Gary Locke

Rescue Tug Begins Five-Year Seasonal Stint In Neah Bay

NEAH BAY (September 16, 2003) The rescue tugboat Barbara Foss began its first day of duty of the 2003-2004 winter season today. The Neah Bay- based tug received a rousing send-off in Seattle Monday from Makah tribal council members, state legislators and other guests.

Unlike past years, the tug’s funding is firm for the next five. “This is a great step – to have the commitment from the state for multi-years and with bi-partisan support,” said Nathan Tyler, Makah Tribal chairman. “We are very grateful for that support and we hope to get the federal support to have that protection year-round, not just in the winter months,” he said.

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Hurd Creek Hatchery Vital To Salmon Restoration

BLYN (Feb. 14, 2003) — In the mid-1990s, fisheries biologists throughout the Pacific Northwest turned their attention on a small hatchery in the lower Dungeness River, where a new approach to restoring a dwindling chinook population was in the works. If successful, it was thought the project could improve hatchery techniques, and most importantly bring back a salmon species from the brink of extinction.

In 2003, attention once again has turned to the Hurd Creek hatchery near Sequim. Not because of the facility’s success with recovering wild salmon, but because the hatchery itself is close to extinction. Gov. Gary Locke’s proposed budget for the next two years calls for three state Department of Fish and Wildlife hatcheries to be closed, including the Hurd Creek facility.

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