Willows Inn Braces for Lummi Ferry Showdown

• Evidently Riley Starks, and his Lummi Island Reefnet Association's Central Cause, as discussed clearly by United States District Senior Judge Boldt; STATEMENT OF THE CASE BOLDT, Senior District Judge. In September, 1970 the United States, on its own behalf and as trustee for several Western Washington Indian Tribes, n1 later joined as intervenor plaintiffs by additional tribes, n2 filed the complaint initiating this action against the State of Washington. Shortly later the State Department of Fisheries (Fisheries) and the State Game Commission (Game), their respective directors, and the Washington Reef Net Owners Association (Reef Net Owners) were included as defendants. By state statute Fisheries is charged with exercising regulatory authority over fishing for all anadromous food fish. Regulation of anadromous steelhead trout is vested in Game. Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202 concerning off reservation treaty right fishing within the case area by plaintiff tribes, which long has been and now is in controversy, and for injunctive [*328] relief to provide enforcement of those fishing rights as they previously have been or herein may be judicially determined. The case area is that portion of the State of Washington west of the Cascade Mountains and north of the Columbia [**4] River drainage area, and includes the American portion of the Puget Sound watershed, the watersheds of the Olympic Peninsula north of the Grays Harbor watershed, and the offshore waters adjacent to those areas.

• The article does not explain what Whatcom County's ferry task force does and by name it and the report in the Weekly, it was a logical inference that the task force may be dealing with the controversy regarding the ferry that is being report upon. You are correct that *a* ferry has been in operation for some time (not 100 years, but 80), but the ferry was for a long time a private ferry that also leased private tribal land for access. I have looked quite far into the situation and considered the County's continued reluctance to properly invest in the system or the County's willingness to pay the Port of Bellingham for the same service it is seeking from the tribe. The tribe is asking a lot less than the Port would require and they are finally taking an appropriate stand. Bravo.

• The Ferry Task Force is NOT attempting to resolve a deal with the Tribe; it is a group set up by the County to determine ferry fares. The Islanders have not had any seat at the negotiating table and for the most part have been kept in the dark through the year-and-a-half procedure at the Tribes request. At dispute is crossing a small area of tidelands, not the uplands. A ferry has been crossing this area for about 100 years. Sorry you're annoyed, but you might look a little further into the entire stand-off before you render an indignant opinion.

• Riley is right, the reality is on 4/11 the ferry will land on Gooseberry to perhaps a few natives drumming . KING 5 will circle overhead, Patty Murray will arrive hauling a printing press for the necessary dollars and life will go on. If that doesn't work we'll just point out that the tribe has vast stores of underground oil underneath the Cagey wrecking yard and the feds will re-invade them.

• I think it is incredibly inappropriate for Stark to sit on the taskforce attempting to resolve a deal regarding the ferry service to make statements in the press that the tribe's position is a bluff and a mistake. Furthermore, the entire mentality that the islanders are *entitled* to both taxpayer dollars for their ferry service and entitled to the use of privately held land to get them onto their ferry and to town is extremely annoying. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the luxury of living or running a business in a rustic and bucolic setting, but please recognize that it is a luxury, not an entitlement, and make decisions you can afford.

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