Action Alert-NOF Voter Voice-Please sign&forward

Thanks everyone for their support for NOF. It has been the toughest one yet. Once again more fishing closures were brought on and our Marked select fishing was not recognized from the tribes. It was a travesty.

We met all of our obligations going into the negotiations. The tribes did not. They did not turn in their performance review that was due by March 1 to explain how they would not go over their take on ESA listed fish. To date, I don't believe this has been done.

The broadcast from the tribes are saying no fishing. But thats for us and not them. They still intend to fish. Maybe not targget them but they will impact the coho.

We did not have much left on the table after years of negotiating to the bottom. The new Director stood strong against the NOF Failure. This failure can be put right on NOAA as they have not required the tribes to adhere to the rules.

Please sign the votervoice as it is time for change so we can get the Section 7 permit fo fish on our own.

https://www.votervoice.net/PSA/campaigns/46262/respond

Done and done. Thanks for all your efforts on all of our behalf .

Signed and passed along to friends and family. Thanks for all your hard work.

Count me in....

IN!

Done

I am in

done

done

Done

Done.

Done

Done Deal!! Thanks so much for your efforts to help put this in front of people and the elected ones............Les

Done.

Done and Done.........

sent in one for me and one for the wife

Sent/ the ex is in California. her lawyer might be aboard.

Done deal. Thank you for your efforts and voice!

Done and got a canned response from Congresswoman Suzan DelBene already.

Mine's in too!

Myself and most of the employees at 3 Rivers have signed. Still need to round up a few stragglers

Done, thanks! Forwarding to all my friends who fish.

got a nice form letter back from Derek Kilmer in response to my form letter


Dear Mr. Franklin,
Thank you for contacting me regarding the North of Falcon process. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

Let me start by saying that I share your concerns and remain hopeful that the state and tribal co-managers will be able to reach an agreement in time to secure meaningful fishing opportunities for both tribal and non-tribal communities during the 2016-17 season. As both your neighbor and your representative, I’m keenly aware of the cultural and economic importance of these fisheries to communities throughout Puget Sound. For those of us who lived through previous closures in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the recent TNT article simply underscores the rippling economic impacts that a closure of our fisheries would have.

That’s why I’ve followed the negotiations closely, and over the past few weeks have spoken personally to leaders at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission to express my concerns and encourage folks to continue to work toward an agreement that will meet conservation goals and support fishing opportunities for everyone. This fishery is important to every community I represent – we simply can’t have winners and losers.

I understand that stakeholders’ meetings are ongoing and I remain hopeful that folks can resolve the outstanding issues and come to an agreement that will support tribal and non-tribal fisheries in the 2016-17 season.

Looking ahead, these challenges will persist – and will threaten the future of our fisheries – if we fail to address conservation challenges. That's why, as your representative and as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I've been working to secure funding for NOAA’s Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery program, the operation and maintenance of salmon and steelhead hatcheries, and the restoration of habitat and water quality in Puget Sound. I believe such funding is critical if we're going to restore our stocks. Failure to step up will have significant economic and cultural consequences.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts. I will continue to keep you updated as this process unfolds. It is an honor to serve as your representative.

Sincerely,

Derek Kilmer
Member of Congress

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and another for Patty Murray


Dear Mr. Franklin:

Thank you for writing to me regarding the state of salmon fisheries in Puget Sound. It was good to hear from you.

Salmon recovery is one of the most complex and pressing environmental issues in our region. Many salmon populations have steadily declined in recent decades, placing significant strain on industries that have traditionally supported our area's economy, and a number of individual salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest are currently listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Salmon play a critical role in coastal ecosystems, and are a key symbol of our heritage in Washington state. Balancing the welfare of these populations with important economic considerations of the region has been an ongoing challenge for local and national leaders for decades.

Salmon fisheries in Puget Sound are jointly managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the treaty Indian fishing tribes in Puget Sound. Under the 1974 United States v. Washington court decision, commonly referred to as the Boldt Decision, it was upheld that these treaty Native American tribes in the state of Washington have treaty-protected rights that collectively entitles them to half of all harvestable salmon in the region and that the state and the tribes are co-managers of the salmon resource. For decades, the treaty fishing tribes and WDFW have worked collaboratively each year to reach an agreement setting Puget Sound fishing seasons for recreational, commercial, and tribal fisheries based on best available science regarding expected salmon returns.

Due to disagreements over how to respond to the anticipated low returns for several Puget Sound ESA-listed salmon stocks, fishery co-managers were unable to come to an agreement for the 2016 fishing season. As a result, on May 1, 2016, salmon fisheries in Puget Sound were closed to most fishing, with exceptions for some tribal fishing. Please know that I am monitoring this situation closely. I continue to encourage both parties to come to a solution that meets salmon conservation goals while allowing recreational, commercial, and tribal fisheries to open for 2016.

Throughout my Senate tenure, I have made the protection and restoration of Northwest salmon populations a priority. Through my work on the Appropriations Committee, I work annually to secure funds critical to Pacific salmon recovery for Washington state and our state's Native American tribes through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund and other accounts dedicated to salmon recovery and management. As the Senate works on the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations bills, I will continue to fight for the highest possible funding level for this critical program.

If you would like to know more about my work in the Senate, please feel free to sign up for my weekly updates at http://www.murray.senate.gov/updates. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

Sincerely,
Patty Murray
United States Senator

Got the same one from patty--- glad she took most of the message to tell me what I already knew.

And how has that been working? At least it's good to know someone is going to get a nice fat check while our fisheries go to sh!t. She needs to read my Reagan quote below.

So I just browsed thru the latest Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. And to be clear I do support habitat restoration. Since 2000 $1.1 billion have been allocated to tribes and states for restoration of habitat projects. Another $1 billion have been matched by states. The only mention of harvest is in regard to the importance of tribal rights for ceremonial, cultural and commerce harvest.

And the reports states that Puget Sound steelhead and chinook stocks are stable???

I'm pretty sure that as far as the Feds are concerned recreational fishing opportunities for Wa residents isn't even on the radar. If enough fish survive to make it back to PS great. If not, that's great too. Makes the argument for spending more money easier.

I keep saying the same thing over and over. Until the Feds outlaw market hunting (Cowboys), or at least severely limit it to hatchery zones we will always manage to the most dead fish possible. Mixed stock commercial ocean fisheries need to stop. But ateast the habitat will be pristine.

If you think $1 bn could make the habitat pristine, you live in a fantasy land.

the only think that will fix the habitat devastation already wreaked is time without human interference and lots of it.

Seriously? Habitat will continue to decline as the PS population continues to grow. Until intercept fisheries of all kinds be it commercial or Rec are drastically reduced you will get more of the same. After being around working with fish for 40 years I never stop being surprised how folks think you can put the natural order back together after tearing it asunder. You cannot. You can put band aid repairs on the issue ( which we do ) but in the end it will only be a matter of time until one fishery after another goes.

The truth is as habitat is degraded and produces less harvest must be reduced or ended.

As long as human population in the PNW, BC, and AK continues to grow the fish (and habitat) will continue to be degraded. Unfortunately, to produce large quantities of wild fish in freshwater or all fish in the ocean we will have to dial back the number of people making demands on the land, water, timber, soils, gravels, metals, and who knows what else. As Walt Kelly said decades ago "We have met the enemy and He is Us."