) Threatens or may threaten natural resources or their use in the state;

(c) Causes or may cause economic damage to commercial or recreational activities that are dependent upon state waters; or

(d) Threatens or harms human health.

(50) "Prohibited aquatic animal species" means an invasive species of the animal kingdom that has been classified as a prohibited aquatic animal species by the commission.

(51) "Regulated aquatic animal species" means a potentially invasive species of the animal kingdom that has been classified as a regulated aquatic animal species by the commission.

(52) "Unregulated aquatic animal species" means a nonnative animal species that has been classified as an unregulated aquatic animal species by the commission.

(53) "Unlisted aquatic animal species" means a nonnative animal species that has not been classified as a prohibited aquatic animal species, a regulated aquatic animal species, or an unregulated aquatic animal species by the commission.

(54) "Aquatic plant species" means an emergent, submersed, partially submersed, free-floating, or floating-leaving plant species that grows in or near a body of water or wetland.

Sec. 3. RCW 77.12.020 and 1994 c 264 s 53 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The director shall investigate the habits and distribution of the various species of wildlife native to or adaptable to the habitats of the state. The commission shall determine whether a species should be managed by the department and, if so, classify it under this section.

(2) The commission may classify by rule wild animals as game animals and game animals as fur-bearing animals.

(3) The commission may classify by rule wild birds as game birds or predatory birds. All wild birds not otherwise classified are protected wildlife.

(4) In addition to those species listed in RCW 77.08.020, the commission may classify by rule as game fish other species of the class Osteichthyes that are commonly found in fresh water except those classified as food fish by the director.

(5) The director may recommend to the commission that a species of wildlife should not be hunted or fished. The commission may designate species of wildlife as protected.

(6) If the director determines that a species of wildlife is seriously threatened with extinction in the state of Washington, the director may request its designation as an endangered species. The commission may designate an endangered species.

(7) If the director determines that a species of the animal kingdom, not native to Washington, is dangerous to the environment or wildlife of the state, the director may request its designation as deleterious exotic wildlife. The commission may designate deleterious exotic wildlife.

(8) Upon recommendation by the director, the commission may classify nonnative aquatic animal species according to the following categories:

(a) Prohibited aquatic animal species: These species are considered by the commission to have a high risk of becoming an invasive species and may not be possessed, imported, purchased, sold, propagated, transported, or released into state waters except as provided in section 4 of this act;

(b) Regulated aquatic animal species: These species are considered by the commission to have some beneficial use along with a moderate, but manageable risk of becoming an invasive species, and may not be released into state waters, except as provided in section 4 of this act. The commission shall classify the following commercial aquaculture species as regulated aquatic animal species, and allow their release into state waters pursuant to rule of the commission: Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), kumamoto oyster (Crassostrea sikamea), European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis), eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), manila clam (Tapes philippinarum), blue mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), and suminoe oyster (Crassostrea ariankenisis);

(c) Unregulated aquatic animal species: These species are considered by the commission as having some beneficial use along with a low risk of becoming an invasive species, and are not subject to regulation under this title;

(d) Unlisted aquatic animal species: These species are not designated as a prohibited aquatic animal species, regulated aquatic animal species, or unregulated aquatic animal species by the commission, and may not be released into state waters. Upon request, the commission may determine the appropriate category for an unlisted aquatic animal species and classify the species accordingly;

(e) This subsection (8) does not apply to the transportation or release of nonnative aquatic animal species by ballast water or ballast water discharge.

(9) Upon recommendation by the director, the commission may develop a work plan to eradicate native aquatic species that threaten human health. Priority shall be given to water bodies that the department of health has classified as representing a threat to human health based on the presence of a native aquatic species.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 77.15 RCW to read as follows:

(1) A person is guilty of unlawful use of a prohibited aquatic animal species if he or she possesses, imports, purchases, sells, propagates, transports, or releases a prohibited aquatic animal species within the state, except as provided in this section.

(2) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, a person may:

(a) Transport prohibited aquatic animal species to the department, or to another destination designated by the director, in a manner designated by the director, for purposes of identifying a species or reporting the presence of a species;

(b) Possess a prohibited aquatic animal species if he or she is in the process of removing it from watercraft or equipment in a manner specified by the department;

(c) Release a prohibited aquatic animal species if the species was caught while fishing and it is being immediately returned to the water from which it came; or

(d) Possess, transport, or release a prohibited aquatic animal species as the commission may otherwise prescribe.

(3) Unlawful use of a prohibited aquatic animal species is a gross misdemeanor. A subsequent violation of subsection (1) of this section within five years is a class C felony.

(4) A person is guilty of unlawful release of a regulated aquatic animal species if he or she releases a regulated aquatic animal species into state waters, unless allowed by the commission.

(5) Unlawful release of a regulated aquatic animal species is a gross misdemeanor.

