Steering Committee for Salmon Habitat Recovery
The Steering Committee was folded into the Watershed Ecosystem Forum in January 2009.
The Steering Committee for Water Resource Inventory Area 9 -- the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed -- operated from 1998 to 2008.
The responsibilities of the Steering Committee were passed on to the Watershed Ecosystem Forum, which began operating at the beginning of 2009. The Watershed Ecosystem Forum combined the membership of the Steering Committee and the membership of the Forum of local governments.
Information on this page refers to the work of the Steering Committee during 1998 to 2008. For information on current decisionmaking, see the Watershed Ecosystem Forum page.
Purpose
The goal of the Steering Committee was to help meet the recovery goals of the Endangered Species Act for threatened Chinook salmon and to create a healthier Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed for fish and people.
Accomplishments
In 2001 and early 2002, the Steering Committee developed a Near-Term Action Agenda for salmon habitat. This Action Agenda helped local governments and other partners in making decisions about salmon habitat protection and restoration between 2002 and 2005. The Steering Committee selected actions that it was confident would help threatened Chinook salmon and that were doable -- politically, socially, economically.
In 2004 and 2005, the Steering Committee worked on the long-term Salmon Habitat Plan, which was completed in August 2005. This Plan was the result of study of how the watershed works for salmon and cooperative efforts to come up with doable solutions. With its ratification by watershed jurisdictions in December 2005, the Salmon Habitat Plan became the guidance document for watershed salmon habitat recovery. It also became a chapter in the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan.
From the completion of the Salmon Habitat Plan in 2005 until its combination with the Forum, the Steering Committee oversaw implementation of the Habitat Plan, with a focus on finding funding to implement habitat restoration projects.
Membership
The membership of the Steering Committee included a broad spectrum of representatives from local governments, business, environmental interests, and federal and state agencies.
Meeting Packets
Archived meeting packets are available. Packets include agendas, summaries, and discussion materials for each meeting.
Subcommittees
The Steering Committee was supported by the Implementation Technical Committee.
The Steering Committee also worked closely with the WRIA 9 Forum, which included 15 watershed cities, King County, and Tacoma Public Utilities.