WASHINGTON STATUTES AND CODES

77.85.250 - Forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health -- Creation -- Duties -- Report to the governor and legislature -- Adoption of general high-level indicators for salmon recovery an

Forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health — Creation — Duties — Report to the governor and legislature — Adoption of general high-level indicators for salmon recovery and watershed health. (Expires June 30, 2011.)

(1) The forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health is created to implement the Washington Comprehensive Monitoring Strategy and Action Plan for Watershed Health and Salmon Recovery. For administrative purposes, the forum is located within the recreation and conservation office. The governor shall appoint a person with experience and expertise in natural resources and environmental quality monitoring to chair the forum. The chair shall serve four-year terms and may serve successive terms. The forum shall include representatives of the following state agencies and regional entities that have responsibilities related to monitoring of salmon recovery and watershed health:

     (a) Department of ecology;

     (b) Salmon recovery funding board;

     (c) Governor's salmon recovery office;

     (d) Department of fish and wildlife;

     (e) Department of natural resources;

     (f) Puget Sound partnership;

     (g) Conservation commission;

     (h) Department of agriculture;

     (i) Department of transportation; and

     (j) Each of the regional salmon recovery organizations.

     (2) The forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health shall provide a multiagency venue for coordinating technical and policy issues and actions related to monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health.

     (3) The forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health shall recommend a set of high-level indicators for use in the consolidated report on salmon recovery and watershed health required by RCW 77.85.020 to convey results and progress on salmon recovery and watershed health in ways that are easily understood by the general public.

     (4) The forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health shall invite the participation of federal, tribal, regional, and local agencies and entities that carry out salmon recovery and watershed health monitoring, and work toward coordination and standardization of measures used.

     (5) The forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health shall periodically report to the governor and the appropriate standing committees of the senate and house of representatives on the forum's activities and recommendations for improving monitoring programs by state agencies. This information must be included within the consolidated report on salmon recovery and watershed health required by RCW 77.85.020.

     (6) The forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health shall review pilot monitoring programs including those that integrate (a) data collection, management, and access; and (b) information regarding habitat projects and project management.

     (7) The forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health shall review and make recommendations to the office of financial management and the appropriate legislative committees on agency budget requests related to monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health. These recommendations must be made no later than September 15th of each year. The goal of this review is to prioritize and integrate budget requests across agencies.

     (8)(a) The forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health shall adopt general high-level indicators for salmon recovery and watershed health in Washington by December 1, 2009. By July 1, 2010, the forum shall also adopt the protocols for monitoring these high-level indicators that will enable state-conducted or state-funded monitoring efforts to be capable of reporting results that will ensure reporting consistency and agency compliance under the consolidated reporting requirement of RCW 77.85.020. The forum on monitoring salmon recovery and watershed health shall indicate how the general high-level indicators are consistent with, and complement, the more detailed regional and local metrics used to measure watershed health and salmon recovery.

     (b) High-level indicators shall inform a nontechnical summary of key metrics that indicate the state of salmon recovery and provide an index of watershed health in Washington.

     (9) This section expires June 30, 2011.