wa-law.org > bill > 2023-24 > HB 2424 > Passed Legislature
The legislature finds that the Washington state department of fish and wildlife has entered into cooperative agreements with various tribal governments in the state, including the confederated tribes of the Colville reservation, to work on a government-to-government basis to collaboratively manage the state's fish and wildlife. The legislature further finds that the cooperative agreement between the confederated tribes of the Colville reservation and the Washington state department of fish and wildlife, as ratified by the fish and wildlife commission representing the state in the government-to-government cooperative process, addresses cooperative wildlife management on a portion of land ceded to the United States by the Colville tribes, often referred to as "the north half." The cooperative agreement recognizes that resource protection, tribal rights, and recreational opportunities of the general public are maximized through cooperative management of wildlife and habitats on the north half. The cooperative agreement provides that the department and the tribe will work together to protect, preserve, and enhance wildlife populations on the reservation and the north half through: Joint and cooperative surveying of wildlife populations, sharing population and harvest statistics, and development of a joint wildlife habitat protection and enhancement strategy. The agreement further provides that the department and tribe will work together to develop protocols and provide solutions for managing dangerous wildlife and/or wildlife depredation and will work cooperatively to reduce violations of state and tribal fish and game laws including procedures for joint patrols and investigations. The legislature finds that the department of fish and wildlife has broad authority under the cooperative agreement to work cooperatively with the Colville tribes. The cooperative agreement established the policy committee, which is composed of representatives of the tribe and the department, to facilitate cooperative action and resolve disputes that may arise under the agreement. The agreement stipulates that the policy committee review the agreement annually and recommend modifications as to which the parties may mutually agree pursuant to approval by the confederated tribes and ratification by the commission in the government-to-government process.
It is the intent of the legislature to affirm the goals and provisions established in the 1998 cooperative agreement between the department and the confederated tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation, and to direct the department to review and recommend modifications as necessary to the policies and practices implemented under the cooperative agreement, including management of the gray wolf in the "north half."
The department shall, upon approval of a plan of engagement by the commission that includes elements in subsection (2) of this section to be considered in the engagement, engage on a government-to-government basis with the confederated tribes of the Colville reservation for the purpose of identifying potential updates to management practices under, and recommended modifications to the 1998 cooperative fish and wildlife management agreement.
The department must submit the agreed upon recommendations for updates or modifications to the agreement to the commission for their approval that identifies:
Recommended updates or modifications to existing management strategies;
Recommended updates or modifications to the "Wildlife Protection and Preservation" section of the cooperative agreement;
Challenges to implementing the "Problem Wildlife" section of the cooperative agreement and recommended protocols to provide solutions for landowners with problems involving either dangerous wildlife or wildlife depredation, or both; and
Recommendations for management of gray wolf and other species listed under the state endangered species act since adoption of the 1998 agreement as practiced by the tribe and the department.
Subsequent to approval by the confederated tribes of the Colville and ratification by the commission, the department must report to the legislature, in accordance with RCW 43.01.036, on updates to or modifications to the 1998 cooperative fish and wildlife management agreement.
The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Commission" means the Washington state fish and wildlife commission.
"Department" means the Washington state department of fish and wildlife.
"The north half" means the portion of land that was originally part of the Colville Indian reservation that the tribes ceded to the federal government in 1892.