Looking for a better '23, for sure. Fortunately, we are about 40-50' above Budd Inlet so the tide didn't get us. Apparently we have low risk fro a tsunami down here. If one does actually hurt us there will be a whole lot of other folks a whole lot worse off.

C-Man,

Be careful what you say - the gods are listening, just waiting for a "Gotcha" moment. Earthquakes, etc. I lived in Rose Valley, up the Coweeman River Valley years ago, well above the flood range and any tsunami threat. And then St. Helens blew! Keep smiling!

Oh I hear you Tug. I rode out the '01 quake on 6th Floor of the NRB. That fulfilled my life's need to be in a real earthquake. I have a great fear of the Cascadia Subduction Zone event. I don't think the quake itself will be too bad here in Oly, but the overall regional damage will be unimaginable.

How'd you like to have been at the Toutle Hatchery that morning?? The blast shook our house in Sequim.

01/01/2023

State Tournament high school basket ball was taking place in the Tacoma Dome. What I remember was the lights that were hanging from the ceiling were swinging back and forth......None fell !!!!!!!

Just so everyone knows some of us have been trying to get 2021 salmon escapement numbers and now 2022. A bit back I was told that the person that produces this data was having difficulties. It has been a bit so I have asked again and hopefully it will be provided. Best I can do guys.

Gawd. Back in the day, with much more primitive technology, we had many escapements by now. For the previous year.

Kinda like WDG used to provide SH catches and storing numbers in the summer after the winter season ended. Used to.

Hey guys staff has provided the updated escapement spread sheet with 2021 numbers. (2022 are not completed) There is a lot of information for Grays Harbor salmon escapements and some surprises also. An example is 2020 the Wishkah Coho goal is 2788 but only had a Coho escapement of 440 and in 2021 it went up to 839. The Hoquiam escapement goal is 1788 and 2020 was 859 and 2021 was 3051. In 2021 the Satsop was 400% greater than in 2020 so these spread sheets allow one to look at the Chehalis Basin as a whole or by tributaries ( not so with Chum ) so lots to ponder here with the 2023 NOF process just a bit down the road.

If you want the spread sheets e mail me your email address and I will get them to you.

Also big thanks to staff as this information is needed and they take the time to keep us informed, big thanks. JJ I will get the sheets out today, hopefully.

Only Coho and Steelhead have river escapement goals shown for tributaries the Springers, Chum, and Chinook are Chehalis as a whole. Hopes that help JJ.

Might look back at that EDT report. It looked at available spawning area for each major river. I can't remember of they also indicated MSY goals but they might have. Even if those are not management goals, and certainly not what I developed for the CBFTF, they do offer an idea that the State supported for what the stream should host.

Well next up !

NEWS RELEASE

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Feb. 7, 2023
Contact: Dr. Kenneth Warheit, 360-902-2595
Media contact: Ben Anderson, 360-902-0045

WDFW seeks public input on draft co-manager hatchery policy
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking public comment on a draft policy to guide management of hatcheries in cooperation with tribal co-managers.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted an updated Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead Hatchery Policy in April 2021. As part of that policy, the Commission instructed WDFW “to begin development of a joint policy agreement on salmon and steelhead hatchery programs with tribal co-managers,” which would supplement and supersede the existing Commission policy when appropriate.

After more than a year of collaborative work with technical staff under the direction of a subset of commissioners and tribal policymakers, a final draft policy was developed in November 2022 and presented to the full Commission in December 2022 and January 2023.

Key values of the policy include a commitment to work as co-managers to develop and implement hatchery management plans on a regional or watershed-specific basis, while conserving natural-spawning populations of fish and mitigating the effects of habitat loss and other environmental impacts. The draft policy outlines six guiding principles to support these values.

The public is invited to provide comment on the draft policy through March 1. The full draft policy is available online, and comments may be submitted at WDFW’s website or at https://publicinput.com/ComanagerHatcheryPolicy.
The policy will also undergo an additional State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) public comment period before being considered for adoption by the Commission.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife works to preserve, protect, and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish, wildlife, and recreational and commercial opportunities. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is a panel appointed by the governor that sets policy for WDFW.

