more on the closure of the Stillaguamish

Anyone wanting to attend the meeting and at a loss for what to say, take note that the printed fishing regulations go through June 30, 2020. There is no Stilly opening for the period Saturday before Memorial Day through June 30. WDFW is already set up to continue the 3 1/2 month summer closure of the Stilly for the next 100 years and telling you it's necessary for Chinook conservation if you're willing to believe it - even though it isn't. As WW says, you get the fishing you fight for. I'm planning to complain about the foregone Stilly closure even before the 2020 NOF results are out.



1. You say on the Department website that you value transparency. However, you meet in secret to make decisions that negatively affect recreational fishing by reducing opportunity. I want the Department to walk its talk and use CCTV to make those closed door meetings as transparent as you claim to value.

2. If you haven't already, immediately begin the process of developing a Department-specific alternative to joining the treaty tribes' BIA consultation with NMFS for ESA approval. Co-management only works when power is equally shared. The tribes have all the power under the current situation. Therefore, co-management is broken and a misnomer. The likely alternative is an ESA Section 10 Conservation Plan.

3. When constituents ask you for data, just share it with them in timely fashion. You work for us. Don't create the unnecessary expense of forcing the use of Public Disclosure Requests to see information that we already legally own. Don't force some of us to sue you, causing us to spend our money to fund both sides of lawsuits. This is counter-productive and antithetical to the concept of public service.

4. Keep the Skagit steelhead season open whether you secure supplemental budget funding or not. The Skagit fishery is more important than a multitude of other actions the Department funds that return little or no conservation or recreation, which should be your highest priorities.

5. Don't close the Stillaguamish River again for 3 1/2 months in 2020. (This is already in the regs booklet that goes through July 2020.) We both know that the Chinook conservation claim was a ruse, and that the real reason is because the tribes forced you. Stop using conservation as a reason for closing sport fishing when it isn't. You should know by now that we check up on these things. Push back. The tribes don't fund the Department, but sport fishers do, and we expect you to work for us and the fishery resource. We know that you know that it is possible to have a Stilly season for summer steelhead and sea run cutthroat with no significant adverse impact to Chinook, so do it.

That's it for now. What do we want that WDFW can deliver? And what's a catchy name or title for this OS v. 2.0?