The state 2022 Legislative Session wrapped up March 10, with legislators working up until nearly the last minute to pass a supplemental budget that adds $5 billion to the $59 billion budget lawmakers passed last year. Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ lobbyist, Diana Carlen, assembled a list of agriculture-related spending items included in the final budget. Farmworker Study and Performance ... Read More »
A group of Washington state agricultural organizations sent a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee and state House and Senate leaders offering suggestions on actions that would significantly increase riparian enhancement and protections for salmon. “Our farmers have implemented conservation on their lands for decades and generations with help and in partnership with local conservation districts, local watershed and salmon enhancement ... Read More »
From the Capital Press A Senate Democrat warned Thursday that a salmon recovery bill moving through the Legislature would repeat Gov. Jay Inslee’s mistake of not consulting with farmers before proposing riparian buffers. House Bill 1117 calls for Inslee and tribes to develop riparian buffer standards for Western Washington cities and counties. Sen. Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline, said the same process ... Read More »
Report could have major implications for dam debate From Northwest River Partners Newly published research has unveiled remarkable insight into the survival rates of Chinook salmon populations along the North American West Coast, highlighting a dramatic omission in the way such data has been interpreted for over two decades. The peer-reviewed research entitled, “A Synthesis of the Coast-wide Decline in ... Read More »
By Trista Crossley As the debate around breaching the lower Snake River dams continues, the Washington state agricultural industry brought more than 3 dozen state legislators and aides on a boat tour last week in an effort to demonstrate how important the dams are to the region’s economy. Legislators boarded the boat at the Port of Kennewick. While headed upstream ... Read More »
Seattle Times opinion piece by Don Britain, mayor of Kennewick; Matt Wakins, mayor of Pasco; Robert Thompson, mayor of Richland; and Brent Gerry, mayor of West Richland For more than 20 years. there has been an ongoing debate about the impact of the four Snake River dams on the Pacific Northwest’s salmon population. Since the 1970s, billions of dollars have been spent ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist On June 11, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 4-4 decision in what is known as the “Culvert Case.” The Culvert Case involves a 17-year battle over who pays to install or replace stream culverts where salmon are blocked. The effect of the tie decision means that the lower court decision stands, requiring Washington ... Read More »
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