King County Council may sink man-made habitat traditions
July 10, 2009
By Michael Rowe
The King County Council is looking at new rules for man-made fish habitats as a way to improve the safety of rivers for recreational use.
Man-made fish habitats are most often logs or other natural material that are submerged in area waterways to enhance fish habitat. The council is calling for regulations to these and other submerged structures that are sometimes used to provide for flood control.
“The development of these new rules will create a better balance in the protection of both the safety of our citizens that use our rivers and streams and fish habitat,” Councilwoman Kathy Lambert said in a press release about the new rules. “Water recreation activities are an important aspect of people connecting with our environment. The protection of opportunities for our citizens to interact with water will continue to foster respect and love for nature.”
King County Councilman Larry Phillips sponsored the ordinance, which calls on the County Executive to develop new rules for man-made fish habitats. Under the proposed regulations, groups that want to place man-made fish habitats in rivers will have their plans reviewed by King County’s Department of Natural Resources. Independent monitoring and inspection of manmade fish habitats are also called for in the ordinance.
American Waterways Stewardship Director Thomas O’Keefe gave testimony before the council on the proposed regulations on June 29.
“It formally recognizes public safety,” O’Keefe said about the importance of the proposed regulations.
O’Keefe said he has observed man-made fish habitats while floating on area streams, and he has recognized that they could be dangerous for less experienced river users. He said that there is a range of fish habitat projects, and some are better than others. He said that sloppy projects installed by people who don’t know what they are doing pose the most risk to rafters and others on area waterways.
Balancing the uses of area-rivers is an important goal of the proposed regulations, O’Keefe said.
Mark Coleman, who runs the All River Guide Service based out of Snoqualmie, agrees that both fishers and floaters can share the river, as long as the activities of one user don’t negatively affect fish populations in the river.
Coleman is in favor of the man-made fish habitats, or stream enhancements as he calls them, because they help increase the number of fish in rivers.
“Stream enhancements with natural logs are a positive thing when it’s done by conservation groups and fishing clubs who know how to do it,” Coleman said.
Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.
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Fishers and whitewater river users have a long history of working together on what are largely complimentary goals. The relationship between Trout Unlimited and American Whitewater is the longest standing that I am aware of.
In this case it may well be the hobbyists who are more knowledgable about this very complex problem then the so-called ‘experts’.
-Douglas Tooley
Tacoma