BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the recovery of salmon; amending RCW 79.01.2951 and 79.01.2955; adding a new chapter to Title 75 RCW; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. It is the intent of the legislature:

(1) That the managing task force establish and direct a process that will provide the best reasonable and necessary habitat along salmon bearing streams. It will provide a process that will protect those streams from undesirable sediments and other harmful substances coming from the land as a direct use of the land;

(2) That the coordinated resource management standards created under RCW 79.01.295 should be used to complete agreements concerning land uses under this act;

(3) That only ongoing governmental processes be utilized to accomplish the purposes of this chapter, including statutorily authorizing watershed enhancement groups and voluntary salmon enhancement groups;

(4) That there is established a broad-based task force of citizens affected by this chapter to coordinate the implementation of this section while depending on agency and tribal expertise;

(5) That there be full cooperation with tribal government and nontribal commercial fisheries representatives in order to allow them to meet their harvest needs from hatchery salmon while each works with the state on how to ensure that endangered wild salmon stocks have total escapement opportunity until there are adequate wild salmon;

(6) That a neutral and unbiased process established by the task force be utilized to inspect all pertinent harvesting activities and report back to the legislature concerning compliance with the provisions of this section;

(7) That the task force be fully accountable to the legislature and the governor as to the progress and success of the implementation of this chapter;

(8) That legislative policy and directives on salmon habitat and related water quality programs provide productive solutions;

(9) That prior to implementing other efforts, the state, cooperating with landowners, must ensure the control and management of surplus runoff water to provide more and cleaner water for fish while avoiding environmental damage;

(10) That there be legislative directives to put a salmon harvest and escapement program in place at the earliest possible time;

(11) That a state salmon recovery plan be put in place at the earliest possible time to meet the requirements of the federal endangered species act and the federal clean water act especially in regards to the portion of federal law addressed by this act;

(12) That fish predation is a major obstacle to salmon recovery and this problem must be satisfactorily addressed to obtain the necessary cooperation needed to put a successful salmon recovery program in place;

(13) That the principles that guide this act are (a) to utilize, to the fullest extent possible, ongoing procedures such as conservation district development of land use plans with an added element of agreed upon implementation assurance and a monitoring process to obtain compliance; (b) additional involvement with state and federal agencies plus tribal input to the fullest extent possible; and (c) to bring about salmon habitat and water quality conditions considered adequate to restore salmon, utilizing a cooperative process with the landowner that establishes agreed upon proper land use that is compatible with salmon recovery efforts; and

(14) That a priority to be followed is to minimize land purchases and land rentals by the government and to minimize compensation while maximizing land use agreements and using available funds to support programs and processes that bring about salmon recovery in the most effective, efficient, cooperative manner with landowners.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The legislature establishes the following requirements, guidelines, priorities, timelines, targets, and accountability for salmon habitat and water quality process programs to be developed and implemented as described in this act:

(1) Institute a coordinated program that landowners and other affected persons will comfortably participate in;

(2) Place top priority on addressing instream spawning conditions first where water is adequate for spawning;

(3) Provide more and cleaner water by controlling excess runoff with many small retain and release structures;

(4) Have instream and streambank salmon spawning projects in one quarter of the appropriate tributary streams each year for four years;

(5) After four years, have an action-oriented program that will meet the necessary requirements of federal laws, such as the endangered species act and the clean water act;

(6) Create a proper citizen's body responsible for reviewing, monitoring, and reporting to the legislature, the governor's office, and the news media.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Owner" means the legal owner, lessor-operator of property and municipalities.

(2) "Task force" means the managing task force created in section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) A managing task force is created to oversee the implementation of this act as well as monitor and report progress to the legislature and governor at regular and reasonable intervals.

(2) The task force is authorized to select a director and secretarial personnel to fulfill the members' needs to carry out the intent of this act.

(3) Ten regular members shall be appointed by the legislature, shared equally between the majority leader and minority leaders in the senate and the co-speakers of the house of representatives, and two members appointed by the governor with state agencies as nonvoting ex officio members. Tribes will be asked to place four regular members, one each from four different regions of the state.

(4) Members appointed to fill the indicated number of positions shall come from nominees offered from commercial fisheries, one recreational fishery, one city government, one county government, one directly affected business, one small landowner from the west side of the state, one agriculture from irrigated, nonirrigated, livestock from eastern Washington, three, agriculture from western Washington, two.

The governor will appoint two regular members at large, one from eastern Washington and one from the governor's salmon recovery office.

Ex officio agency members shall come from the departments of fish and wildlife, ecology, agriculture, as well as the conservation commission, and the association of conservation districts.

Regular members will serve on a part-time basis.

