WDFW proposed Hatchery Closure

[Pegasus]

F that! They should forego the wolf research and channel those funds in to hatchery production!

 

[Dslayer]

While a supporter of all hatcheries, I've been heavily involved in the battle to save the Naches Hatchery over the past six years, this is the third time it's been threatened with closure.  The link will take you to the thread from 2019 if you care to go back and time and read it-but all the salient points are still relevant.  The Naches Hatchery provides tremendous economic and recreational benefit not only to Region 3, but to business and anglers all over the state-as do all the hatcheries.  If you look at their presentation that the OP posted,  WDFW claims that the closures of the trout hatcheries will save 2 million dollars annually, at the loss of 61 million dollars of economic benefit annually.  As other posters have noted, it is a game they play-they can count on a huge public pushback when hatcheries are threatened.  DON'T assume that pushback will happen-contact your legislators, the Wildlife Commission, the Director Kelly Susewind, and others in Fisheries management.  Certainly it is game-but it's a game we can't afford to lose. 

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,227660.msg3030679.html#msg3030679

[WSU]

I don't think contacting WDFW matters one bit.  Contact your legislatures directly.  Inslee and WDFW don't care one bit other than getting the funding and making it through the legislative session unscathed.

[j_h_nimrod]

The one thing I can say about the tokul hatchery is steelhead returns in my opinion arent even worth it. Look at the returns. They aren't even getting 100 fish a year to return to the hatchery.

I’m not familiar with the hatchery or program, but the return to hatchery alone is not indicative of the true success of a facility.  What is the overall contribution of the hatchery to sport and commercial fisheries?

[j_h_nimrod]

 

WSU that's a lot of good points.

 

[duckmen1]

This is a question more than a statement? I know with the dams and such is a requirement to have salmon trout and steelhead management put forth by the cowlitz river project.  Does the trout stocking program get any funding from the dam projects for mossyrock hatchery in aid to stock Mayfield and Riffe lake? If so I think that would be money not being taken from wdfw budget and would make me question reasons behind the closure of this trout hatchery.

[fireweed]

Doubt it's a scare tactic.  They're trying to make the Toutle a "Natural Native" river and have been.  Eliminate the hatchery, accomplish "their" goal!  Very sad!

I know.  They dumped the spring chinook there, and have cut way back on the S. Toutle summer steelhead.  But with the sediment dam blocking the upper Toutle and ruining the old spawning grounds the system can never be "Natural".  PS.  The Elwa, Toutle and Skamania were proposed for closure because of less federal money. 

[HntnFsh]

This is a question more than a statement? I know with the dams and such is a requirement to have salmon trout and steelhead management put forth by the cowlitz river project.  Does the trout stocking program get any funding from the dam projects for mossyrock hatchery in aid to stock Mayfield and Riffe lake? If so I think that would be money not being taken from wdfw budget and would make me question reasons behind the closure of this trout hatchery.

I'm pretty sure that TPU pays for fish from the Mossyrock hatchery. But I'm not sure how much. I'll see what I can find out tomorrow.

Fowl Smacker is correct about the Toutle hatchery. They designated it a gene bank over other better qualified rivers. I think, so they could use it as an excuse to shut it down. WDFW also designated several rivers as gene bank rivers and I think most if not all had hatcheries on them. I remember hearing a representative from I think it was Native fish society touting the Toutle as a perfect habitat for native fish at one of the public gene bank hearings. Obviously he had never been up on the Toutle!

[Dslayer]

I don't think contacting WDFW matters one bit.  Contact your legislatures directly.  Inslee and WDFW don't care one bit other than getting the funding and making it through the legislative session unscathed.

Absolutely true about Inslee and some of WDFW 'leadership.' (Pretty loose use of the term)  I think the Commission, at least certain members, and some WDFW do care or at least it's fun to bug the heck out of them by inundating them with emails.  There were a number of comments from both the Commission and WDFW staff about the amount of feedback they had received in 2018 about the Naches Hatchery in particular.  One comment was,"I got a call from some lady from Zillah.  She didn't know a thing about fishing, but  she was mad as hell about the hatchery being closed."  Those things matter, maybe not a lot, but they add to the collective weight to achieving an outcome you want.  I thought the Commission responded very positively to Sen. King from Yakima when he spoke to them about keeping the Naches Hatchery open back in 2018. Of course, it would be pretty stupid to tell a state senator to bleep off.  Along those lines, contacting your legislators, particularly in the 14th and 15th will have an impact and even if you're not a resident of those districts, those legislators and their staffs are already on it.

[fireweed]

To save money I would sure like to see the agency cut PLANS and PROCESS.  They plan, and plan to plan- 3 yr plans, 5 yr plans, 10 year plans, 25 year plans. Habitat plans, Wildlife area plans, PR plans, Outreach plans, and every time they get a new leader, they start over.  These plans then sit on the shelf.  How about no new planning until the old plans are completed.  I've seen the same goals in plans get carried forward for decades, with no movement on the ground.  All this "outreach" and "writing" takes real money.

[Stein]

I agree that putting heat on our legislators is the best option.  Inslee has a 95% chance of reelection, no lever to pull there.  Anyone know which committees interact with WDFW? 

[WSU]

Senate Ways and Means is an important one for the budget.  Start with Senator Rofles, the committee chair: 

http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/WM/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx