Long Live the Kings 

Long Live the Kings Programs

Long Live the Kings (LLTK) pursues projects and partnerships that compel coordinated, scientifically-credible, and transparent changes to harvest, hatchery, and habitat management to protect and restore wild salmon. We bring innovative tools, proven processes, and a track record of success to each of our projects. With our partners, we build a foundation for positive change.

1) US Fish & Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Pacific Region Federal Hatchery Review

From 2005-2010, LLTK provided project management, facilitation, coordination, and strategic planning for the US Fish & Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Pacific Region Federal Hatchery Review for salmon hatcheries in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The main goal of this review was to ensure that USFWS hatchery programs in the Northwest are part of a scientifically-sound and integrated strategy for conserving wild fish stocks and managing fisheries in watersheds within the Region. Michael Schmidt, Director of Fish Programs, has been selected to be a member of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Hatchery Action Advisory Group. "This group is an extremely important communication link between WDFW and key constituent groups on issues related to hatchery production and implementation of hatchery reform in the Puget Sound region. Michael's appointment to the volunteer Advisory Group will last at least through early 2012, when the group will assess progress to-date and determine next steps.

2) The Hood Canal Steelhead Project

LLTK is partnering with NOAA and 7 other organizations on the Hood Canal Steelhead Project (HCSP). The 16-year project is a first-of-its-kind, region-wide, long-term experimental study to assess the effects and effectiveness of utilizing low-impact, innovative wild steelhead supplementation techniques in streams throughout the Hood Canal basin. LLTK provides project coordination, protocol and document management, communications, and general project support as well as volunteer coordination, fish rearing and field support. Under the direction of NOAA researcher, Dr. Barry Berejikian, the HCSP represents a significant collaboration between NOAA Fisheries, Native American tribes, State and Federal agencies, community groups, and non-profits, and includes the participation of many watershed-level volunteers. Over 40 individuals from 9 collaborating organizations are involved in the project.

3) Salish Sea Marine Survival Project

There is increasing evidence that changes in the Salish Sea marine environment may be significantly affecting the overall survival of salmon. The smolt-to-adult survival (largely, the period when they are in the marine environment) for many stocks of coho and Chinook, which enter the Salish Sea from mid-spring through early summer and can utilize the Salish Sea for a significant period of time, has declined, in some cases to less than one tenth of the levels experienced in the 1970s and 80s. The Puget Sound steelhead population has also declined significantly, with evidence that mortality in the Salish Sea marine environment is playing a role. Conversely, many pink and some chum salmon populations, which enter the Salish Sea in late winter to early spring, are thriving and sockeye populations have been highly variable, perplexing scientists who work to predict their return for harvest management.

Long Live the Kings (LLTK) and project partner Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) of Canada are working with scientists and fishery managers on a trans-boundary effort to identify the primary factors affecting survival of salmon and steelhead in order to:

• Improve harvest, hatchery and habitat management

• Increase sustainable fishing opportunities

• Speed wild, ESA-listed salmon and southern resident killer whale recovery efforts

• Identify possible environmental problems in the Salish Sea and how they affect multiple ecosystem components

LLTK, in partnership with PSF, will facilitate development of the transboundary research effort, create funding mechanisms in the US and Canada to support needed research, help manage collaborative research activities, establish and maintain outreach and communications for the project, and help translate research results into management actions.

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

Recent Success               
In 2009, LLTK completed a partnership with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to create and institutionalize the use of a new approach for managing salmon and steelhead. The 21st Century Salmon and Steelhead Framework coordinates decisions about hatcheries, harvest, and habitat (a true "All-H" approach) for the purpose of recovering naturally-spawning salmon and steelhead populations while at the same time supporting sustainable fisheries. The framework sets out what is necessary, across multiple disciplines, to meet these dual goals; it assesses where WDFW is today in relation to its goals; and it identifies benchmarks over the next 50 years against which the agency, our leaders and the public can measure progress. WDFW has relied on the framework to guide staffing and management decisions for the last two years. WDFW awarded LLTK "Organization of the Year" for our central work on this project.                                        

The USFWS Federal Hatchery Review facilitated by Long Live the Kings and completed in 2010 has already resulted in over 100 significant changes and improvements to federally run hatcheries in the region, assisting in environmental protection and recovery of wild fish throughout the Pacific Northwest.                                        

Current Need                    
LLTK is not a membership organization and regularly seeks grants to support the costs of our projects as well as to provide general support. With annual reductions to public funding available to sustain our critical salmon and steelhead recovery work, we face increasing challenges in securing the support necessary to meet our conservation objectives. Funding from private sources like The Seattle Foundation, is critical to the day-to-day operation and implementation of our important projects.