Clean Water Act

PBS: Salmon Streams’ Struggle Continues 40 Years After Clean Water Act

PBS recently featured a report on tribal efforts to restore salmon. The report was based on work done during the filming of “Poisoned Waters.”

From the Jim Leher News Hour:

JIM LEHRER: Next tonight, America’s waterways nearly four decades after passage of the Clean Water Act.

Our story comes from special correspondent Hedrick Smith. It was drawn from his recent “Frontline” project called “Poisoned Waters.” He reports from the Pacific Northwest, where salmon streams are endangered by manmade problems.

HEDRICK SMITH, Special Correspondent: I saw the impact of the human footprint up close here in the Skagit River delta, about 80 miles north of Seattle.

BRIAN CLADOOSBY, chairman, Swinomish tribe: We can fish from here way up the Skagit, but we just choose to fish in this location because it’s a nice, long drift.
(more…)

Continue ReadingPBS: Salmon Streams’ Struggle Continues 40 Years After Clean Water Act

Cooperation Shows the Way

For years, Skagit County has been a battleground between fishermen and farmers. After a recent court victory the Swinomish Tribe is finding a way for the once warring sides to come together for the good of salmon habitat.

A few years back, the Swinomish Tribe sued Skagit County Dike District No. 22 for building tide gates without the permits they needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In September, a federal judge ruled that the district had violated both the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

With the judge’s ruling on their side, the Swinomish Tribe took the issue out of the courtroom. Instead of forcing the district to pay federal fines, the tribe suggested that the two become partners in restoring 200 acres of estuary in the Skagit delta.
(more…)

Continue ReadingCooperation Shows the Way

Being Frank: Wisdom, Foresight, Courage And The Three “G’s”

OLYMPIA (April 11, 2006) — It’s a simple fact of Nature. Salmon need clean, cool water.

But meeting the water needs of salmon in today’s world is no easy task. It takes wisdom, foresight and courage. It also takes the cooperation and collaboration of the three “G’s” the federal, state and tribal governments. Local governments are also obviously important, as are non-governmental entities, but let’s concentrate on the owners and managers of the water resource rather than those who need state permits to use it.

(more…)

Continue ReadingBeing Frank: Wisdom, Foresight, Courage And The Three “G’s”

To Save Threatened Chinook, Swinomish Tribe Prepared To Sue

Tribe files 60-day notice of intent, but still hopes negotiations can ward off a suit

LACONNER (September 11, 2003) — Seeking to protect Skagit chinook salmon, the Swinomish Tribe today notified a Skagit County Diking District of their intent to file a lawsuit under the federal Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act. After years of attempting to find mutually acceptable solutions locally, the tribe is turning to the federal courts. “We have tried to work cooperatively with the farming community, the Governor, the county and the state, and in every instance they have turned us away,” said Brian Cladoosby, chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

(more…)

Continue ReadingTo Save Threatened Chinook, Swinomish Tribe Prepared To Sue