The number of returning salmon does not appear to be increasing. The reconstructed habitat and the implemented protection appear to be having very little success.
Several species of fish including chinook salmon have been declared as endangered and given limited protection. Huge sums of money have been allocated in attempt to increase the populations of these species. Not a single salmon has been found in one completed multi-million dollar salmon habitat projects near Snohomish. Justification of these failed fish habitat projects are now referred to as bug habitat enhancement (and we all know that fish need bugs).
As flood events erode, block or silt-in productive fish waterways, it is considered as a natural event of nature. Efforts to restore, stop or prevent erosion, or remove debris to enhance fish passage is discouraged and frequently prohibited by regulatory agencies. The only concern the state has is that at least one pair of spawning salmon gain access and maintain it as a viable waterway. The prevented return of additional salmon and the majority loss of the hatched salmon fry population are of no concern because that is nature’s way.
The crises will continue as long as the fish population remains low. This will authorize spending absurd amounts of money, removing infrastructures, taking property rights, and imposing additional regulations. This situation will prevail until fish populations increase, but there is little incentive to eliminate the crisis.
If the fish populations increase substantially, the crisis will subside or cease, and the money for bug and fish habitat restoration will no longer be available. This may account for the low salmon numbers that are allowed to return to spawn each year.
Eighty percent of lost spawning habitat is attributed to culverts that prohibit or restrict fish passage. The courts have mandated that Washington state repair, replace or make them accessible for fish passage. Regulatory laws that are meant to protect the environment frequently create long and expensive delays in providing the fish access. The state estimates that it will take forty years to make the improvements. There will be no sense of urgency as long as the money keeps flowing.
Dan Bartelheimer
Snohomish County Farm Bureau
Snohomish
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