Public Input on Draft Salmon Habitat Plan Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 9

Comments Received on March 10 Draft Salmon Habitat Plan

Comments from the public, governments, other organizations, and individual Steering Committee members on the March 10 draft Habitat Plan up to the conclusion of the public comment period on April 25, 2005, are available for downloading.

• Comments on Chapter 1 - Forward (Adobe Acrobat 104 KB)
   
• Comments on Chapter 2 - Executive Summary (Adobe Acrobat 317 KB) (Note: this section also contains some comments that touch on the draft Habitat Plan as a whole)
   
• Comments on Chapter 3 - Watershed Description (Adobe Acrobat 212 KB)
   
• Comments on Chapter 4 - Scientific Foundation (Adobe Acrobat 406 KB)
   
• Comments on Chapter 5 - Habitat Management Strategies (Adobe Acrobat 175 KB)
   
• Comments on Chapter 6 - Proposed Actions to Achieve a Viable Salmonid Population - Part 1 (Adobe Acrobat 523 KB)
   
• Comments on Chapter 6 - Proposed Actions to Achieve a Viable Salmonid Population - Part 2 (Adobe Acrobat 351 KB)
   
• Comments on Chapter 7 - Adaptive Management and Monitoring (Adobe Acrobat 135 KB)
   
• Comments on Chapter 8 - Implementation Plan (Adobe Acrobat 223 KB)
   
• Comments on Appendices (Adobe Acrobat 111 KB)
   
• General/other comments on the Draft Habitat Plan (Adobe Acrobat 134 KB)

Most comments were submitted during the March 10 - April 25, 2005, comment period on the draft Habitat Plan. In addition, comments received from the public in 2004 that could inform the review process also are included. Anyone viewing their own comments who wishes to make a correction should contact staff.

Interested in how the Steering Committee used your comments to revise the draft Habitat Plan? Check out the Steering Committee meeting packets for the April 14, May 12, May 26, June 9, and June 23 meetings or contact Dennis Clark, 206-296-1909, for more information. Also view the final Habitat Plan.

On-Line Survey Summary Report

A summary of the results of two surveys is available for downloading (Adobe Acrobat 208 KB). This summary includes the results of 119 on-line surveys completed:

• September 13 - December 31, 2004
• March 10 - April 25, 2005

The surveys were used obtain input that to help develop the Draft Habitat Plan and review/revise the Draft Plan.

The survey includes information on why each question was included and how the resulting information has been or will be used.

The information in the survey is not 'statistically significant' and should not be generalized for the larger population. Nonetheless, it provides information that has been useful in developing the Habitat Plan and will be useful in helping to publicize its recommendations.

Public Review of Draft Habitat Plan in 2005

The public comment period on the March 10 draft Habitat Plan for the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound watershed concluded April 25, 2005.

The public comment period on the draft Habitat Plan lasted just over 45 days, beginning March 10 and concluding April 25. Included were three public meetings on March 22, 23, and 31. An on-line survey and downloadable comment form also were provided for those wishing to comment electronically.

The March 10 draft plan was truly a DRAFT plan. It required extensive review and may receive extensive changes to make it comprehensive, practical, fair, and likely to be implemented. Rather than waiting until every Steering Committee member agreed to every element of the draft plan before asking for public comment, a simultaneous public and Steering Committee review of the draft occured.

You can download the entire March 10 draft plan including appendices. You may also view hard copies at local libraries and city halls or request a FREE CD-ROM.

Additional Public Involvement Opportunities

Although the formal public comment period is over, citizens were encouraged to participate in meetings of the watershed Steering Committee where the draft Habitat Plan was revised. Each meeting began and ended with public comment. These meetings were held in the evening hours at Renton City Hall.

The final Habitat Plan provides a comprehensive, long-term guide to protecting and restoring salmon habitat in southern King County. This plan will contribute to recovery of Chinook salmon across Puget Sound through the regional Shared Strategy.

