A new federal ruling will shrink the breadth of “critical habitat” designations for Northwest rivers and streams, including some in Jefferson and Clallam counties.
However, what this means for protected fish stocks is being debated amongst officials who defend the plan and environmentalists who oppose it.
On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration unveiled final critical habitat specifications for 19 salmon and steelhead stocks listed as threatened or endangered.
The plan calls for small portions of the Siwash River and Big River leading out of Ozette Lake to have the designation removed, as well as two creeks between Port Angeles and Sequim.
The administration’s map of the changes, available on its Web site, does not specify the names of any rivers, creeks or streams and officials were unable to identify those two waterways on Saturday.
In Clallam County, the map shows that two short sections of the Dungeness River located approximately 10 miles south of Sequim were also taken off the federal habitat protection registry.
In Jefferson County, the north rim of the Hood Canal, the Port Townsend coastline and most of the waters off Indian Island will no longer have the designation.