(5) Chairs, co-chairs, and ranking members of the natural resources, environmental quality and water resources, and agriculture and rural economic development committees in the house of representatives and senate will be nonvoting ex officio members of the task force. Directors or their designees from the departments of fish and wildlife, ecology, agriculture, the conservation commission, conservation districts, the governor's office, and Washington State University will each serve on the task force as nonvoting ex officio members.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The duties and responsibilities of the task force are to:

(1) Elect a chair and vice-chair from the regular membership each biennium;

(2) Oversee the implementation of this act;

(3) Monitor all activities covered in this act;

(4) Report the progress quarterly to the natural resources committees of each house of the legislature and the governor;

(5) Employ a director and other necessary staff to serve at the discretion of the task force in a manner chosen by the task force;

(6) Adopt a plan of action at the earliest possible time after the effective date of this section, following consultation with appropriate persons in the legislature; and

(7) The task force is responsible for the accountability factor, collecting all possible information concerning how this act and other salmon recovery efforts are progressing, including but not limited to harvest, hatchery, and predator review processes.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The three elements of habitat, harvest, and hatchery programs shall be developed in unison, and be dependent on each other as to when the habitat portion will be implemented.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. All private lands involved in salmon habitat improvement programs shall be managed in a manner that provides reasonable and necessary habitat improvements for salmon and also provides reasonable economic use by the owner so that very little compensation is required.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The governor's salmon office is authorized to negotiate with federal agencies to accomplish the goal of meeting the requirements of the federal clean water act and the federal endangered species act. The legislature must ratify the final agreement.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) For the purposes of this act, the governor's office will be the sole coordinator during the process of formulating any cooperative arrangements between the tribes and the task force. After the governor's office has communicated and cooperated with the tribes, the results will be reported to the task force by the tribes.

(2) Whenever the task force activities or expected results relate directly to the objective of bringing about a state salmon recovery plan that complies with the federal endangered species act and the clean water act, the governor's office will be the sole coordinator with federal agencies. The governor's office must report results of their communications and recommendations to the task force.

(3) The task force will make every possible effort to alert the governor's office at the earliest possible time of activities relating to the federal agencies and also move in a positive manner to incorporate the federal agencies' recommendations that relate directly to the task force's legislatively directed responsibilities.

(4) All meetings held by the governor's office that concern this act are open to the public.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) Additional funds will be provided for the following agencies in order to allow its staff to participate in the field application of this act: The department of ecology, the department of agriculture, the department of fish and wildlife, and the conservation commission.

(2) Federal agencies should participate as ex officio members of or advisors to the task force at their discretion.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) Each federally recognized tribe is invited to participate in the implementation of this act.

(2) There is no intent that tribal lands within the boundaries of a reservation be included in the implementation of this act, unless requested by that tribe, or classified timber lands of more than twenty acres under one ownership.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Every possible effort must be made to attract private property owners and affected businesses and municipalities to participate in this voluntary program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. (1) A coordinated resource management planning process, with standards established under RCW 79.01.295 and 79.01.2951, is a tool that must be fully utilized as part of obtaining the goals of this act.

(2) For the purposes of accomplishing the intent of section 1 of this act, when land use is under consideration, the coordinated resource management planning process, RCW 79.01.295 and 79.01.2951 should be used whenever possible.

Sec. 14. RCW 79.01.2951 and 1996 c 163 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislature finds that many wild stocks of salmonids in the state of Washington are in a state of decline. Stocks of salmon on the Columbia and Snake rivers have been listed under the federal endangered species act, and the bull trout has been petitioned for listing. Some scientists believe that numerous other stocks of salmonids in the Pacific Northwest are in decline or possibly extinct. The legislature declares that to lose wild stocks is detrimental to the genetic diversity of the fisheries resource and the economy, and will represent the loss of a vital component of Washington's aquatic ecosystems. The legislature further finds that there is a continuing loss of habitat for fish and wildlife. The legislature declares that steps must be taken in the areas of wildlife and fish habitat management, water conservation, wild salmonid stock protection, and education to prevent further losses of Washington's fish and wildlife heritage from a number of causes including urban and rural subdivisions, shopping centers, industrial park, and other land use activities.

The legislature finds that the maintenance and restoration of Washington's rangelands ((~~and~~)), shrub-steppe vegetation, and privately owned agricultural and other private land is vital to the long-term benefit of the people of the state. The legislature finds that approximately one-fourth of the state is open range or open-canopied grazable woodland. The legislature finds that these lands provide forage for livestock, habitat for wildlife, and innumerable recreational opportunities including hunting, hiking, and fishing.

The legislature finds that the development of coordinated resource management plans, that take into consideration the needs of wildlife, fish, livestock, timber production, water quality protection, and rangeland conservation on all state-owned grazing lands and privately owned lands will improve the stewardship of these lands and allow for the increased development and maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat and other multipurpose benefits the public derives from these lands.

