Many individuals and businesses have given financial contributions to Fish Northwest over the past few months. They did this in hopes of seeing a reversal in the massive decline in the fishing opportunity we sportsmen of Puget Sound have witnessed in the last five years. Like our generous donors, we at Fish Northwest came to the conclusion that the only path forward is through litigation. Now that we have begun the process, it’s completely understandable that a few folks may be frustrated at the slow pace of the lawsuit. Believe me, as the president of Fish Northwest I’m impatient as well. However, we hired the lawyers to do a job and we have to let them do it. This case is complex and technical. If it were simple and easy, someone before us would have taken this up. When I and Mark decided to do something, rather than just rant, we knew we were going to be tackling something gargantuan, daunting, and yes frustrating. The two of us had already spent years trying to affect change from within the Department and so we were not naive to the difficulties ahead, the steepness of the hill to climb, and the resistance we would meet. So we are asking our supporters to hang in there. The two attorney’s working on our case are telling us to expect a filing by the second week of September, and yet this is the first step in a long process. It will be a long and expensive road. The board of directors at Fish Northwest will pass on any relevant information as soon as we get it, and give a full account of our expenses at any time, to any donor who requests it. From the five board members at Fish Northwest, we want to thank all of you for your confidence, support, trust, and patience. We are all eager to see change happen, and if we stay the course, it will.

Brett Rosson

President, Fish Northwest