Originally Posted By: N W Panhandler
So we have ESA listed fish in most of the streams, the rules have been in effect since the 90's, do you really believe that WDFG folks have not got the knowledge to make corrections to the laws after this amount of time. River hydraulics are not new to them. I will leave it at that.


Yes, I really do believe that stream-by-stream assessments of the effects of suction-dredge mining in Washington have not been done -- because they haven't. The WDFW's rules (more like guidelines) are highly permissive to begin with, and they aren't being enforced here. Why have other western states felt compelled to put tight regulations on stream mining in place? Are you suggesting that miners in Washington should continue to get special regulatory treatment to do pretty much as they please with streambeds when fishermen have to comply with more and more restrictive regulations? How does that make sense?