Governor’s Forum on Monitoring Salmon Recovery and Watershed Health, 2007

Governor’s Forum on Monitoring Salmon Recovery and Watershed Health. (ed Crawford, B. 2007. Washington State framework for monitoring salmon populations listed under the federal Endangered Species Act and associated freshwater habitats. Washington State Governor's Forum on Monitoring Salmon Recovery and Watershed Health, Olympia, Washington.

The Washington Legislature asked the Monitoring Oversight Committee (MOC) to develop a comprehensive monitoring strategy for the state that would address salmon recovery and watershed health (SSB5637). The strategy was delivered to the Governor and Legislature in 2002. The strategy evaluated existing monitoring and identified monitoring gaps that were important for tracking future conditions of Washington’s natural resources and to determine, as part of the adaptive management process, whether management actions to restore habitat and fish populations have been effective from physical, biological, and economic perspectives. Seventy-six separate recommendations were made that would materially improve our ability to determine the health of Washington’s natural resources. Combined, this information would enable comprehensive and scientifically sound reporting to Congress, the Governor, Legislature, and to the public. Much of the federal funding available to the state is dependent upon the ability to provide accountable and transparent assessment of progress towards meeting our shared goals. Funding resources are under constant pressure to be reduced, or even eliminated, if progress cannot be demonstrated. To begin to implement the recommendations of the MOC, The Governor's FORUM on Monitoring Salmon Recovery and Watershed Health (FORUM) was created by Executive Order 04-03 in August 2004, to coordinate monitoring consistent with the Comprehensive Monitoring Strategy and Action Plan for Watershed Health and Salmon Recovery (CMS). The FORUM is comprised of state and federal agencies, named by the Governor in the Executive Order, involved in watershed health and salmon recovery. It also includes representation from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC), non government organizations (NGOs), and the tribes, as well as local government. According to the Executive Order, the FORUM is chartered to: Provide a multi-agency venue for coordinating technical and policy issues and actions related to monitoring Washington’s salmon recovery and watershed health. This framework document is the result of cooperative efforts of FORUM members and is offered as guidance to state natural resource agencies, regional salmon recovery groups, and federal and tribal co-managers.