Fish passage restoration is not just a treaty rights issue — it benefits the entire region.
No matter the expense, culvert repair is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase the number of naturally spawning salmon in our waters. These are the salmon that will feed our struggling southern resident orca population. These are the salmon that provide recreational fishing opportunities that boost tourism and our economy.
The state of Washington must fully fund fish barrier removal so it can meet its court-ordered deadline of 2030. This deadline was set by a federal judge in 2013, but access to spawning habitat was meant to be guaranteed to salmon in the Pacific Northwest since before Washington was a state.
An 1848 Congressional Act stated, “the rivers and streams of water in said Territory of Oregon (which included the land that would become Washington) in which salmon are found, or to which they resort, shall not be obstructed by dams or otherwise, unless such dams or obstructions are so constructed as to allow salmon to pass freely up and down such rivers and streams.”
Unfortunately, that didn’t stop human development from blocking fish passage with bridges, dams, inadequate culverts and other tools of habitat destruction. And now many of our salmon runs face extinction because they don’t have enough habitat to spawn in.
The state of Washington was reminded of its obligation to ensure salmon passage in a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the deadline to repair 90% of its fish-blocking culverts.
The court decision was based on our treaties, which are the supreme law of the land. When our ancestors signed the treaties, Gov. Isaac Stevens told them, “This paper secures your fish.”
As a keystone species, salmon are at the heart of not only the Pacific Northwest’s environmental health, but our economy as well. Everyone who says they care about protecting salmon, orcas, clean water, forests and the environment in general should hold the state accountable for meeting that 2030 deadline.
Earlier this year, the Seattle Times editorial board echoed a phrase we heard often from my mentor, the late NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank Jr., when they urged the state to “Stay the Course on Culvert Removal.”
We are in a race against time as climate change warms our waters and salmon habitat continues to be destroyed by development. Our state Legislature must provide ample funding — more than they have in the past — to restore fish passage.
Our law requires the removal of all fish barriers, both privately and publicly owned. The state is the only party court-ordered to do it by 2030, but that work can have a cascading effect leading to a healthier ecosystem.
Secretary Roger Millar of the state’s Department of Transportation (WSDOT) called it a “moonshot — a monumental, aspirational effort,” recognizing the importance of fixing state culverts even if there are other blockages on the same stream.
“When we correct our barriers, it creates or continues momentum as WSDOT barriers are often the largest and most expensive,” he said. “Other owners in that same watershed may have less expensive barriers that likely will score higher for grant funding opportunities to correct them after our work is complete.”
We’ve already seen salmon spawning in newly restored habitat after culverts have been removed. There are proven benefits to completing this work.
Yes, it’s a daunting and expensive task, but the survival of salmon is at stake. As stewards of the environment, we should be willing to do whatever it takes to protect salmon for future generations.
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Ed Johnstone is the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission chairman.
