Government agencies are spending billions of taxpayer dollars to protect and restore Salmon habit in Puget Sound.

So, why would we allow the introduction of a damaging industrial use into a reserve area that Salmon are dependant on?

Salmon In The Maury Nearshore

• In the Chinook recovery plan,The National Marine Fisheries Services notes the significance of the Maury Island nearshore to Chinook recovery

• The recovery plan specifically recommends that the Maury nearshore be given the highest level of protection from development noting that the preservation of this area cannot be overestimated in its value to the species.

• In recent studies the Maury Island nearshore was found to have the second highest population of juvenile Chinook of all sites sampled in the Central Southern Puget Sound region.

• The juvenile Chinook utilizing the site were found to have come from as far away the Skagit Valley river systems.

• Forage fish are the main food source for Chinook. In the Salmon recovery plan, the National Marine Fisheries Services identified the Maury Island shoreline as one of the most important forage fish spawning beaches in central Puget Sound.

• The Herring population at Maury Island is the largest in Central Puget Sound and recent studies found that the population was 30 times higher than other sites in the region.

The Risk To Salmon

• Overwater structures are known to have an adverse affect on Chinook and Chinook habitat due to shading and alteration of light patterns.

• Studies have shown that juvenile Chinook will avoid the shadows created by an overwater structure which forces them to deeper water where predation rates are significantly higher.

• The industrial dock and barging operation will eliminate nearly a full acre of healthy salmon habitat by introducing a shade footprint that is approximately the size of a football field.

• Underwater noise levels created by the dock construction and subsequent barging operation will be higher than levels determined by the National Marine Fisheries Services to be harmful to juvenile Chinook and forage fish.

 

This Mine Expansion Doesn't Make any Sense

It Doesn't Make Environmental Sense

It Doesn't Make Economic Sense

It Doesn't Make Sense For The People Of Washington State