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Tuesday, April 13, 2004 • Last updated 3:25 p.m. PT

City of Forks files petition opposing fish-killing ban

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The city of Forks has filed a petition opposing a
moratorium on killing wild steelhead on the Olympia Peninsula.

The state Fish and Wildlife Commission has 60 days to respond to the
petition, which may be a precursor to a lawsuit. The commission sparked
debate this spring when it decided to impose a two-year ban on killing
wild steelhead, one of the world's most sought-after game fish.

Right now people can keep one fish per day for a total of five per year.
Starting May 1, all steelhead fishing will be catch-and-release. The
steelhead season is under way and will be over by May, so the moratorium
will affect next winter's season.

City leaders in Forks worry the moratorium will hurt their economy,
which has already been crippled by logging cutbacks. Forks Mayor Nedra
Reed argues the ban was properly railroaded through the process and
isn't justified by science.

"If our petition is denied, we may end up in the courtroom," Reed said
Tuesday. The commissioners and some conservation groups say the
two-year moratorium is needed to help protect some of the last healthy
runs of an important species.

Steelheads have suffered in recent decades from habitat destruction and
over fishing. In the mid-1950s, sport fishermen took more than 60,000
wild steelhead in Washington. In 2003, they took 3,554, according to the
Wild Steelhead Coalition's review of Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife data.

"The petition doesn't come as a surprise," said Craig Bartlett, a
spokesman for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. "The moratorium on
wild steelhead was a controversial decision, and there are strong
feelings on both sides of the issue."

The Fish and Wildlife Commission does not have any meetings scheduled in
May, but could call a special meeting to address the petition.