The $71.6 billion operating budget that cleared the Senate Friday includes $1.5 million for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to combat sea lion predation on the lower Columbia River, thanks to an amendment introduced by Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview.
According to a Friday news release, the region loses about 12% of its salmon to predation, a percentage that has doubled since 2006.
“This was a recognition from both sides of the aisle that the predation problem on the Columbia requires urgent attention,” Wilson said. “Lake Washington spring Chinook were wiped out three decades ago because Washington failed to respond quickly and effectively to predation at the Ballard Locks. We can’t let it happen again.”
Last year, sea lions were spotted further up the Cowlitz River than ever before, and Wilson said since that time, he’s worked with fisheries officials, sportsmen’s organizations and other organizations to develop a plan of attack.
As previously reported by The Chronicle, sea lions made it all the way to the Barrier Dam in Salkum on the Cowlitz River, a tributary of the Columbia River, in April 2023, and it wasn’t the first time.
The funds in the state operating budget can be used to purchase the equipment needed to capture sea lions on shallower tributaries such as the Cowlitz River, and Wilson said he hopes to gather data to further control the sea lion population in Puget Sound.
“Finally, we have some hope of saying goodbye to Herschel and his buddies,” Wilson said, referring to a sea lion that swam into Shilshole Bay from California that preyed on steelhead salmon.
Historically, NOAA’s management of the creatures has meant conservation under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which it reports has helped grow the California sea lion population steadily since 1975. An NOAA official last year referred to this growth in both seal and sea lion populations as “an overabundance.”
In the Columbia Basin alone, the population has increased from fewer than 500 to more than 4,000 animals in the last decade, NOAA reports. At the same time, salmon in the basin have become increasingly endangered.
Additionally, Wilson's amendment included $1.5 million for the city of Longview to combat homelessness. The funds can be used for severe weather shelters, housing navigation, case management, laundry and hygiene facilities, connection to other social services, and other programs in Cowlitz County.
The measure now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. The last day of the legislative session is March 7.
