2006 Wild Salmon Hall of Fame
Elwha Chinook Award

Kitsap Conference Center
at Bremerton Harborside
September 23, 2006

Introductory remarks by WDFW Director Dr. Jeff Koenings

On behalf of the Governor Chris Gregoire, and myself, I would like to thank the members of the Pacific Northwest Salmon Center (PNWSC) for not only hosting this celebration of wild salmon, but also for their work, collectively, in restoring our wild populations of salmon.

A special thanks to the many volunteers whose many hours of work on salmon has taken time away from their families and personal lives. It is truly appreciated. Thank you!

From my conversations with the Governor, I know that she shares our passion for our environment and for salmon populations that are the essence of what the Pacific Northwest lifestyle is all about. It is about our legacy for the future.

The Governor is all about "moving Washington forward," and as she has said many times: "Jeff, if you think you have everything under control, you aren't moving fast enough."

I told her not to worry because the phrase, "under control" is not one I often use when managing fish and wildlife. It's not because of the critters - it's because of the people - people like yourselves that feel so passionate about our natural resources. That they want to be involved and be heard, and that is a "good thing" or as Paris Hilton would say "that's hot."

One of the people here tonight has demonstrated over and over again his passion for our environment and the fish populations there in - and that is Bill Ruckelshaus.

Many of you know of Bill's accomplishments on that other, less known Washington on the east coast. He was twice named Administrator for the EPA and Acting Director of the FBI among other notable positions - including Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Justice Department.

About ten years ago, I got to know Bill, after President Clinton named him as a special envoy to the Pacific Salmon Treaty in 1997. Things were not going well, which is a vast understatement of the rancor, with the renegotiation of the salmon treaty with Canada. Bill came up to Alaska to start discussions about bilateral treaty between our two countries.

Bill worked to change us to move away from allocating the harvest of fish to one of conserving the fish. He argued that you had to take care of the fish first and foremost, and then the benefits of that sound stewardship would cascade back to the country of origin.

He worked hard at that message because he felt passionate about the fish. And, by the way, I figured he wanted to have better luck at holding a job under a democratic president than he did under a past republican president.

Now after the salmon treaty was signed, Bill began leading efforts in the more important Washington here on the west coast, to restore wild salmon populations. As a leader in Puget Sound's Shared Strategy, as chair of the SRFB which directs 10's of millions of dollars yearly to restore salmon habitats, as co-chair of the Puget Sound Partnership and recently as co-chair with the Governor on the Environmental Education Initiative, Bill has helped steer this state toward conservation, toward sound stewardship, and towards a healthy environment.

His view, now shared by more and more citizens is that both people and fish can live and thrive in this; the Evergreen State.

Healthy fish and a healthy economy are themes shared by the Governor and by Bill, and Bill has never lost that particular direction.

I do recall one time he did lose direction! It was on one of our many trips to DC to argue for federal salmon recovery funds.

We were having dinner and I just returned from the restroom. Bill asked for directions and I said it took me a while to find it but it was that way - take a left, then a right, another right and I think a left.

Well, Bill took off running and a while later he returned to the table with a wide smile and explained: "I don't know who was more surprised, me at ending up in the kitchen or the head chef when I had to ask him directions to the men's room."

I believe that under this Governor and through Bill's efforts this State does know where it is going. We will have healthy runs of wild salmon, sustainable fisheries, and a robust economy!

Now it is my privilege and honor to present a video on the Elwha Chinook Award for exemplary efforts for wild salmon. with our Governor Chris Gregoire:

Wild Salmon Hall of Fame
Recorded Greeting
Record: September 19, 2006
Event: Sept 23, 2006

Hi, I'm Governor Chris Gregoire.

I'm pleased to join you in celebrating the great progress we've made towards protecting and reviving wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Washington has a proud tradition of safeguarding the environment. With one of the richest, most diverse and beautiful landscapes in the world, we have an important legacy to protect.

I want to thank each of you for your hard work, determination and dedication to the health of our salmon runs and the ecosystems that they support. Your commitment to salmon recovery gives our fish a fighting chance and brings us one step closer to leaving a healthy environmental legacy.

Our wild salmon are in trouble. But Washington did not wait for the federal government to tell us what to do. We don't practice trickle-down policy here, we do things the Washington Way - we work from the ground up. We rolled up our sleeves and got to work. We took the initiative to develop salmon recovery plans that came from the bottom up, not the top down. Six regional salmon recovery organizations and many local watershed groups developed these plans. We were the first state to submit all our plans to the federal government for review and approval.

The real work now begins. We need to implement these plans, translating them into real actions with real results. The key to our success has been and must be collaboration. In this way, we can integrate economic and environmental concerns and engender a new kind of property for our state, one that enriches today without impoverishing tomorrow.

The proposed Pacific Northwest Salmon Center will play a strong role in educating all of us. The goal of the Salmon Center is to show how closely related the health of the wild salmon is to the health of the entire ecosystem, the ecosystem all of us need in order to survive and thrive. The lessons we learn at the Salmon Center will help us act in ways that preserve the health not only of wild salmon, but also of our communities and ourselves.

A wise man once said, "Protecting the environment is a problem you must tend to everlastingly. You have to keep at it all the time, otherwise it starts to slide back."

That wise man is none other than this evening's master of ceremonies, Bill Ruckelshaus. The same leadership and dedication he showed as head of the EPA has made him a driving force for progress in his current work on the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the Puget Sound Partnership.

Bill, on behalf of the Pacific Northwest Salmon Center, I am delighted to present this Elwha Chinook award to you for your exemplary efforts in wild salmon preservation. The people and salmon of the Pacific Northwest are lucky to have you on our side. Thank you for your lifetime of diligence, your friendship, and, most of all, your example.

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