Program on the Environment

Many salmon populations in Washington State have seen declines in recent decades due to a multitude of factors. One of the most significant threats to salmon populations is habitat loss. I spent this summer working with Coast Salmon Partnership to assess this threat, analyzing stream survey reports and creating an ArcGIS web map layer depicting areas where stream manipulation had occurred. Alongside my internship, I supported my interests in environmental law by conducting an extensive literature and legal review to fully understand what role litigation played in addressing fish passage barriers and what the implications of this litigation are. I supplemented these findings with expert interviews with a lawyer and engineer. I analyzed the historic US v. Washington Boldt Decision and Culvert Case to uncover patterns within these legal battles and what the decisions in these cases meant on the ground. I presented projects like the Coastal 29 and Kitsap 29, which are currently underway due to the Culvert Case injunction. I also revealed what we might expect for further culvert replacement and construction. Overall, I connected the salmon population decline to infrastructure, litigation, and construction to comprehensively outline the current removal of fish passage barriers in Washington State. Ultimately the significance of this project revolves around the State’s long pattern of ignoring treaty fish harvesting rights and the risks and burdens of litigation that consequently benefited the State as a whole.