June 15, 1998

Our Vision - Act cooperatively to develop a responsible, comprehensive, science based recovery plan, providing a credible response to federal ESA listings of Puget Sound Chinook salmon.

Our Goal - Restore and maintain healthy salmon populations and protect the estuaries, rivers and streams on which they rely, based on the best available science.

• Reach for a better understanding of all water resource interests, especially the needs and life cycle of salmon;
• Avoid economic disruption to the greatest extent practical, assure adequate water supplies, and better manage the public’s precious water resources; and,
• Develop and implement a salmon recovery strategy in response to any proposed listing under the Endangered Species Act based on partnership between governments, tribes, economic interests, and the general public.

• We need to determine our own future.
  If we do not act to save our salmon then we will be depending on the federal government and federal courts to decide the future not only of salmon but also of our watersheds and the communities that live within them.
• We must make tough choices.
  Changes are needed to result in improvement to salmon habitat. Areas for improvement include how we use our water, where we build our homes, how we harvest our timber and how we farm. We are also going to have to change how we manage our salmon.
• We must undertake significant effort and provide adequate funding.
  It is going to take a lot of hard work to restore our salmon. The kinds of change that are needed can not happen without extraordinary efforts. In addition, saving our salmon will not be free. Protecting and restoring salmon habitat will require substantial public and private investments.
• We are all in this together.
  Saving our salmon is not about blaming anyone. We are all part of the problem and we must all be part of the solution. Each of us must come to understand the impacts we have on our salmon and the opportunities we each have to contribute to their protection and restoration.

• Water supply, water quality and sustainable fisheries are inseparable shared interests of Washington citizens. Salmon are valuable to our state’s quality of life, and therefore salmon protection is an inherent aspect of accommodating population and economic growth.
• The region is best served if water supply, water quality and fisheries are enhanced through a cooperative, collaborative process that reduces conflicts through better understanding of each interest. We all benefit from a constructive approach to the complex maze of regulations, laws, and court decisions that could reinforce conflicts between interests.
• Providing water for fish and people is best achieved through coordination of programs and financial resources of local, state, federal, and tribal governments. We want to ensure that local taxpayers and ratepayers share equitably in the cost of the ESA response.
• Our response to the ESA listing of Chinook salmon will support the net gain in overall production of salmon to assure a long-term, harvestable fishery.

• Invite all levels of government and non-government stakeholders to participate in a coordinated effort.
• Ensure effective implementation of initiatives in partnership with the executive and legislative branches of state government.
• Use local governments to play a central role in coordinating, implementing and monitoring local, regional, and public-private resource protection efforts.
• Recognize the current responsibilities and obligations of different governments and stakeholders.
• Secure consensus on the size of investments needed, how the costs should be allocated, and long-term commitment of various sectors and interests.
• Educate policy-makers, opinion leaders, state and local officials and all citizens of the State will be vital to the success of the strategy.
• Include statewide and locally driven strategies and initiatives done in partnership with tribes, private and public interests.

• The strategy must be comprehensive, long-range, and action oriented. This means it must be based on best available science; set priorities; and be adaptive in response to ongoing data collection, monitoring, and review.
• The strategy must recognize local watershed initiatives and develop linkages between such efforts. This means to implement solutions at the local level and:
  • Seek ways to use limited resources effectively in meeting water resource needs.
  • Avoid actions that require expenditure of resources on programs and projects that do not address priority needs.
  • Build on existing, successful programs to address priorities without creating new layers of government and bureaucracy.
• The strategy must avoid inflexible region-wide mandates and standards that might impede unique local programs; include regulatory and non-regulatory approaches; and enable us to maintain a healthy economy.
• The strategy must take full advantage of existing state and local authorities, tools and programs in support of immediate action to restore salmon. It should build on existing laws, regulations and programs that make a contribution to salmonid protection and restoration.
• The successful strategy should reduce the risk of unnecessary federal intervention.