KPLU Local News
(2010-02-05)
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A salmon in the fish ladder at Seattle's Ballard Locks.
AP Photo.
There's a pot of federal money called the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. The money typically goes to state and local governments for habitat restoration and other salmon recovery projects.
On its way out the door, the Bush administration cut that fund from $120 million to zero. Glen Spain, with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, says many state salmon programs have collapsed.
The administration's new budget proposal restores a little over half that money, about $65 million. Spain says that's a move in the right direction, but the amount still falls far short.
"Since salmon, when they hit the ocean, migrate both north and south, we really need a policy of No River Left Behind," he says. "We need to solve all these problems because they will affect all fishermen and all coastal communities and all the economies of all the west coast states."
Both commercial and sport fishing groups say they plan to pressure Congress to fully fund the program.
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