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President Trump signs sea lion bill at columbia river into law today

Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 8:39 pm
by WB Staff
President Trump signs sea lion bill at columbia river into law.jpg
In this file photo, a sea lion eats a salmon in the Columbia River near Bonneville Dam in North Bonneville, Wash. Legislation that allows the lethal taking of sea lions that prey on at-risk fish populations on the Columbia River and select tributaries in Washington, Oregon and Idaho has been signed into law by President Donald Trump. (Don Ryan / AP)

WASHINGTON D.C. – Legislation that allows the lethal taking of sea lions that prey on at-risk fish populations on the Columbia River and select tributaries in Washington, Oregon and Idaho has been signed into law by President Donald Trump.

The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., makes slight changes to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which lays out prohibitions for killing marine mammals, and institutes a permit process for the lethal taking of sea lions. Permit holders are legally allowed to kill sea lions that are part of a population and/or stock that is not classified as being depleted or at risk.

The signing of the bill by President Trump was the culmination of years of hard work and advocacy to bring attention to the issue. Moses Lake resident Rick Graser, who spent 31 years as a fishing guide, was at the forefront of the fight for a fix to come about and says he is relieved to see it come. But at the same time, he says, it could have come sooner.

Read the rest: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/d ... ent-trump/