Skagit Wild Steelhead Fishery Monitoring - Under Threat of Budget Cuts

Chris DeLeone

Chris DeLeone

Steelhead
Good evening,

I have some urgent news to share. The funding for the Skagit Wild Steelhead Fishery Monitoring is under threat of budget cuts, the timing is still being determined. As many of you know, this monitoring is required to have a fishery. As of today, it is not in the current proposed WA State Senate and House budget. The line item is called: "Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring" and the package is funding for what many anglers may recognize as the "Quicksilver Steelhead Portfolio" work.

Please contact your state senators and house representatives to voice your concern and let them know how important this fishery is to our state. We have only a limited time here over the next number of days to make this a priority for continuing the Quick Steelhead Portfolio program, before final decisions are made.

In addition, please contact WDFW's legislative liaison, Melena Thompson: melena.thompson@dfw.wa.gov. The legislative contacts are going to have more sway than Melena at this point, but WDFW should know this fishery is very important to a large group of recreational anglers here in the Puget Sound.


Thank you for your support,
Chris DeLeone
 
Thanks for posting this Chris, I will send an email to her on this and I will also add it to my local legislators. Make sure we to add your local legislators as this will add more weight to our voice.
 
Does the Skagit C&R season generate a meaningful amount of revenue from tourism? If it does, that would be a good angle to take when advocating for it. The state is in serious budget trouble, and anything that generates revenue will be prioritized for funding. If it costs more than it generates, it's going to be an uphill climb to keep it open. Of course, that's something the Skagit angling crowd is all-too-accustomed to.
 
Smalma said:
Chris -
Does the line item "salmon and steelhead monitoring" mean that PS and other area salmon seasons also at risk?
Curt
Click to expand...
Curt
From my understanding - it takes budget away from some Samish monitoring, a sampling/new monitoring programs of the Snohomish system and the Skagit - it could include other programs, I'm not certain of all the programs that Quick Steelhead Portfolio encompasses. But I've heard from two dial in folks that the Skagit may be on the chopping block.
 
Another one that is very distressing is on Page 242 "Columbia River ESA Permitting". This project was funded last biennium for WDFW to re-write the federal fishery permits for Columbia tribs. They are submitting the lower Columbia permit this June (public meeting in a few days to go over results). This package has the potential for generational changes in columbia tribs fishery management, including things like expanded seasons in the lower columbia and upper columbia for salmon and steelhead. Additionally the funding would help secure permits for rivers containing Mid-Columbia Steelhead (Klickitat, Walla Walla, Touchet, and Yakima) where WDFW currently lacks ESA coverage for fisheries. Without these permits, a lawsuit could shut those entire rivers to all fishing indefinitely. Columbia River ESA Permitting was also not funded to continue in the senate and house budgets.

here are some links I should have provided yesterday. The first link is WDFW's proposed 2025-7 budget. Page 183 describes in detail what was proposed under "Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring". That line item appears in neither the senate or house budgets (links below).



Here is WDFW's 2025-7 biennial budget request (see page 183): https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/02529/wdfw02529.pdf



House Budget Proposal (see p. 226): https://fiscal.wa.gov/statebudgets/2025proposals/Documents/ho/hoPSHB1198AgencyDetail.pdf

Senate Budget Proposal (see p. 224) https://fiscal.wa.gov/statebudgets/2025proposals/Documents/so/soSSB5167BienAgyDtl.pdf

Chris
 
an update -Got a WDFW email yesterday reporting that the QuickSilver piece of the Salmon and steelhead monitoring package has been cut. "$1.6 million for the nex two years has been cut in the preliminary budget proposals from both House and Senate".

Don't know the fate of the other pieces of the Salmon and steelhead monitoring. However, in reading the attachment from Chris this about freshwater monitoring and a number of freshwater recreational fisheries are at risk, especially those with potential impacts on various EAS fish.

Curt
 
Thank you Chris. I will do some writing this afternoon. I may be able to get a couple people to write as well.
 
Oof. This is ironic- "With the anticipated launch of WDFW’s electronic licensing system in late 2024, anglers will soon have the option to report fish and shellfishharvest on their mobile phones using a new electronic Catch Record Card system (eCRC)."

Glad it's finally coming...someday. But there may not be too many opportunities to report a hatchery steelhead if this funding doesn't pass.

Thanks for posting!
 
skyriver said:
Oof. This is ironic- "With the anticipated launch of WDFW’s electronic licensing system in late 2024, anglers will soon have the option to report fish and shellfishharvest on their mobile phones using a new electronic Catch Record Card system (eCRC)."

Glad it's finally coming...someday. But there may not be too many opportunities to report a hatchery steelhead if this funding doesn't pass.

