The state Department of Fish & Wildlife is drafting rules related to a state law that applies to fish passage in rivers, streams and lakes in an effort to make more clear how the law aids in the recovery of salmon and orca whales.
“One of our big objectives for this rulemaking is taking the program that we already have ... and making it as transparent as possible,” Fish & Wildlife Habitat Program Director Margen Carlson said. “We have a lot of good rules on the books and making sure that those are clear for people ... can do a lot for environmental outcomes.”
The rule-making process began in 2019 at the direction of the state Legislature based on recommendations from the state’s orca recovery task force recommendations in 2018. The new rules are anticipated to take effect in 2022.
A draft of the rules was published this month.
“We are really early in the draft rule process,” Fish Passage Rules Coordinator Gabrielle Stilwater said. “The draft, it’s just the first blush, if you will.”
The intent is to make more clear existing rules that are in place to ensure all fish species — at all life stages — can freely move through and around structures such as dams and culverts.
State law — as passed in 1949 and updated several times since — requires that such infrastructure be passable for fish.
Yet thousands of these structures remain fully, partially or possibly impassible, according to Fish & Wildlife data. And the problem areas are found on lands under private, local government and state ownership.
“It’s a massive challenge to look at fish passage comprehensively in the state of Washington,” Carlson said.
As of February, Fish & Wildlife data showed 627 known barriers throughout the Skagit River watershed. The majority are culverts that are too far above the stream bed or too clogged with debris for adequate water flow.
Statewide, culverts account for 84% of known fish barriers, according to Fish & Wildlife.
Another problem is inadequate screening on water diversions. Diversions include piped water for farm irrigation and municipal water supplies, as well as water funneled into ponds for livestock or into hatcheries for raising fish.
For those, it’s important to prevent fish from getting into pipes or sucked up against screens. Carlson said Fish & Wildlife knows there’s room for improvement when it comes to diversions.
“There are definitely diversions in Western Washington that don’t have adequate screens on them right now,” she said.
That’s particularly concerning for chinook salmon — the primary food for endangered Southern Resident orca whales — when the young fish are migrating downstream.
A newer concern that will be integrated into Fish & Wildlife’s rules is the effect climate change will have on the flows and sizes of streams.
“How are the changes in rainfall and snowpack and snowmelt going to change stream widths?” Carlson said.
The agency worked with the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group to develop a model for what is called the bankfull width. For Skagit County, the model suggests the widths of most streams could increase anywhere from 5% to 40% by the end of the century.
That means infrastructure, including culverts and bridges, should take into account that streams will be getting wider.
“Our info about climate change is getting certain enough and specific enough now to bring into the regulatory process,” Carlson said.
Carlson said Fish & Wildlife aims to help landowners accomplish fish passage improvements on their land by making the law clear through the rules, and by connecting property owners with technical and financial assistance programs.
“The focus is on helping people,” Carlson said. “We really have always leaned on the technical assistance and working cooperatively with landowners.”
February 28, 2021 at 10:00AM
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