Does the invited public comment for these policy recommendations and a response provided to each comment by the Staff get published? I would sure hope so.

Here is the draft that has the do and do not stuff. The devil is in the details so I think we could use some help from former staff here. Read it tell us what you think. The update thing keeps getting tangled up with Adobe so a link is not working here.


https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/policies/anadromous-salmon-and-steelhead-hatchery-policy

Still screwed on a link but copy and paste the address below and it should get you the document.

wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/anadromous_salmon_and_steelhead_hatchery_policy_c-3624_final.pdf

https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/policies/anadromous-salmon-and-steelhead-hatchery-policy

This takes you to WDFW's site to take a look. What is missing is being able to access the documents that go with this thing.

I think they want us to comment on the draft Co-Manager Policy not the anadromous salmon and steelhead policy.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/20221208-fc-proposed-co-manager-policy-11-7-2022.pdf

I guess both.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted an updated Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead Hatchery Policy in April 2021. As part of that policy, the Commission instructed WDFW “to begin development of a joint policy agreement on salmon and steelhead hatchery programs with tribal co-managers,” which would supplement and supersede the existing Commission policy when appropriate.
After more than a year of collaborative work with technical staff under the direction of a subset of commissioners and tribal policymakers, a final draft policy was developed in November 2022 and presented to the full Commission in December 2022 and January 2023.

It is confusing. Commission adopted the updated Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead Policy already. Instructed staff to develop a Co-Manager piece to it. Provide a link to comment publicinput/ComanagerHatcheryPolicy. But don't provide a one click link to the draft Co-Manager Policy itself.

As read a bit of it, the current adopted policy applies only to WDFW. It does not affect the Tribes or any other agreements (PSMP). They h=now have to develop something the tribes will agree to. Or, the tribes can tell them what the policy is.

One thing I noted in my cursory reading is that hatchery impacts ignore mixed-stock no -selective fishing as being very bad for wild fish.

Well here is the NOF for GH & Willapa for 2023 and yup they are going to hide with the ZOOM crap.

Welcome to the 2023 North of Falcon (NOF) salmon season setting process. WDFW staff wanted to share with everyone some public meeting information that has now been scheduled for Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor to discuss upcoming forecasts, management objectives, and fishery opportunities for the upcoming 2023 salmon season.

Our website has been updated with the 2023 NOF public meetings scheduled to-date, which can be found at 2023 North of Falcon public meeting schedule | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.  All meetings will be conducted virtually via Zoom for Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor except for the March 1 meeting, which will be held both in-person and virtually at the Log Cabin Pavilion, Morrison Riverfront Park, 1401 Sargent Blvd, Aberdeen, WA 98520.

The 2023 Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor NOF public meeting dates are:

Meeting
March 1 6-8pm Joint Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor Forecast (hybrid: in-person and Zoom)
March 21 6-8pm Willapa Bay Fisheries Discussion (Zoom)
March 22 6-8pm Grays Harbor Fisheries Discussion (Zoom)
March 30 6-8pm Joint Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor Fisheries Discussion (Zoom)
April 12 6-8pm Joint Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor Fisheries Package (Zoom)

Other NOF and Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) public meeting dates:
Meeting
March 3 2023 Salmon Forecasts and Fishing Opportunities, Lacey, WA (Puget Sound, Coastal, and Columbia River)
March 5-10 PFMC Webinar, Seattle WA (link)

March 15 North of Falcon #1
March 29 North of Falcon #2
April 2-7 PFMC Webinar to adopt final federal regulations, Foster City, CA (link)



Please check our website for updated information throughout the NOF process using the first link at the top of the page. 
If you have any questions regarding this schedule, please contact WDFW staff or reply to this email with your questions. 

Thank you

Wish more would be held in person, but I’ll plan on being at the March 1st meeting in Aberdeen. Would be nice meeting some of y’all finally. Curious what these forecasts will look like.

I'll see ya there... but make sure to re-introduce yourself because I'm gettin' old and forgetful, esp when I meet someone in a different venue than usual.