A problem exists when the regulatory agency (the WDFW) that has issued hundreds of free permits (Hydraulic Project Approvals or HPAs) for EXCEPTIONS to the mining windows specified in the "Fish and Gold" rulebook has LITTLE OR NO IDEA how those stream mining activities actually have been carried out. Why is an activity, suction-dredge mining, that has the potential to damage a stream with ESA-listed salmon and steelhead almost unregulated here in Washington? At the same time, fishermen face ever more restrictive regulations on the same streams. (According to the "Fish and Gold" rulebook, I can apply for a permit to suction-dredge mine the Sol Duc River, which the WDFW just designated a wild steelhead gene bank -- does that make any sense?) Representative Tarleton's bill at least starts to bring some commonsense regulation to suction-dredge mining and provides money for monitoring and enforcement. Why have other western states already acted to bring suction-dredge mining under control? Do we possess some secret knowledge they lack? Or are Washington's dredgers (I'm not talking about hobbyists who pan for gold) so uniformly careful and ethical that they would never, ever harm a steelhead or salmon stream? If you believe that, I've got some nice swampland in Florida for sale....