Re: “Fish ladder money a waste for taxpayers,” The Reporter, Letters, Sept. 24
The simple truth is, salmon play an important role in our economy. They are the foundation of an $850 million annual recreational fishing economy in Washington – the eighth largest in the country. Commercial and recreational fishing in Washington directly and indirectly supports an estimated 16,000 jobs, according to a report published in 2008 by the state Department of Fish & Wildlife. Issaquah’s annual Salmon Days Festival celebrates the return of the salmon, and research by the International Events and Festival Association estimated the festival infused the local economy with $5.3 million in 2002 – all just over a weekend!
Salmon also play a vital historic and cultural role in the Pacific Northwest. If the salmon cannot survive, we will lose a vital Pacific Northwest icon. People travel from around the globe to see and taste our salmon. It’s a marvelous, rare event to witness the mighty salmon that have struggled against the odds and current to meet their destiny. Out of some 5,000 eggs that a female chinook releases, only one or two will make it back to their natal streams to spawn.
The Puget Sound chinook is listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which requires steps to be taken to save the species from extinction. In 2007, a salmon-recovery plan was approved and set the region on a course for restoring the local salmon.
The facts are, salmon provide an important food source that benefits humans and at least 137 other species, including bears, eagles and great blue herons. While salmon die after they spawn, their carcasses provide rich nourishment to the ecosystem. They deliver important nutrients from the ocean to land-locked habitats.
The redesign of the fish passage at the current site will significantly increase the survivability of the ESA-listed chinook from Issaquah Creek and the greater Lake Washington basin. More than two dozen cities and counties participate in salmon recovery in this basin. The current dam is considered unsound and has been in need of repair for years. The plans to replace the dam and ladder have been in the works for more than a decade and during that time, the estimate to replace it has increased by nearly 300 percent. Every year that the project is delayed only adds to its cost.
Given our increasingly urbanized area, viable habitat is becoming harder to find. If we don’t do what we can now to restore the vital habitat, we fear the cost to make up for this oversight in the future will be untenable and might very well be too late.
Gestin Suttle
Executive Director
Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH)
