WSR 18-07-029
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 18-38—Filed March 12, 2018, 9:57 a.m., effective March 17, 2018]
Effective Date of Rule: March 17, 2018.
Purpose: Amends recreational fishing rules for the Cowlitz River.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-312-030.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.020, 77.12.045, and 77.12.047.
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: The 2018 Cowlitz River spring Chinook run forecast is five thousand fish, about seventy percent below the five-year average return. Projections indicate that reducing the daily adult limit to one adult Chinook should allow for a full season spring Chinook fishery while providing the needed number of hatchery fish for broodstock, to ensure future hatchery returns to the Cowlitz. This should also allow for fish to be transported above Cowlitz Falls Dam for upriver fishery and reintroduction purposes. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: March 12, 2018.
Amy H. Windrope
for Joe Stohr
Acting Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-312-03000N SouthwestFreshwater exceptions to statewide rules.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-312-030, effective March 17, 2018, until further notice, daily limit of 6 hatchery Chinook of which only 1 may be an adult in waters of the Cowlitz River, Cispus River and Lake Scanewa. Unless otherwise amended, all permanent rules remain in effect.