The King County Council today unanimously approved legislation authorizing the County to sign interlocal agreements implementing salmon conservation plans in two key local watersheds.

The Council’s vote endorses several years of cooperative salmon conservation planning in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish watershed (known as Watershed Resource Inventory Area 8 or WRIA 8) and the Green/Duwamish/Central Puget Sound watershed (WRIA 9).

“For five years, local jurisdictions with a big stake in salmon recovery have teamed up to do the difficult work of tailoring a recovery plan that will work for fish, people and businesses inhabiting this region,” said King County Council Chair Larry Phillips. “King County’s adoption of the WRIA 8 and 9 interlocal agreements is a significant step toward beginning full-fledged implementation of our carefully-crafted salmon recovery plans.”

“These plans are the result of years of hard work by officials from jurisdictions large and small—all with the shared goal of restoring our salmon runs,” said County Councilmember Dow Constantine, who chairs the WRIA 9 Steering Committee. “The iconic Puget Sound Chinook salmon is the first listed threatened species with a largely urban habitat. This pioneering recovery effort can provide a template for future habitat restoration projects across the country.”

In 1999, Puget Sound Chinook salmon were designated as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. The following year, the King County Council adopted a cooperative framework for developing watershed-specific salmon recovery plans, such as those developed for WRIA 8 and WRIA 9. Watershed forums, comprised of a single representative for each affected jurisdiction, were charged with drafting the recovery plans.

Each plan contains a list of specific actions recommended to protect and restore habitat in support of Chinook salmon recovery. These actions are divided into four categories: site-specific protection and restoration projects, land use programs, incentives and regulations, and public outreach and education.

Read more about this legislation on the King County Council’s LEGISEARCH system.
Type in “2006-0446”