Update from here yesterday.

The Puyallup Tribe of Indians has been opposed to the proposed closure of the Voights Creek hatchery.

From the News Tribune:

I was confused by the news release put out Thursday by the budget negotiators, especially when it came to Voights Creek hatchery, so I asked Rep. Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma, chairwoman of one of the House’s 3 appropriations committee if she could clarify it for me.

Her answer is below:

“Sorry about the lateness of this response. I had put an amendment on a bill in (Ways and Means Committee) that specifically held Voights Creek Hatchery harmless from closures of hatcheries. In the final version of the budget, the closure process was ‘framed’ differently, still holding VCH harmless, but not naming it directly. As you can see, VCH is not on the list of allowable closures.”

There is also $800,000 in the state capital budget for a “Voights Creek Phase 2” project (page 9 of this pdf document)