Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Jeff Wilson’s subscribers Dec. 10, 2025. To subscribe to Sen. Wilson’s e-newsletters, click here.

This picture, from last February, shows sea lions congregating near the mouth of the Cowlitz. It’s a wonder any fish get by.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Why do our salmon struggle? I don’t think there is any mystery about it. In Southwest Washington, we can see the reason with our own eyes.

From January to March, the sea lions swarm the Lower Columbia and its tributaries, feasting on the smolts making their way downriver. With no natural predators and federal laws that prohibit hunting, the sea lion population has exploded in recent years. These hungry creatures are taking a big bite from our salmon runs and turning our multi-million-dollar public investment in salmon recovery into lunch.

For years I have been working to get the Department of Fish and Wildlife the money it needs to deal with the sea lion scourge. For our next legislative session, which starts Jan. 12, I think I finally have the winning approach. How about we pass the hat?

That’s the idea behind Senate Bill 5851, which I have pre-filed for consideration in 2026. This bill would give boat owners the opportunity to make a voluntary contribution to sea lion control when they renew their vessel registrations. If this bill passes, we will see that many of us feel passionately about this issue and are willing to put our money behind it.

State already has permit

Nothing prevents us from stepping up our sea lion control efforts. The problem is that Washington is failing to take full advantage of a permit already granted by the federal government. In 2020, the National Marine Fisheries Service gave the states of Washington and Oregon permission to cull sea lions downriver of Bonneville Dam and on Lower Columbia tributaries. So far the two states have removed hundreds of sea lions near the dam and on the Willamette River.

Yet hotspots like the Cowlitz River have gone untouched. That’s because the Washington tributaries are shallow and require barges and other equipment suited for limited depth. WDFW needs $300,000 for this purpose.

Now, $300,000 isn’t much in a state budget of $79 billion. But in three years of trying, I haven’t been able to obtain an appropriation. The excuse is that the budget is tight and there are more important things.

Next best thing to a go-fund-me

So I got to thinking this summer. How else can we raise that money? Our attorneys tell me the state can’t do a go-fund-me to save the salmon. But what we can do is create a program allowing people to make voluntary contributions to sea lion control, the same way we do for the state parks when we renew our vehicle registrations. Just as important, by passing this bill, we commit the state to the cause. Consider:

• Sea lion numbers have quadrupled over the last 50 years, and sea lions are no longer considered endangered in any sense.
• Sea lions are voracious eaters – each consumes about 40 pounds of fish daily.
• Sea lions are having a big impact. The National Marine Fisheries Service estimates we lose 20 to 45 percent of our spring Chinook run to sea lion predation, depending on the year and river conditions.

At a time when we are hearing proposals to tear down the Snake River dams in the name of salmon recovery, costing us billions and threatening us with wintertime blackouts, with no guarantee of success – doesn’t it make sense to try something first that would be fast, cheap and effective?

Yes, this is something our taxes should be paying for. But I’ve tried that. So let those of us who are concerned about preserving our salmon step up to the plate. I know there are many of you who feel as strongly about this as I do. I think we’ll raise that $300,000 quickly and keep right on going. And certainly this beats holding a car wash or bake sale.

Bill offers a new approach to protecting signature gatherers

Recent attacks on political speech warrant Legislature’s attention

A spate of violent attacks on initiative signature gatherers this season is sending the Legislature a message – we need to protect our freedom of political speech. As lead Republican on the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs and Elections Committee, I have introduced a bill for next session that would create bright lines and sharp edges, and provide tough new penalties for those who would interfere with the public’s right to pass direct legislation.

Under current law, it is a gross misdemeanor to interfere with signature gathering by threats or force. But law enforcement officials tell us this law is difficult to enforce because elements of the crime are not well defined. Senate Bill 5850 is the latest refinement to a proposal I have offered these last two years. It gets about as specific as we can, by –

• Making it a gross misdemeanor to protest within 25 feet of a canvasser or a person signing a petition for a referendum or initiative,
• Establishing that defacing petitions or harassing signature gatherers is a gross misdemeanor,
• Creating a new Class C felony for repeat violations of the law, and
• Creating a new Class C felony for malicious interference with initiative or referendum petitions, allowing prosecutions of those who steal initiative petitions from tables or canvassers.

The immediate concern is a series of attacks this season on a pair of conservative-themed initiatives that were collecting signatures this fall. Organizers reported dozens of incidents ranging from shouting matches to physical altercations. One woman was arrested outside a Tacoma Fred Meyer when she charged a signature-gathering table and began tearing up petitions and signage.

Especially disturbing is the possibility of organized harassment efforts. The opposition campaign, backed by some of the state’s most prominent special interest groups, maintained a webpage asking people to report sightings of signature gatherers. For what purpose, it didn’t say.

The lesson of the last several months is that extremist violence is a problem across the political spectrum, and is not confined to right or left. This coming session I hope responsible political leaders will be able to come together and declare that harassment, intimidation and violence are unacceptable, no matter the context.

Thanks for reading!

 

Sen. Jeff Wilson
19th Legislative District

 

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