Title
A MOTION expressing support for the Water Resource Inventory Area 9 Chinook salmon habitat plan covering the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound watershed.
Body
WHEREAS, both people and salmon depend on a healthy watershed, and
WHEREAS, Puget Sound Chinook salmon are an icon of the Pacific Northwest and were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act ("ESA") in 1999 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ("NOAA"), and
WHEREAS, Puget Sound bull trout were listed as a threatened species under ESA in 1999 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Services ("USFWS"), and
WHEREAS, NOAA and USFWS can provide certain regulatory assurances to jurisdictions that have committed to a recovery plan, and
WHEREAS, NOAA and USFWS are required to develop and implement plans that address efforts to recover species listed under ESA, and
WHEREAS, the Water Resource Inventory Area ("WRIA") 9 Forum of Local Governments, represented by sixteen jurisdictions, has devoted seven years to the funding and development of a Chinook Salmon Habitat Plan for the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed, and
WHEREAS, the WRIA 9 salmon habitat plan has been developed by a steering committee of multiple interests to guide actions over ten years to put Chinook salmon and bull trout on the road to recovery, and
WHEREAS, extensive public involvement process and public review of the WRIA 9 salmon habitat plan were undertaken, and
WHEREAS, the WRIA 9 salmon habitat plan is a science- and economic-based plan that balances economic development with salmon habitat restoration needs, and
WHEREAS, the success of salmon recovery depends upon the cooperation of federal, state, local agencies, tribes, nongovernmental organizations, private citizens and other partners in allocating resources and implementing the WRIA 9 salmon habitat plan, and
WHEREAS, King County supports regional cooperation at the WRIA level to set common priorities for action among partners, efficient use of resources and investments and distribution of responsibility for action and expenditures, and
WHEREAS, Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, a regional nongovernmental organization, has assumed a lead role in developing a Puget Sound-wide, regional salmon and bull trout recovery plan for submittal to NOAA Fisheries and USFWS;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
A. The WRIA 9 Salmon Habitat Plan for the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed, Attachment A to this motion, is ratified. Ratification is intended to express approval and support for the following:
1. The goals of the WRIA 9 Salmon Habitat Plan:
a. protect and restore physical, chemical and biological processes and the freshwater, marine and estuarine habitats on which salmonids depend;
b. protect and restore habitat connectivity where feasible;
c. protect and improve water quality and quantity conditions to support healthy salmonid populations; and
d. provide an implementation plan that supports salmon recovery;
2. Continued collaboration with other jurisdictions, state and federal agencies, tribes and other stakeholders within the WRIA 9 area to implement the plan; and
3. Forwarding the plan to appropriate federal and state agencies through Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, to be included in the Puget Sound Chinook salmon recovery plan.
B. King County recognizes that negotiation of implementation commitments and assurances with appropriate federal and state agencies will be an iterative process. Full implementation of the plan is dependent on the following:
1. NOAA Fisheries will adopt the plan as an operative element of its ESA Section 4(f) recovery plan for Puget Sound Chinook salmon;
2. NOAA Fisheries and USFWS will:
a. take no direct enforcement actions against King County under ESA for implementation of actions recommended in or consistent with the plan;
b. endorse the plan and its actions and defend King County against legal challenges by third parties; and
c. reduce the regulatory burden for King County activities recommended in or consistent with the plan that require an ESA Section 7 consultation; and
3. Federal and state governments will:
a. provide funding and other monetary incentives to support plan actions and monitoring activities;
b. streamline permitting for projects implemented primarily to restore salmonid habitat or where the actions are mitigation that further plan implementation;
c. offer programmatic permitting for local jurisdiction actions that are consistent with the plan;
d. accept the science that is the foundation of the plan and support the monitoring and evaluation framework;
e. incorporate actions and guidance from the plan in future federal and state transportation and infrastructure planning and improvement projects; and
f. direct mitigation resources toward plan priorities.
C. This motion does not obligate the King County council to future appropriations beyond current authority.
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