Several letters I have written to Mr. Baltzell appear in the dump. I did not post them as I did not want to put out his responses directly without permission. Now that there public I guess I can. I wrote this letter earlier this year.

Mark,
We are now into mid-February, so I am wondering if any headway has been made with the Skokomish Tribe in opening the river. Also, you mentioned in the past that the state was thinking about getting a long term Chinook management plan that is approved by NOAA fisheries. This first came up on 2016 and was discussed at that time, but apparently not pursued That was almost 3 years ago, so I am wondering why there has been a delay. I realize is was limited and for a one time exemption, but the tribe was able to present a passable option in less a very short time. My guess is that it has not been a priority, but if not, then why.


Thanks


Mark L ....

and this was the response.>>

Hi Mark

At the risk of being too optimistic, I can tell you that our new Director has had 1 meeting with the Skokomish and is slated to have another this week. He has stated to them that fishing on the river was one of his priorities. We should have an answer to the question by mid-April when the North of Falcon meetings wrap up.

The state, the co-managers and NOAA have been working for the past several years on a new Chinook plan. There are just a couple of outstanding details to wrap up and I am confident that a new plan will be submitted by the summer.

Hope my brief answers help.

Mark


I have written follow up letters asking for a explanation and any additional details about the opening or what happened, but have gotten no responses.


What I did not see in the dump was this earlier email. It could be in there, but if it is I did not see it. I suppose it may have been too early to be considered part of this years NOF comments.

Sent: Wed, Dec 26, 2018 9:59 am
Subject: Skokomish River Update
Good Morning Mr.......,
Thank you for your inquiry as to where things stand with regards to returning a sport fishing season on the Skokomish river. I can relay to you that this is also a priority for our new Director and our Agency. As you know we are getting ready to enter our yearly process to set salmon seasons called North of Falcon (NOF). Our new director, Kelly Susewind, has already had a face to face meeting with the Skokomish tribal leaders and both sides have agreed to meet on this very topic again in January, prior to heading into the NOF negotiations. Please know that the department is exploring all of our options as we move forward in time to not only re-establish a season on the river, but ensure opportunities for years to come.
As to what happened last year, I can tell you very plainly that tribal leadership from all of the Puget Sound Treaty Tribes agreed that the Skokomish boundary dispute would not be discussed during NOF. They indicated that if the State discussed a fishery in the river or made any attempts to put in a season , then the tribes would walk away from negotiations without an agreement on fishing seasons for everyone. Leadership at the Department felt it was better to keep talking and working on a long term solution rather than risking not having salmon seasons for anyone who fishes in and around Puget Sound.
I am more than happy to try and answer any further questions you may have on this manner. Please feel free to contact me directly at the information below.

Mark E Baltzell
Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife
Puget Sound Fisheries Management
1111 Washington St SE
NRB 6th Floor
Olympia, WA 98501
Office : 360-902-2807
Cell : 360-688-3410
Fax : 360-249-4628
Email: mark.baltzell@dfw.w.gov