Lorraine Loomis in her Jan. 1, 2020, commentary throws a net too wide. In her effort to protect tribal fishing rights and save the salmon she locks up the entire ecology of the state of Washington and throws the key away.
This is not an exaggeration.
If you go to the tribal website she mentions (nwtreatytribes.org/habitatstrategy) you will see what I mean: riparian habitat, floodplains, rivers of course, seasonal streams, lakes, oceans, wetlands, “any water that has a significant nexus to flowing water,” biomass (must have the correct kind of plants, trees and shrubs — not just any old tree) and more. Much more. As an example, riparian zones must be protected within 300 feet of both sides of the zone and the extent of these zones must always be determined using methods that give maximum results: one site potential tree height, highest astronomical tide and, according to the Shoreline Master Acts, shorelines must be protected to within 200 feet on land and 100 feet underwater.
Beyond this, there is a world of underlying and overlaying State Supreme Court decisions: Hirst (severely restricts the use of non-exempt water wells), Foster vs. Ecology (no more water for Yelm), Swinomish vs. Ecology (threw out Washington’s exemptions to water use rules) and resulting county and state ordinances that are too many to count but include in-stream flow rules, stream flow restoration, Growth Management Acts, plans to “encourage” owners of flood lands to sell back their land back and prohibit future development. No levies, dams, culverts, stream armor, and so forth.
You get the idea.
There are 29 recognized tribal Indian tribes in the state of Washington, each with its treaty rights and protected lands. According to Lorraine Loomis’s commentary, tribal access to salmon is an essential part of their heritage and that is tied to the land. This takes precedence over everything else. “First in Line, first in time” is out the window.
There is no “senior vs. junior” water rights — there are tribal rights, and that’s it. This is big. It touches every aspect of our lives: where you live, where you work, what kind of work you do, how you recreate, how you travel, everything. She sums up her argument like this: “We don’t have to argue about what needs to be done. We’re past that. We know what the science and our hearts tells us are the right things to do.”
I most emphatically disagree. If there ever was a time for argument and debate, this is it. Wake up people. They mean business, and they’ll do it.