Public Input Received in 2004

The following documents summarize the input received from the public during the development of the watershed salmon Habitat Plan in 2004:

• Spreadsheet listing comments received at public workshops (MS Excel file). This spreadsheet also includes comments from the web survey filled out by that did not fall into standardized categories.
   
• Summary of web survey results (Adobe Acrobat 92 KB) as of November 17, 2004.

This input was used by staff and members of the watershed Steering Committee in the fall of 2004 to help create a draft Habitat Plan for the watershed.

Public Input/Information Opportunities in 2004

Public input/information opportunities in 2004 included:

Public Workshops/Open Houses

• Workshop #1: July 8, 2004 -- topic: introduction to watershed habitat planning
   
• Science Seminar: July 29, 2004 -- presentations on the latest findings about salmon habitat needs in the watershed (view the PowerPoint presentations on-line or see information below on the one-hour video)
   
• Workshop #2: October 12, 2004 -- topics: brainstorm possible actions to protect and restore salmon habitat; ranking of feasibility and effectiveness criteria
   
• Vashon/Maury Island Workshop: November 3 -- topics: brainstorm possible actions to protect and restore salmon habitat with a focus on the Puget Sound marine nearshore
   
• Workshop #3: November 30, 2004 -- topic: evaluating pros/cons of a selected set of possible habitat actions

Web Survey

From September to December, 109 interested citizens filled out a survey on-line to provide their input to the planning process. You can view a summary of the web survey results (Adobe Acrobat 92 KB).

News Stories

Stories in a variety of media have helped inform watershed residents about work on the Habitat Plan:

• King County Journal, "Salmon Recovery Workshop Tonight," July 8, 2004
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "Getting Involved," July 28, 2004
• Daily Journal of Commerce, "Two-year salmon study completed," August 3, 2004
• KPLU radio story, "Changed River," August 4, 2004 (external link)
• Renton and Kent Reporters, "Salmon plan," October 6, 2004
• Seattle Times, "Here & Now Column: Salmon Habitat Workshop," October 11, 2004
• Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, "School of Fish News," October 27, 2004
• Vashon-Maury Island Loop, "Salmon Habitat Workshop," November 3, 2004
• Voice of the Valley, "Salmon Habitat Plans under development," November 23, 2004
• King County Journal, "Workshop, Open House Focus on Salmon Habitat," November 28, 2004
• KPLU radio story, "Salmon Plan," November 29, 2004 (external link)
• Auburn Reporter, "My Turn: You can Help Make a Healthier Watershed," March 9, 2005
• Auburn Reporter, "Briefly: Time to Comment on Fish Plan," March 9, 2005
• Renton Reporter, "My Turn: Public Input can Help Make for a Healthier Watershed," March 16, 2005
• Kent Reporter, "My Turn: Public Input can Help Make for a Healthier Watershed," March 16, 2005
• Highline Times/Des Moines News, "Public May Comment on Salmon Plan at Open Houses," March 16, 2005
• Voice of the Valley, "Public Asked for Help with Draft Salmon Habitat Plan," March 16, 2005
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "Getting Involved," March 16, 2005
• Seattle Times, "Here & Now Column: This Week," March 22, 2005
• Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, "Salmon Habitat Plan: Vashon is Key to the Kings," March 23, 2005
• Vashon-Maury Island Loop, March 23, 2005
• KPLU radio story, "Salmon Plan," March 24, 2005 (external link)
• KPLU radio story, "Fish Plan," March 24, 2005 (external link)

Science Seminar Television Show on Cable Television

A one-hour video of three of the presentations at the July 29, 2004 science seminar was broadcast over 100 times in October and November on city (channel 21), county (channel 22), and public access (channel 77) channels in southern King County. The topics of the video include:

• Historic and Current Salmon Habitat Conditions in the Green/Duwamish River Watershed
• Water Quality in the Green/Duwamish River
• Juvenile Salmon Use of the Puget Sound Marine Nearshore

Public Involvement Plan