Puget Sound Federal Task Force

Workgroup

Workgroups are collaborative communities, often within an organization that complete efforts

• Academic
  • Youth
• Federal
• Local
  • County
  • District
  • Municipality
  • Special District
• Non-Institutional
• Private
  • NGO
• Provincial
• State
• Tribal

Salish Sea References

• Watershed Characterization Mapper
• The Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
• PRISM Project Search
• Washington Coastal Atlas
• WDFW's Salmonscape Map

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The Puget Sound Federal Task Force is a multi-agency forum created to coordinated federal actions to recovery Puget Sound ecosystem services.

• File:PSFTF 2016 memorandum of understanding.pdf - The memo that defines the purposes and practices of the task force.

Vision and Purpose statement

"II. VISION AND PURPOSE

(a) The parties, identified below, envision a healthy and sustainable Puget Sound ecosystem that provides for a high-quality and resilient long-term ecological and economic state and restores the environmental integrity and sustainability of the system.

(b) This MOU establishes the national Puget Sound Federal Task Force to work in partnership with the Puget Sound federally recognized tribal governments, State of Washington, diverse stakeholders and Canadian partners to apply our authorities, programs, available resources and scientific capabilities toward achieving the vision and purpose of this MOU.

(c) This MOU establishes a voluntary structure for coordinating and aligning the actions of the federal agencies with primary federal responsibilities and authority over key aspects of Puget Sound and its tributaries. This includes the establishment of the Puget Sound Federal Task Force supported by regional federal leadership and implementation teams.

(d) This MOU is intended to achieve the following purposes:

• Strengthen the coordination among federal agencies and provide for closer and more efficient coordination between regional and national federal leadership in the setting and execution of federal priorities and the resolving of issues in a timely fashion, consistent with existing federal agency procedures and processes;
• Strengthen generally the coordination among federal agencies on mitigation of potential environmental impacts;
• Strengthen generally the intergovernmental coordination of federal actions with tribal, state and local governments as well as the coordination of public and private efforts;
• Strengthen the early and ongoing integration of federal activities and capabilities into the Puget Sound Action Agenda and its implementation, working with the federally recognized tribal governments, Puget Sound Management Conference, other state agencies and the public;
• Strengthen and expand the federal contribution of scientific and technical expertise as practicable with available federal appropriations;
• Contribute to fulfilling federal trust responsibilities to the Puget Sound federally recognized tribal governments, as they relate to the action plan and priority actions; and
• Serve to create a standing federal venue through which to share information, meet and engage in government-to-government consultation as it relates to the action plan and priority actions.

(e) This MOU does not alter, diminish or create any legal obligations for federal agencies or expand the authorities granted by underlying statutes nor does it alter or diminish any existing federal treaty obligations or trust responsibilities.

(f) This MOU revokes and supersedes the existing regional federal partnership agreement that established the Puget Sound Federal Caucus and builds upon and complements the collaborative work the federal government, tribes, the state and other key partners are already conducting."

Notes

• Need to get MOU up once signed version is available
• Creates mechanism for elevation of issues related to tribal treaty rights to a national audience.