By Erica Hall, The Chronicle, 2/7/1998
OLYMPIA - Area legislators are preparing for a fast response to next week's possible federal listing of steelhead salmon as an endangered or threatened species.
Rep. John Pennington, R-Carrolls, sponsored House Bill 2836 to create a salmon restoration management board. It would be made up of representatives from Lewis, Clark, Cowlitz, Skarnania, and Wahkiakum counties, and state and tribal governments and environmental groups.
The management board would receive money from federal, state, and environmental groups. Funds would be spent for restoring fish passages and repairing culverts and riverbanks, Pennington said.
He said the bill gives as much local control to the counties as possible, while requiring the management board to use existing information from experts and area volunteers.
"This bill is drafted to fit underneath the salmon restoration task force recommendations and other bills that are supposed to fit together," Pennington said. "We want to keep it as clean as possible."
The National Marine Fisheries Service may list Lower Columbia River steelhead as endangered or threatened species next week. Pennington said keeping the scope of the bill narrow is crucial to responding quickly as soon as the bill passes out of the Legislature.
"I'm going to fast-track the bill right out of Rules," he said.