Judge rules in favor of tribes in salmon issue

By John Larson

A federal judge has ruled that salmon fishing limits in Puget Sound are adequate to protect threatened Chinook. Judge Robert S. Lasnik issued his ruling in a federal court in Seattle March 21. His decision is considered a victory for Indian tribes in the region. The plaintiff was Salmon Spawning and Recovery Alliance, which consists of Snohomish County Public Utilities District (PUD), Wild Fish Conservancy, Native Fish Society of Oregon, Fish First, Friends of the East Fork, Washington Trout and Clark-Skamania Fly Fishers.

The coalition had sued National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in 2006 in U.S. District Court, arguing that the federal agency had allowed co-managers of the Puget Sound Chinook to set fishing limits that harmed the fish population.

The plan to manage the fish was put together by numerous Indian tribes and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. It is intended to guide salmon harvests in Puget Sound until 2010, when they will have to be revised. Chinook in area waters were listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1999.

The plaintiffs have 60 days to decide whether to appeal the decision. Sam Stiltner, fisheries attorney for the Puyallup Tribe, said he is pleased with Judge Robert Lasnik’s ruling. “We thought it was correct and it was what we were expecting,” he said. Sam Stiltner pointed out that the tribes have already severely cut back on their harvests. This reduction began when Chinook numbers began to decline in the late 1970s.

NMFS has determined that the current amount of fishing allowed is not a significant factor in their overall numbers. If fishing were curtailed to allow more to return to their spawning grounds, Sam Stiltner noted that the overall numbers would not increase because the habitat is so diminished that it cannot support more fish, and larger numbers of the young salmon would die from blocked culverts, pollution and various kinds of modifications to rivers.

“Solving those problems is what will increase the amount of the fish,” explained Russ Ladley, habitat protection manager for the Puyallup Tribal Fisheries Department. Tribes are deeply involved in improving fish habitat, he added.

The Puyallup Tribe joined 13 other tribes and the State of Washington in supporting NMFS in the court case. Marc Slonim, an attorney for the Makah Tribe, was selected to give the oral argument on behalf of the tribes. Sam Stiltner said Marc Slonim presented the relevant legal standards with clarity and argued that no one has shown more commitment than the tribes in protecting fish habitat. He gave examples including the Culverts Case involving the tribes and the state, watershed restoration programs, efforts to reform agricultural and timber management practices and removal or mitigation of hydroelectric dams.

Judge Robert Lasnik considered lengthy legal briefs and fisheries data from state and federal agencies and tribes as well as the plaintiffs. The judge made his decision about a week after hearing the oral arguments.

Sam Stiltner noted that Snohomish County PUD appeared to have funded the plaintiffs’ legal expenses. He added that some large hydroelectric utilities feel burdened by the Endangered Species Act and may use litigation to try to shift more of the burden onto tribal fishers.

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