The legislature finds that the state currently provides insufficient technical support for coordinated resource management plans to be developed for all state-owned lands and for many of the private lands desiring to develop such plans. As a consequence of this lack of technical assistance, our state grazing and other lands, including fish and wildlife habitat and other resources provided by these lands, are not achieving their potential. The legislature also finds that with many state lands being intermixed with private grazing lands, development of coordinated resource management plans on state-owned and managed lands provides an opportunity to improve the management and enhance the conditions of adjacent private lands.

A purpose of chapter 4, Laws of 1993 sp. sess. is to establish state grazing lands as the model in the state for the development and implementation of standards that can be used in coordinated resource management plans and to thereby assist the timely development of coordinated resource management plans for all state-owned grazing lands and privately owned lands. Every lessee of state lands who wishes to participate in the development and implementation of a coordinated resource management plan shall have the opportunity to do so.

Sec. 15. RCW 79.01.2955 and 1996 c 163 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) It is the purpose of chapter 163, Laws of 1996 that all state agricultural lands, grazing lands, and grazable woodlands shall be managed in keeping with the statutory and constitutional mandates under which each agency operates. Chapter 163, Laws of 1996 is consistent with section 1, chapter 4, Laws of 1993 sp. sess.

(2) The ecosystem standards developed under chapter 4, Laws of 1993 sp. sess. for state-owned agricultural ((~~and~~)), grazing, privately owned, and other lands are defined as desired ecological conditions. The standards are not intended to prescribe practices. For this reason, land managers are encouraged to use an adaptive management approach in selecting and implementing practices that work towards meeting the standards based on the best available science and evaluation tools.

(3) For as long as the chapter 4, Laws of 1993 sp. sess. ecosystem standards remain in effect, they shall be applied through a collaborative process that incorporates the following principles:

(a) The ((~~land manager and lessee or permittee~~)) landowners and appropriate agencies shall look at the land together and make every effort to reach agreement on management and resource objectives for the land under consideration;

(b) They will then discuss management options and make every effort to reach agreement on which of the available options will be used to achieve the agreed-upon objectives;

(d) Efforts will be made to make land management plans economically feasible for landowners, managers, and lessees and to make the land management plan compatible with the ((~~lessee's~~)) owner's entire operation;

(e) Coordinated resource management planning is encouraged where either multiple ownerships, or management practices, or both, are involved;

(f) The department of fish and wildlife shall consider multiple use, including grazing, on lands owned or managed by the department of fish and wildlife where it is compatible with the management objectives of the land; and

(g) The department of natural resources shall allow multiple use on lands owned or managed by the department of natural resources where multiple use can be demonstrated to be compatible with RCW 79.68.010, 79.68.020, and 79.68.050.

(4) The ecosystem standards are to be achieved by applying appropriate land management practices on riparian lands and on the uplands in order to reach the desired ecological conditions.

(5) The legislature urges that state agencies that manage grazing lands make planning and implementation of chapter 163, Laws of 1996, using the coordinated resource management and planning process, a high priority, especially where either multiple ownerships, or multiple use resources objectives, or both, are involved. In all cases, the choice of using the coordinated resource management planning process will be a voluntary decision by all concerned parties including agencies, private landowners, lessees, permittees, and other interests.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. This act does not apply to timber land units of more than twenty acres each.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. During the implementation of this act, sections 1 and 4 of this act must be recognized as the guide for the remainder of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. A state general fund bond is the method preferred for funding of salmon recovery projects.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. Conservation links, being the critical link between the people and governmental agencies, have a statutory role in a broad spectrum of activities with the public and landowners that relate to clean, abundant water through proper land use and other local projects. State and federal funding is vital for their work. Conservation districts are to be the coordinators of the coordinated resource management planning process, created in RCW 79.01.295 and 79.01.2951, with state funds being provided to personnel in each district through the conservation commission, as recommended by the task force.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. During the implementation of the this act:

(1) The utmost flexibility possible is desirable when habitat improvement programs are being implemented on private land.

(2) When a reasonable portion of a potential salmon bearing stream has been reinhabited, that stream should be considered as qualified.

(3) Volunteer group activities to reclaim or enhance salmon populations shall be a high priority for assistance and funding.

(4) Salmon habitat improvement projects on smaller tributaries shall receive exemptions from normally required permitting by state agencies.

(5) The department of fish and wildlife shall place a high priority on assisting local efforts when incubators are requested.

(6) During the establishment of buffer zones and riparian area uses, special emphasis will be placed on the multiple use concept while adequately enhancing salmon recovery.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. Sections 1 through 13 and 16 through 20 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 75 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 23. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.