Some good news.

The Fish and Wildlife Commission today voted to honor the petition by The City of Forks, Cowlitzfishermen, et al, to allow the proposal due process including public comment this summer as part of the ongoing Rule Peoposal Process.

In simple terms the moratorium is cancelled.

The people will be heard.

Wow, that was fast.

Nice,

The people will be heard indeed, but now I doubt they will be listened to.

It is over welming that the majority supports WSR but some people only care about them selves and want to make sure they can take every last one untill there arnt enough to fish for anymore.

WSR will happen even if it dosent hapen now. I am affraid a war has been started.

Where's the proof? Nothing about it on the WDFW site (yet).

Not that I don't believe anyone on the internet, but, well, Ok, I don't believe anyone on the internet....

"No one knows you are a dog on the internet."

If it's true, that's too bad. Might as well just start kissing your fish and fishing opportunities in the future goodbye. Hatcheries ain't the solution, boyz.

I wonder what people are gonna say in a few years when Ocean conditions are no longer favorable, and the fish just stop returning ?

Oh yeah, I forgot. Blame the indians. Silly me.

Rich,

You really think everyone against WSR wants to bonk native fish???

Some of us (probably most) just want the rules followed by all involved. The WSR regulation was pushed thru on a "backroom deal".

I for one am glad to see that wrong undone.

Let the WSC people follow the proper rules like the rest of society.

It would also be nice to see certain members of the commission that were involved in that backroom deal removed and replaced with people given more to following rules.

Do you have any valid statistics backing up your claim that the overwhelming majority support WSR? To me, it seems like the majority of this board does, but the vast majority elsewhere is against it. Again, that's just a perspective, not a claim.

Plunk,
Could you please post a link to this.

If there is no link, how about a source?

RL

Keeping my fingers crossed that it is not true.

This is the news release


NEWS RELEASE
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, Washington 98501-1091
Internet Address: http://wdfw.wa.gov
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
April 29, 2004
Contact: Tim Waters, (360) 902-2262
or Susan Yeager, (360) 902-2267


Public hearing, formal rule-making process
to be held on wild steelhead moratorium


OLYMPIA-- The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission today voted to hold a hearing this summer to take public testimony on the commission’s recently imposed two-year moratorium on wild steelhead retention.

The 5-1 vote came after the City of Forks filed a petition with the commission requesting that a formal rule-making process be initiated on the moratorium issue. Such proceedings require a public hearing.

Commissioner Bob Tuck voted against initiating the formal rule making process. Commissioner Lisa Pelly was absent from the meeting.

Following the public hearing, which is expected to be held in August or September, commissioners could let their earlier decision stand, or they could modify or rescind the decision.

Commissioners voted 5-3 in February to impose the moratorium, which takes effect May 1. Wild steelhead retention already had been permanently banned in much of the state, but was still allowed on several Olympic Peninsula river systems where stocks are relatively strong.
Following the moratorium vote this winter, officials with the City of Forks and others voiced objections to the commissioners’ action, saying the ban would pose economic hardships for their community, a popular destination for steelhead anglers.
# # #


I kind of read it as the moritorium stands until the hearing this summer. I don't see where it says the moritorium has been resinded. The WSC will be there to provide testimony. Some of you should think about becoming a member and helping to carry the load as it is alot of work.
Since the whole WSR thing on this board we've had 15 new members sign up, I think mostly because of the absurb arguments put forth by those wishing to allow harvest of wild steelhead. CFM said the WSC was a dying organization but I sure don't see it.

The war has been started?????? I thought this was about the good of the fish? Not the fisherman. I've been against WSR from the get go for several reasons

1. Where has WSR worked on a major system that is netted by Native Americans?

2. It had no input from the tribes (without their partnership nothing will revive wild stocks)

3. The way it was pushed through without input from those that would be impacted the most i.e. city of Forks business owners.

4. The input and opinion of every WFDW employee that I have spoken with was discounted by the commission.

5. Provided fishing opportunity for a few that feels C&R mortality is ok where there should be no sport fisherman mortality or threat of mortality in a river with threatened wild stocks. (close the rivers for feb, march, april, may.

I pose little threat to wild fish anymore because I don't target them. I fill my freezer with hatchery brats and that works for me. There are plenty of other opportunities out there. So let's get back on the same page and work to curve the decline of wild stocks not divide our numbers.

No one who truly loves fishing and the experience would think this is a good thing.

Oh you mean the crackers that buy a license, get out once a year and can't even tell the difference between a Nate and a brat.

Boy the good news just keeps rolling in today!!

People--- Think.

If the Bush thang goes thru-- this will go way, way beyond Steel head. Game and fish are looking ahead. and covering there collective ARSES, You push WRS or WCR or whatever it is called thru now you can kiss off fishing in the state of WA.

As Momma would say- Be careful of what ya ask for-- You may get it.

"I am affraid a war has been started"

Meaning when it comes the the rules process and testimony.

WDFW's own numbers show WSR support is the majority.

I have heard that the Hoh is expected to fall 1000 wild steelhead short of its escapement this year. It was 800 fish short last year. Since the process is going to be held this summer the actual numbers should be in by then. How long can the Hoh be healthy and support harvest when it is only getting 2/3rds of less ecapement?, (The lack of harvest would have made all the difference).

Acording to the numbers the Quileute system is healthy and has not seen the affect from the huge amount of harvest. Seems that the Sol Duc is holding that one together for now.

Like Parker said wait until ocean conditions change for the worse agian. It seems that many of our "healthy" systems are right on the edge or just under and any drastic change could cause colapse. Combine bad ocean conditions with over harvest droughts or floods and what do you get? You get the todays Hoh that turns into todays Puyallup the next cycle, and todays Puyallup goes extinct. Then the next cycle the Hoh goes extinct and the Quileute system turns into the Hoh of the last generation and so on.

I only fear that pollitics may make the decision this time around, and not science.

"Commissioner Lisa Pelly was absent from the meeting"

This gal needs to canned or voted out of office (however it works).

I don't think so Rich.

Ocned all the dangleing CHADS are counted.

Ya'll got it thru when on body was a lookin, but it ain't gonna happen a second time.

Again, As Momma would say--- do it onced and shame on you, do it a second time and shame on me.

Im starting a new job soon but I will do everything in my power to be at the rule process for this.

I am very interested to see what type of reasoning, science and compassion will be behind the anti WSR side.

Will they ignore the history of what has happened under current management? Will they say, "the tribes and WDFW say current management is good and there is no reason for WSR so we should listen to the tribes and WDFW. Will they say the city of Forks needs all available fish for harvest so they can keep making money? Will they say we should alow harvest untill escapement's show there arnt enough fish anymore and then change things?

The history is there, we know what is going to happen if things keep going the way they are. Why should we ignore what history has already proven?

Should we ignore what the future will be because 30% dosent want to change or dosent want someone else to tell them they have to release wild steelhead?

Again we speak one drainage. WCRSRA(or what ever) means STATE wide. No one drainage but blanket coverage.

So let me ask you this. Is the drainage in
Forks in better shape than that of the Green River (Auurn)?

That's ment to be Auburn. Damn I wish i could type--- and spell.


Rich- Firstts off--- what we got now don't work do you agree?

For all of you arguing that WSR has not helped to restore any ailing wild runs of steelhead, consider this:

Timing is everything. A tourniquet can stop a life-threatening hemorrhage, but only if it is applied before the dying patient has lost a critical volume of blood.

The problem with reactive fisheries management is that historically nothing gets done until the problem reaches a crisis level from which there is little hope of return.

Isn't it high time for a little pro-active strategy?