Portland, led by City Commissioner Erik Sten, launched its own salmon recovery effort last year after steelhead were listed. King and Pierce counties in the Seattle area are working to come up with local salmon protection measures they hope the fisheries service will adopt as the recovery plan for Puget Sound's declining runs of chinook. The new approach is one that emphasizes partnerships. It's too soon to know whether the home-grown solutions will work. Conservationists are withholding judgment until they see what measures are enacted at local levels.
Opponents reserve judgment Even the most traditional of opponents to regulation are standing back.
Jim James, regional timber manager for Willamette Industries, Oregon's largest timberland owner, also is pleased. Since then we matured so we can address these kinds of issues. And the fact that the states and cities are being given a chance makes this much easier. Although officials cannot list the specific effects of the March listings, all say they will be widespread. Salmon need clear, cool streams and rivers with clean gravel rapids for spawning and quiet, shaded pools where the young fish can live and fatten before striking out for the ocean.