[Ski]

Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act, S 3119 Story HERE For over 30 years, the California Sea Lion has decimated runs of Pacific Northwest anadromous salmonids. Why the animal was included in the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act remains to me a complete mystery - these animals have never been in short supply, notwithstanding the fact that until the act was passed it was common knowledge that it was open season on any unsuspecting Sea Lion that popped his head above water. Every charter boat in Westport in the 1960s carried a .30-06 on board, and the skippers wasted no time in dispatching any animal that made its presence known. WDFW used to pay a bounty for the noses of Sea Lions. Since the days of "Herschel" at the Hiram Chittenden Locks, the California Sea Lion has been raising hell with runs of salmon and steelhead all over the State. This particular piece of legislation was apparently brought about by their presence below the Bonneville Dam, but they've also been seen in the past just below the power house at La Grande on the Nisqually River (as well as far upstream in many northwest rivers.) Former Washington State Senator A.L. "Slim" Rasmussen introduced a bill in the Washington State Legislature in the early 1990s calling for their lethal removal, but the bill never made it out of committee because language in the bill included the word "kill". Thirty years later legislators are still wringing their hands about the "animal rights" whackos who want to "protect" an animal that is killing threatened and endangered species of anadromous salmonids. If they'd taken action on this thirty years ago, maybe some of those runs would not now be classified as threatened or endangered. The bill is S3119 Congressional switchboard: 202 224 3121

[Ski]

Friday August 03, 2018 17:06 PDT NEWS RELEASE Fish and Wildlife Commission to meet Aug. 9-11 to discuss budget proposals, wolves OLYMPIA – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will review budget and policy proposals for the 2019 legislative session when it meets Aug. 9-11 in Olympia. The commission, a citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will meet in the Capitol Room of the Doubletree Hotel, 415 Capitol Way, Olympia. Commissioners also will hear a brief report from WDFW Director Kelly Susewind, who assumed the department's top position on Aug. 1. The public can provide input on WDFW's budget and legislative proposals during the meeting Thursday, Aug. 9. The commission will convene that day at 12:30 p.m. Commissioners could take action on the proposals during their Friday session, which begins at 8:30 a.m. The Saturday meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. The complete meeting agenda is available at https://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/meetings/2018/. WDFW staff will provide commissioners with an overview of the department's proposed capital and operating budget requests for 2019-21 and discuss a long-term funding plan developed with the help of a broad-based advisory group to stabilize funding in the future. For the two-year budget cycle that begins in July 2019, WDFW is preparing proposals to the governor and Legislature to address an estimated shortfall of $30 million and make additional targeted investments. About two-thirds of the department's proposed budget request would come from the state general fund, while recreational license fees would comprise the remaining third. More information about WDFW's budget shortfall and proposed solutions can be found online at https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/budget/development/. Department staff will also present its annual update on wolf conservation and management, including wolf-management expenditures and the process for considering the translocation of wolves in the state. On Saturday, WDFW present an overview on seals and sea lions in Washington and the conservation of those species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Staff will also discuss management actions to address sea lion predation of salmon and other fish in the Columbia River and recent federal legislation around the MMPA. The commission will invite public input on the issue following the staff report. During the August meeting, the commission is also expected to take action on three land transactions, including a 94-acre donation in Whitman County by Pheasants Forever; the purchase of 58 acres in Columbia County to preserve elk and mule deer habitat; and the transfer of a pump station at the department's Skagit Wildlife Area to a local diking district. -WDFW- (* emphasis added *)

[RodF]

About time!

[Ski]

Long past time.

[treeswarper]

Some whale training expert needs to train those starving Orcas to switch over to eating seals.

[Pyrites]

I’ve seen the so-called transient orcas show up a couple years in late December at Dupont. This is coincident with a bunch of CA sea lions congregating on that old sunken barge off the Nisqually. The general assumption is the sea lions are there to predate that very late chum run on the Nisqually.