CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION ratifying the 2017 update to the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed, or Water Resource Inventory Area 8, Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan.
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WHEREAS, the 2017 update to the Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan ("WRIA 8 Plan") is an addendum to the 2005 WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan, and includes Chinook salmon population goals to achieve sustainable and harvestable populations, habitat restoration goals, recovery strategies, a list of priority projects and programmatic actions, and a monitoring and adaptive management plan, all of which are based on a scientific framework; and
WHEREAS, 28 local governments in WRIA 8 partner through an interlocal agreement (ILA) to jointly fund implementation of the WRIA 8 Plan through 2025 to advance their shared interest in, and responsibility for, addressing long-term watershed planning and conservation of aquatic ecosystems and floodplains for purposes of implementing the WRIA 8 Plan and improving watershed health; and
WHEREAS, the WRIA 8 partners recognize participating in the ILA and implementing priorities in the WRIA 8 Plan demonstrate their commitment to proactively working to address the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing of Chinook salmon; and
WHEREAS, the WRIA 8 partners took formal action in 2005 and 2006 to ratify the WRIA 8 Plan; and
WHEREAS, in March 1999, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries listed the Puget Sound Chinook salmon evolutionarily significant unit ("Chinook"), including the Cedar and Sammamish populations in WRIA 8, as a threatened species under the ESA; and
WHEREAS, an essential ingredient for the development and implementation of an effective recovery program is coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local agencies; tribes; businesses; researchers; non-governmental organizations; landowners; citizens; and other stakeholders as requ...
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