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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: City of Seattle, Muckleshoot Tribe Reach Historic Cedar River Agreement
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
3/28/2006 3:30:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alex Fryer (206) 684-8358
Andy Ryan (206) 684-7688
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City of Seattle, Muckleshoot Tribe Reach Historic Cedar River Agreement
Pact guarantees water flows for fish, in perpetuity,
and
certainty for region’s
water supply
SEATTLE—Following 26 months of talks on unresolved issues, the City of
Seattle and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe have reached agreement on a plan that
insures long-term benefits for fish and wildlife in the Cedar River.
The historic pact -- which must be approved by the City Council, the Muckleshoot
Tribal Council and the federal district court -- settles both a 2003 federal
lawsuit over Seattle’s withdrawal of water from the Cedar River, and
a longstanding tribal claim over declining fish runs in the Cedar River/Lake
Washington Basin.
The agreement provides certainty for the region’s water quality and quantity
and a cooperative relationship between the city and the tribe.
“This long-overdue agreement puts things right between the city and
the tribe,” Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said. “It’s a plan
that’s great for salmon, great for our regional drinking water supply,
and great for Seattle’s already-strong relationship with the Muckleshoots.”
“We applaud the Muckleshoot Tribe and the City of Seattle for working
together on this agreement to provide water for salmon as well as for people
and communities,” said Jay Manning, director of the Washington State
Department of Ecology. “Negotiating this settlement is a positive step.”
In 2000, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service issued permits allowing the City to operate its water supply and hydroelectric
facilities on the Cedar River without incurring liability under the federal
Endangered Species Act. The permits were based on the City’s Cedar River
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), in which the City agreed to maintain specific
water levels (instream flows) for the benefit of fish, plus a variety of other
conservation measures.
In 2003, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe challenged the federal permits on the
grounds they did not assure sufficient water for fish. The city, the tribe,
and the federal agencies agreed to mediate the dispute. In the course of that
mediation they succeeded in resolving additional ongoing treaty disputes—including
the effect of the city’s operations on fish runs; and tribal hunting
access to the Cedar River Watershed, for ceremonial and subsistence purposes.
In a letter transmitting the proposed agreement to the City Council, Nickels
said the plan consists of three basic parts: in-stream flows; funding for fish
and wildlife; and access for the tribe to the watershed to exercise its treaty
rights of hunting and gathering. Highlights of the agreement include:
- Guaranteed in-stream flows for fish in perpetuity.
- Certainty for Cedar River water supply and system operations.
- Protocols supporting the exercise of rights the tribe reserved under treaties.
- Cooperative plan for wildlife management.
- Ten-year wildlife research program.
- Protection of water quality for the region.
- Continuing water conservation efforts.
- Creation of a city-tribe framework to resolve future issues.
Read the Settlement
Agreement - Acrobat PDF 100kb
The City Council is expected to act on the proposed settlement by mid-May.
Visit the mayor’s web site at http://www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the
mayor’s inside view on initiatives to promote transportation, public
safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The
Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm
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Office of the Mayor
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