Tribes in western Washington have asked the state to restructure the Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is standing in the way of true co-management.
The 1974 Boldt decision in U.S. v. Washington established tribes as co-managers of fisheries with the state through the departments of fisheries, for salmon, and game, for steelhead. The departments were later merged into the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
As sovereign nations, tribes are supposed to have a direct government-to-government relationship with the governor of the state. However, since 1995, the state’s natural resources management policies have been set by a Fish and Wildlife Commission, made up of nine citizens appointed by the governor. The director of WDFW answers to them.
This additional layer of management, where policies are made by an entity separate from a state agency, is a violation of the Boldt decision.
The legislation creating this commission incorrectly claims that fish and wildlife are the property of the state. According to the Boldt decision, subsequently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, treaty fishing rights are property rights, which makes tribes co-owners of the resources in common with the state.