Legislation advanced by Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington tribes calls for mandatory riparian buffers, with $10,000-a-day fines for landowners who don’t plant trees along creeks and rivers crossing their property.
Senate Bill 5727 directs the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to set and enforce “riparian management zones.” The sponsor, Sen. Christine Rolfes, D-Kitsap County, called the legislation a “Marshall Plan” to save salmon.
“This is kind of our moment. I hope people will engage constructively,” she said Friday. “It’s a critical issue for the entire state to talk about what we need to do for salmon.”
Source: Washington lawmakers file Inslee’s mandatory buffer bill | Water | capitalpress.com