H-1337.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 2040

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Representatives Poulsen, Constantine, Quall, Romero, Schual‑Berke, Wolfe and Keiser

Read first time 02/15/1999.  Referred to Committee on Natural Resources.

Creating a pilot program for the protection of salmon spawning beds.

    AN ACT Relating to a pilot program for the protection of salmon spawning beds; adding a new section to chapter 75.46 RCW; prescribing penalties; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 75.46 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) The department shall prohibit activities that harm or disturb the spawning beds of salmon and other fish on the Skagit river.  Prohibited acts include, but are not limited to, wading in or standing on, driving motor vehicles or riding bicycles over, dragging boat anchors through, digging or removing spawning gravel, or any other physical disturbance of the nests of salmon or other fish.

    (2) The department shall post such areas adjacent to known or probable salmon nests by affixing a durable sign to a post or a tree that includes the following information:

                              NOTICE

THE SHORELINE OF THIS AREA CONTAINS SALMON NESTS, ALSO KNOWN AS  REDDS.  DRIVING OVER, WADING IN, ANCHORING IN, OR STANDING ON OR OTHERWISE DISTURBING SALMON REDDS IS PROHIBITED.  FISHING IS ALLOWED ONLY FROM UPLANDS OR FROM A BOAT THAT IS FREE FLOATING OR TETHERED TO AN ABOVE-WATER APPURTENANCE.  A VIOLATION OF THIS PROVISION IS AN INFRACTION UNDER CHAPTER 7.84 RCW AND IS SUBJECT TO A PENALTY OF NOT LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER VIOLATION.

    (3) The department shall post the notice described in subsection (2) of this section in the main stem and every tributary of the Skagit river.

    (4) The department shall provide the information contained in the notice described in subsection (2) of this section in brochures that are disseminated to persons applying for fishing and boating licenses, and shall distribute the brochures widely to retail outlets in Skagit county that cater to outdoor recreation.

    (5) The department shall work cooperatively with the tribal comanagers for Skagit river fish resources in implementing and enforcing the requirements of this section.

    (6) The pilot project shall terminate July 1, 2008.

    (7) Upon completion of the pilot project, the department shall report to the legislature by December 31, 2008, on whether there was an increase in salmon numbers that can be attributed solely to the implementation of the project.

    (8) This section expires January 1, 2009.

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