H-5440              _______________________________________________

                                    HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4450

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Representatives Sutherland, Butterfield, Basich, B. Williams, Cooper, Nutley, Peery and Sanders

Read first time 3/8/88.

WHEREAS, The Mitchell Act, passed by Congress in 1938, recognized that the fishery resource on the Columbia River was greatly impacted by the construction of Grand Coulee and Bonneville dams; and

          WHEREAS, The funding under the Mitchell Act supports the operation and maintenance of fish hatcheries in Southwest Washington that produce  over fifteen million salmon and steelhead annually; and

          WHEREAS, Since 1980 the Reagan Administration has not supported the operation and maintenance of these hatcheries and has not proposed funding for them; and

          WHEREAS, The state Congressional delegation has successfully lobbied their colleagues to continue the same level of funding for the hatcheries' operations each year for the last five years; and

          WHEREAS, The 1988 federal budget does not include sufficient funds to operate seven Washington hatcheries at a cost-effective level, and that further mid-year federal budget reductions have caused the Departments of Fisheries and Wildlife to close or curtail operations at these hatcheries; and

          WHEREAS, With one exception, the coho and chinook salmon runs in the lower Columbia River are hatchery runs and not natural salmon runs; and

          WHEREAS, The closure of hatcheries in Southwest Washington may seriously reduce the State's production of coho and chinook salmon which may then place increased pressure on the state's recreational and commercial salmon fishing; and

          WHEREAS, Under the United States-Canada Treaty, fewer fish produced by Washington means fewer fish to be caught by United States fishermen; and

          WHEREAS, Recreational and commercial salmon fishing on the Washington coast creates over $16 million in direct expenditures and more than 950 jobs, and the fish produced from these hatcheries have an impact on fisheries in all of the state's marine waters;

          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the state of Washington, the Senate concurring, That the Office of the Attorney General be requested to investigate a lawsuit against the Department of Commerce demanding that the federal government provide the resources to continue operation of hatcheries funded through the Mitchell Act, and that the Office of the Attorney General work closely with the Departments of Fisheries and Wildlife and the appropriate committees of the Senate and House of Representatives in this effort; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted, immediately upon concurrence by the Senate, by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to the Office of the Attorney General, the United States Department of Commerce, and the Washington Congressional delegation.