On April 9, 2021, the Fish and Wildlife Commission passed the new Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead Hatchery Policy (C-3624).  As part of this policy, the Commission instructed the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) director “to begin development of a joint policy agreement on salmon and steelhead hatchery programs with Tribal Co-Managers.”  Work on this policy began in September 2021. After undergoing multiple outlines and initial drafts, a final draft co-manager hatchery policy was approved by a committee of policymakers on Nov. 4, 2022, for review and evaluation by all individual tribal co-managers and the Commission. 

The draft co-manager hatchery policy (titled “Joint Policy Agreement for the Management of Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead Hatcheries Between Treaty Tribes and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife”) was initially introduced to the Commission’s Fish Committee on Dec. 8, 2022, and again on Jan. 26, 2023.  On Jan. 27, 2023, WDFW staff presented the draft policy to the full Commission. The Commission approved the distribution of the draft Co-Manager policy for public review and requested that WDFW staff begin SEPA evaluation of the draft policy. 

The full text of the draft policy is available at WDFW's website. Please review the policy and submit your comments below.