Tribe Likely to Acquire High Bridge Launch

JayB

JayB

Life of the Party
Sounds like the deal hasn't been finalized but also sounds like the final outcome is all but certain.

nwsportsmanmag.com

Lower Snoqualmie Boat Launch May Be Acquired From State By Tulalip Tribes -

A public boat launch on the lower Snoqualmie River that's provided access to the upper Snohomish and its popular coho and pink salmon fisheries for decades may be acquired by the Tulalip Tribes in the near future, a move that will leave anglers anxious about continued use of the site.
nwsportsmanmag.com
 
Lots to ponder WRT the "administrative delays" that arose after the "consultations" with the tribe and local landowners and have held up the transfer from the DOC to the WDFW since 2018 despite the WDFW having previously sought to acquire the property for years and the DOC supporting the transfer.
 
JayB said:
Lots to ponder WRT the "administrative delays" that arose after the "consultations" with the tribe and local landowners and have held up the transfer from the DOC to the WDFW since 2018 despite the WDFW having previously sought to acquire the property for years and the DOC supporting the transfer.
Click to expand...

I don't know anything about this other than what was in the article, but lots of questions and concerns about that.
 
Same - but it seems 100% clear that A) this was land that the State had clear and uncontested ownership of for decades, and was acquired, developed and maintained for the express purpose of providing access to the public and B) the WDFW was actively seeking to acquire this land from the DOC to preserve said access until an opaque set of "consultations" resulted in an announcement that the acquisition was on hold and the state was in talks with the tribe to transfer control of the land from the public to the tribe.

Very unlikely that anything can be done at this point, but the whole thing seems ripe for the sort of sunlight that a FOIA request could provide, at least in a hypothetical where such a request would result in a good-faith effort to deliver a complete and unredacted record of the consultations that triggered the transfer of the property into tribal hands.

Having said all of that, it's possible that this move will have no impact on non-tribal access to the river and nothing substantial will change at the site other than some signage and possibly some improvements. I guess we'll see.
 
Well I have no skin in the game but my question would be why do this at all? What funds are used to maintain this site and what will those funds be used for instead? Do you currently pay use fees for that launch?

W/O knowing anything this would cause me to think the launch will be closed to non tribal members OR they will put an expensive use fee in place.

Bottom line - What value does change this have to the state and current users?
 
Dang-it say it ain't so. That's my "home launch". Been using it for 25 years. Where the sky broke through just below the 2 stumps makes it kinda dicey. I learned how to launch and retrieve a boat in side current there. It will certainly be a disappointment to lose access to that launch. Not the end of the world. Coming upriver from snohomish going through Douglas bar & the bone yard is easily doable---as long as you're not early going upriver or late coming back downriver on the incoming tide. I'll be curious as to the outcome.
 
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The article mentions a "transfer" of the property to the Tulalips, not a sale. WTF is going on here? Is Inslee directing DOC to hand the property over to the Tulalip Tribe? The only thing worse than selling off public property is giving it away. Whatever is going on appears to stink.
 
You might look at what happened when the Skokomish tribe took over the Potlatch launch if you looking for possible similarities. That was TPP property though if I recall correctly, not state property.
You might expect launch fees or parking fees in the future.
SF
 
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I have family in sequim. I'm told the Jamestown tribe is buying any land for sale on the Dungeness river. They already bought the land at the mouth of the Dungeness. They got rid of the 3 crabs restaurant, which served excellent seafood for years. They are trying to limit access to the river. Sound familiar? Casino money being dumped into Jay inslee's back pocket to own the state's fisheries.
 
Frankly makes me thankful for the work that the Western Rivers Conservancy are doing to secure riverfront property and transfer it to Federal control via channels that state governments in the PNW have little or no capacity to influence.
 
Stimson said:
They got rid of the 3 crabs restaurant, which served excellent seafood for years. They are trying to limit access to the river.
Click to expand...
www.sequimgazette.com

3 Crabs comes down - Sequim Gazette

The 3 Crabs Restaurant, a fixture of seashore dining since 1958, is no more. Over the past three weeks the structure was demolished and removed by 3 Kings Environmental […]
www.sequimgazette.com www.sequimgazette.com

'They'....🤣🤣🤣
I was down that way not too long ago, my access didn't seem impeded in any way, but maybe that's just me...
3 crabs been gone for 10 years, the article explains the project in brief, but perhaps you have more complete information to share...

"Fish and Wildlife recently purchased the restaurant and 52 acres, adjoining the land to the North Olympic Wildlife Area, which is managed by the department to provide fish and wildlife habitat as well as public access for outdoor recreation"

🥳
 
I'm not for limiting access for any people to any river. I am a lover of irony though, and in these troubled times I'm trying to join Billy Frank Jr in laughing my ass off at the plight non tribal members find ourselves in. All we can do yah?
 
Stimson said:
I have family in sequim. I'm told the Jamestown tribe is buying any land for sale on the Dungeness river. They already bought the land at the mouth of the Dungeness. They got rid of the 3 crabs restaurant, which served excellent seafood for years. They are trying to limit access to the river. Sound familiar? Casino money being dumped into Jay inslee's back pocket to own the state's fisheries.
Click to expand...
The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe is taking over management of the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. And putting a 50 acre oyster aquaculture project on the inside of the spit, within the Refuge
 
For those who would like info or voice their opinions on this there is a virtual meeting on snohomish water access october 28th. Preregistration is here

form.jotform.com

Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife / Registration for Community Meetings

Please click the link to complete this form.
form.jotform.com form.jotform.com

Full news release and dates/registration for other county meetings here

wdfw.wa.gov

Public invited to series of water access planning workshops for North Puget Sound

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and local partners will host a series of virtual workshops this month to discuss development of a 10-year management plan for WDFW-managed water access in North Puget Sound.
wdfw.wa.gov wdfw.wa.gov
 
Does anyone have a link for the zoom meeting starting in 40 minutes? I've registered twice now and they've never bothered to send me a way to actually attend....
 
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