(6) A person is guilty of unlawful release of an unlisted aquatic animal species if he or she releases an unlisted aquatic animal species into state waters without requesting a commission designation under RCW 77.12.020.

(7) Unlawful release of an unlisted aquatic animal species is a gross misdemeanor.

(8) This section does not apply to the transportation or release of organisms in ballast water.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 77.12 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The commission may designate by rule state waters as infested if the director determines that these waters contain a prohibited aquatic animal species.

(2) The commission, in consultation with the department of ecology, may designate state waters as infested if it is determined that these waters contain an invasive aquatic plant species.

(3) The department shall work with the aquatic nuisance species committee and its member agencies to create educational materials informing the public of state waters that are infested with invasive species, and advise them of applicable rules and practices designed to reduce the spread of the invasive species infesting the waters.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 77.12 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The director shall create a rapid response plan in cooperation with the aquatic nuisance species committee and its member agencies that describes actions to be taken when a prohibited aquatic animal species is found to be infesting a water body. These actions include eradication or control programs where feasible and containment of infestation where practical through notification, public education, and the enforcement of regulatory programs.

(2) The commission may adopt rules to implement the rapid response plan.

(3) The director, the department of ecology, and the Washington state parks and recreation commission may post signs at water bodies that are infested with aquatic animal species that are classified as prohibited aquatic animal species under RCW 77.12.020 or with invasive species of the plant kingdom. The signs should identify the prohibited plant and animal species present and warn users of the water body of the hazards and penalties for possessing and transporting these species. Educational signs may be placed at uninfested sites.

Sec. 7. RCW 77.15.290 and 2001 c 253 s 35 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A person is guilty of unlawful transportation of fish or wildlife in the second degree if the person:

(a) Knowingly imports, moves within the state, or exports fish, shellfish, or wildlife in violation of any rule of the commission or the director governing the transportation or movement of fish, shellfish, or wildlife and the transportation does not involve big game, endangered fish or wildlife, deleterious exotic wildlife, or fish, shellfish, or wildlife having a value greater than two hundred fifty dollars; or

(b) Possesses but fails to affix or notch a big game transport tag as required by rule of the commission or director.

(2) A person is guilty of unlawful transportation of fish or wildlife in the first degree if the person:

(a) Knowingly imports, moves within the state, or exports fish, shellfish, or wildlife in violation of any rule of the commission or the director governing the transportation or movement of fish, shellfish, or wildlife and the transportation involves big game, endangered fish or wildlife, deleterious exotic wildlife, or fish, shellfish, or wildlife with a value of two hundred fifty dollars or more; or

(b) Knowingly transports shellfish, shellstock, or equipment used in commercial culturing, taking, handling, or processing shellfish without a permit required by authority of this title.

(3)(a) Unlawful transportation of fish or wildlife in the second degree is a misdemeanor.

(b) Unlawful transportation of fish or wildlife in the first degree is a gross misdemeanor.

(4) A person is guilty of unlawful transport of aquatic plants if the person transports aquatic plants on any state or public road, including forest roads, except as provided in this section.

(5) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, a person may transport aquatic plants:

(a) To the department, or to another destination designated by the director, in a manner designated by the department, for purposes of identifying a species or reporting the presence of a species;

(b) When legally obtained for aquarium use, wetland or lakeshore restoration, or ornamental purposes;

(c) When transporting a commercial aquatic plant harvester to a suitable location for purposes of removing aquatic plants;

(d) In a manner that prevents their unintentional dispersal, to a suitable location for disposal, research, or educational purposes; or

(e) As the commission may otherwise prescribe.

(6) Unlawful transport of aquatic plants is a misdemeanor.

Sec. 8. RCW 77.15.080 and 2001 c 306 s 1 and 2001 c 253 s 23 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) Based upon articulable facts that a person is engaged in fishing, harvesting, or hunting activities, fish and wildlife officers have the authority to temporarily stop the person and check for valid licenses, tags, permits, stamps, or catch record cards, and to inspect all fish, shellfish, seaweed, and wildlife in possession as well as the equipment being used to ensure compliance with the requirements of this title, and may request the person to write his or her signature for comparison with the signature on the license. Failure to comply with the request is prima facie evidence that the person is not the person named on the license. For licenses purchased over the internet or telephone, fish and wildlife officers may require the person, if age eighteen or older, to exhibit a driver's license or other photo identification.

(2) Based upon articulable facts that a person is transporting a prohibited aquatic animal species or any aquatic plant, fish and wildlife officers and ex officio fish and wildlife officers have the authority to temporarily stop the person and inspect the watercraft to ensure that the watercraft and associated equipment are not transporting prohibited aquatic animal species or aquatic plants.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. In consultation with the aquatic nuisance species committee, the director of the department of fish and wildlife and the chief of the state patrol must jointly develop a plan to inspect watercraft entering the state to prevent the introduction of invasive aquatic species. The plan shall be provided to the legislature by December 2003.