MEMO TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Mayor John Marchione
SUBJECT:
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Adoption of a Resolution for the Ratification of the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish (WRIA 8) Chinook Conservation Plan 10-Year Update
a. RESOLUTION NO. 1487: A Resolution Ratifying the 2017 Update to the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed [Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 8)] Chinook Conservation Plan
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
Adopt the resolution ratifying updates to Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish (WRIA 8) Chinook Conservation Plan 10-Year Update.
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II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Linda De Boldt, Public Works Director, 425-556-2733
Gary Schimek, Natural Resources Division Manager, 425-556-2742
Peter Holte, Senior Planner, 425-556-2822
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
In 1999, the Federal Government listed Puget Sound Chinook Salmon as a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). In response, the City of Redmond and 27 other jurisdictions within Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed (WRIA 8) entered into an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) to collectively take action to conserve Chinook populations.
The Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Chinook Conservation Plan recommends restoration projects and programmatic actions that ILA members should take to help conserve and restore Chinook salmon habitat. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service has accepted this plan, combined with other similar plans prepared throughout the Puget Sound Region, as the legal, official response to the ESA listing of Puget Sound Chinook.
The conservation plan is updated every 10 years. An addendum containing the 10-year updates was completed earlier this year (Attachment A), and was adopted by the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Salmon Recovery Council, the entity responsible with oversight of implementation of the WRIA 8 ILA, on September 21, 2017.
By ratifying this plan, the City is stating that it agrees with and supports the plan’s recommendation for protecting and restoring local threatened Chinook populations.
IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
The Council first ratified the Lake Washington Cedar/Sammamish Watershed Chinook Conservation Plan in 2005 (Resolution No. 1205).
Staff discussed the current updates to the Chinook Conservation Plan with the Planning and Public Works Committee on November 14, 2017.
Staff made a presentation on this topic during the November 28, 2017, Council study session.
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
City staff was involved in drafting these updates. As a result, the recommendations align with and support the City’s existing plans for Chinook conservation.
B. Fiscal Note:
Actions and projects detailed in the plan are recommendations. The fiscal implications of these conservation activities are not detailed within the plan. Redmond projects identified in the plan are part of the City’s existing Stormwater CIP/CIS project lists.
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
The City Council can choose to reject this resolution. Rejecting the resolution would reduce the City’s ability to claim the coverage in meeting ESA requirements now provided by the Chinook Conservation Plan and WRIA 8 ILA. Redmond would have to respond with an alternative conservation plan detailing the City’s response to ESA listing of Puget Sound Chinook Salmon.
The Council can choose to modify the resolution language supplied by the WRIA 8 administrative staff. Minor modifications that do not lessen the intent of the Conservation Plan will have little impact other than the need for additional staff time to coordinate with the WRIA 8 staff to verify that changes are consistent with the plan’s goals and objectives.
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
The WRIA 8 administrative staff hopes to finalize ratification of these updates among all WRIA 8 ILA members by the end of March 2018.
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Proposed Resolution