20 Years Too Late...

but I suppose it's a start.-BW

WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE NEWS RELEASE 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091

June 03, 2009
Contact: Heather Bartlett, (360) 902-2662

Fishing rules will change June 6 on several
rivers to protect Puget Sound wild steelhead

OLYMPIA – Beginning June 6, fishing rule changes will take effect on several Puget Sound area rivers to provide additional protection for wild steelhead, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

Fishing rules will change on portions of Canyon Creek, the Skokomish, South Fork Skokomish, Dungeness, South Fork Nooksack, North Fork Skykomish and Tolt rivers. In addition, Finney Creek will be closed to all fishing.

For details on the rule changes, check WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

The changes are necessary to further efforts to conserve and restore Puget Sound wild steelhead, which are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

“These conservation measures are necessary to increase protection for wild steelhead in river systems with known weak stocks and provide a more precautionary approach to the management of waters where the status of the wild run is uncertain,” said Heather Bartlett, salmon and steelhead division manager for WDFW.

Bartlett said the changes are consistent with WDFW’s Statewide Steelhead Management Plan, which was approved by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission in 2008.

The statewide plan sets out a variety of conservation policies to guide fisheries management, hatchery operations and habitat-restoration programs, and provides a framework for regional steelhead management plans currently being developed.

More information on the Statewide Steelhead Management Plan is available on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/steelhead/index.htm.