Thanks for inviting me to come and talk about the partnership between the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition.

All of you here today undoubtedly know that my agency is responsible for providing sound stewardship of Washington's fish and wildlife and their habitats, while providing sustainable fish and wildlife-related recreational and commercial opportunities.

When habitats fail, species fail and opportunities disappear: this pattern runs counter to our stated mandate.

Acquisition of critical fish and wildlife habitat is one of the most effective tools we have for establishing a "safety net" of critical habitats. So, let me thank you for your efforts, leadership and, most particular, your vision for conceiving the WWRP and helping to sustain it for the past 12 years.

Those efforts on behalf of fish and wildlife have made an incredible difference.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife has been the recipient of $60 million dollars in grants from the WWRP program since its inception in 1990. With those funds, we have completed approximately 227 property transactions protecting over 60,000 acres of critical fish and wildlife habitats in almost every corner of the state.

Our purchases with WWRP grants have ranged from relatively small acquisitions to secure the future of the endangered Western Pond Turtle in Klickitat County, to a 9,000-acre purchase in Okanogan County to protect a federal candidate species: the sharptail grouse. Many of our recent activities have focused on trying to prevent further losses of habitat critical to endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead populations.

Where there has been a need to act quickly and effectively to protect species at risk, the habitat acquisition grants that you helped create more than a decade ago has been one of our best tools.

Let me share with you a success story:

You are familiar with the success of our Methow project–both for upland and riparian protection. However, one of the success stories you may not be as familiar with is about the western pond turtle, an endangered species in Washington.

The turtle was extirpated from the lower Puget Sound many, many years ago, and only two remnant populations remain in the Columbia River Gorge. In 1990, the Department, together with the Woodland Park Zoo, began an intensive recovery effort for the species. Habitat acquisition was a key element of the recovery program.

Using WWRP funds, the department purchased nearly 300 acres at two sites in Klickitat County in 1992 and 1994. These sites contained the core remaining population of western pond turtles in existence in the state at that time.

In an intensive recovery effort, which has included protecting the population from disturbance, head-starting juvenile turtles and releasing them back to the wild, and controlling bullfrogs, the population has increased from an estimated 100 in 1990 to more than 600 in 2001. We are seeing a 95% survival rate of our juvenile turtles, and head started females have now successfully nested in the wild.

The program has been successful to date, and biologists are optimistic the species will eventually be recovered in Washington.

Where do we go from here?

As Seattle Times Editor James Vesely noted this last Sunday, "Government doesn't have the money to save every river bend and every meadow." Our ownership of critical fish and wildlife lands at best can only be a foundation for a statewide network that must include private and other public lands. Governors from across this nation have been leaders in introducing an approach to conservation efforts called "Enlibra" or "toward balance." It's designed to make progress on complex resource issues by working with our neighbors–namely community groups, corporations, volunteer groups and yes--federal agencies.

What are our neighbors saying?

First, we get letters and hear complaints that WDFW land acquisitions remove property from the tax rolls and that this, in turn, threatens local economies. But as you probably know, WDFW is the only state agency that pays an in lieu tax payment to counties. And we also pay assessments for Lake Management Districts, Weed Control Districts, Sewer and Diking Districts and so on. Those payments were over ½ million dollars in 2001.

Also, most people in rural Washington have long known about the economics that hunters and fishers bring to those areas, but they may not be as familiar with the $1.7 billion spent annually in Washington on wildlife watching activities, mostly in rural areas. Nature-related tourism is the fastest growing segment of the travel industry, and wildlife viewing is the number one outdoor activity in the U.S.

I believe that what's good for fish and wildlife is good for all of us and good for business to boot. Healthy fish and wildlife and healthy local economies are not mutually exclusive. They are complimentary. We need to do a better job of getting this message out, and that has been - and will continue to be - one of the major goals of my Department's Wildlife program.

Protecting an area's rich fish and wildlife legacy for the benefit of all. That's good stewardship, and that's good business for our local economies. It's also part of being a good neighbor.

Second, we need to get another message out. When we purchase properties we need to make sure our immediate neighbors know why we did it, where the boundaries are and what we're going to do with it. All of us could probably think of an example of a less than desirable neighbor. Defining a good neighbor is a little more difficult, but it begins by being open, willing to listen and willing to be flexible.

Third, once the lands have been purchased, they need to be improved, maintained, and managed. I call it habitat with a purpose. Our neighbors are concerned that operations and maintenance dollars are not keeping up with basic needs. It is my belief that an appropriate percentage of WWRP dollars should be made available for improving or maintaining the habitats for which they were purchased. I don't want to become an absentee landlord with a weed lot. Being responsible for the land is part of being a good neighbor.

Finally, in an effort to build a better bridge between our lands and our neighbors in the communities in which they are located, I am forming a Statewide Lands Advisory Committee that will have representation from landowners, counties, conservation organizations as well as other interested groups. This Advisory Committee will help us make better decisions on our lands, and share responsibility for sound stewardship.

Again, I want to thank you for inviting me here today. Our WWRP efforts in the coming biennium will continue to focus on our most threatened fish, wildlife and habitats, including habitat for anadromous fish and, at the other end of the spectrum, fragile shrubsteppe habitats for pygmy rabbits, sage and sharptail grouse. I look forward to working with all of you on these and other projects in the years ahead.