Thanks for posting!
Click to expand...
According to WDFW website, it sounds like the application is built and exists but doesn't look like its going to actually be released any time soon with the current budgets being proposed...

wdfw.wa.gov

2026 Legislative Session: Budget Information

The Legislature has passed the final 2026 supplemental operating budget.Information about the Departments 2026 requests for legislation is available
wdfw.wa.gov wdfw.wa.gov

Mobile Harvest Application Support, $7.1 million​

Accurate and timely reporting of harvest is required for sustainable fisheries management. Further, WDFW is obligated under federal court order to provide accurate and timely catch accounting to tribal co-managers. Seeking to develop mobile harvest reporting tools which best accomplish these objectives, WDFW has developed mobile harvest reporting applications allowing the recording and submission of harvest information into an electronic catch-record card (eCRC) - at real time. The applications, through mobile devices, accomplish these objectives and incorporate the ability to support the development and implementation of new tools in the future. This decision package includes support for a comprehensive suite of staff necessary to successfully implement mobile harvest reporting including biometrician, field technician, biologist, and technical and customer service support.

The governor's budget does not fund this request.
The Senate and House budgets do not fund this request.
 
Are there any monitoring programs being run by anglers themselves to allow data collection?
Are folks getting surveyed by the WDFW monitoring team every time you fish?
With WDFW continually facing budget cuts, this may be the future. Think “citizen science” like some programs being run in BC with their saltwater fishing.
Of course, you’d need the river open to collect data but it would be worth considering.
SF
 
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On the Hoh they had both a virtual and paper self catch reporting system. There was a VR code to scan and take you to the site and also a paper box like a campsite registration box. First time I've seen that.

Oddly enough it was also the first time I've been checked there in years, and on the day it rained 6" no less. The poor girl was wearing a lifejacket and looked miserable.
 
Stonedfish said:
Are there any monitoring programs being run by anglers themselves to allow data collection?
Are folks getting surveyed by the WDFW monitoring team every time you fish?
With WDFW continually facing budget cuts, this may be the future. Think “citizen science” like some programs being run in BC with their saltwater fishing.
Of course, you’d need the river open to collect data but it would be worth considering.
SF
Click to expand...
yes, in the lower Columbia region, anglers have attended trainings and received sampling kits to collect wild steelhead scales while participating in open fisheries for the last few years. These scales have in turn been used in life cycle modeling analyses and fishery permitting.
 
tomb said:
yes, in the lower Columbia region, anglers have attended trainings and received sampling kits to collect wild steelhead scales while participating in open fisheries for the last few years. These scales have in turn been used in life cycle modeling analyses and fishery permitting.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I was asking about angler involved monitoring outside of what WDFW does during the Skagit spring steelhead fishery. That is great to hear what they are doing down on the Columbia. The more data the better. I appreciate the reply and information.
SF
 
The Skagit Steelhead are ESA listed fish. The management plan that allows fishing also requires monitoring of the fishing. Volunteers for this kind of activity are unreliable and will not meet the requirements. Or so I have been told.
 
Here is a sample letter I will sending to my representatives tomorrow morning

Dear [Insert Name of State House or State Senate member],

I am writing to urge you to allocate funding for two Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) critical initiatives proposed in their 2025-7 biennial budget: the “Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring” and “Columbia River ESA Permitting” packages. These programs are fundamental to sustainable fisheries management and to protecting our state’s natural heritage. I realize that the 2025-7 biennial budget process is challenging and it may not be possible to accomplish everything we desire. However, I believe these two packages are absolutely critical and should be funded even if it means making tough decisions about other fish and wildlife priorities.

The “Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring” package provides the tools to monitor steelhead populations and prosecute fisheries in Puget Sound rivers. Steelhead are the state game fish and are revered by anglers, yet only one fishery remains open in the Puget Sound area (the Skagit River). Failure to fund this package would force the closure of the lone remaining fishery available to the greatest population center of the state. By supporting this work, WDFW will not only meet federal conservation obligations but also strengthen co-management efforts with Treaty Tribes. Failure to fund this package will severely diminish our ability to track fish populations and compromise recreational fishing opportunities.

Equally urgent is the “Columbia River ESA Permitting” package. Updated federal permits are essential for WDFW to legally prosecute and maximize recreational fisheries for Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin tributary rivers. Current permits are outdated and lack legal coverage for key listed populations, including lower Columbia River coho salmon and mid-Columbia River steelhead. These gaps in permit coverage under the ESA pose risks of litigation (as happened in Idaho previously due to similar gaps in permit coverage), closure of existing fisheries, and missed opportunities to open new ones. Without this funding, local economies and communities that depend on these fisheries will face substantial losses.

Investing in these programs is not optional—it is vital for the health of our fisheries and the well-being of our communities. I respectfully ask you to prioritize this funding to ensure that Washington’s natural resources are safeguarded for future generations.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
 
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