The Shared Strategy process with the help of 14 watershed communities is well on the way to completing the Puget Sound salmon recovery plan by the end of June 2005. A formal transmittal ceremony, leadership recognitions and lunch celebration is planned for Thursday, July 7, 2005. The Governor, members of our Congressional Delegation and Billy Frank Jr. are planning to attend.

The draft recovery plan is on track for completion by the end of June. The formal ceremony is scheduled for the following week.

A picnic lunch is planned and there will be surprises and fun events. Location is yet to be announced.

Hold the date—July 7th—and come celebrate with us!
 

As the deadline for submittal of the regional recovery plan in June gets closer, work is now focusing on closing the loop on major outstanding issues. At the April meeting of the Development Committee, members approved a process to acknowledge the significant results underway for local watershed chapters and regional plan elements.

They have directed the Technical Recovery Team and Work Group (the DC staff group) to analyze the watershed chapters and regional elements for consistency with the plan requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the goals for the region and technical criteria for recovery. The analysis will be the basis for the Development Committee’s decision to transmit the plan for formal federal review.

The ESA requires recovery plans to include objective, measurable criteria and goals, site- specific suites of management actions tied to addressing the key factors affecting the listed species, time and cost estimates to carry out actions and a plan for gauging progress toward achieving goals.

So far, early indications are that the plan (combined watershed chapters and regional elements) will meet the necessary basic requirements and will be ready for submittal on schedule. The Committee is expected to make the submittal decision at their June 7th and 8th retreat.

Below is the current schedule for completing the recovery plan:

• April 2005—Local watershed chapters submitted
• May 2005—Local and regional plan elements analyzed for consistency with ESA plan requirements
• Mid-May 2005—Watersheds confirm conclusions from analysis
• June 2005—Submittal decision and final plan writing and production
• July 7, 2005—Ceremony and celebration
• Late summer to early fall—Develop adaptive management plan
• Early fall 2005—Federal Register Notice and public review of draft plan
• December 2005—Federal Services adoption of plan

Initial discussions have made good progress in identifying possible funding strategies. The proposed financing strategy calls for maximizing existing salmon funds and drawing in existing sources that have not yet been tapped for salmon, but could be.

It also assumes that the majority of additional funding would come from state and federal appropriations and grants, and in the form of re-directed mitigation funds. In the last few years, it has become more common for permitting agencies to consider alternative projects and locations in addition to on-site measures to improve the performance and reduce the cost of mitigation. The proposed financing strategy is clear that, if accepted, leaders would embark on an aggressive effort in the next year to try to access mitigation dollars, but if it falls short, they would explore new funding.

Another critical component of the strategy is to form a governance structure that enables decision-makers to assess the financing strategy each year and make adjustments along with support from the public and elected officials. At their first meeting, the group confirmed the need to embark on a coordinated and concerted lobbying, fundraising and communications campaign to achieve any level of salmon funding.

Over the next month the Finance group will be exploring the proposed funding strategy in more detail, including more analyses of its underlying assumptions. A final funding strategy is scheduled for adoption in June.