Declining forest cover in coastal river basins leads to fewer salmon returning, hurting both sport and tribal fishermen. That is a finding in the recently released State of Our Watersheds Report by the treaty tribes in western Washington.

From the report:

Between 2006 and 2011, watersheds within Olympic National Park and U.S. Forest Service lands had little (<1%) or no change in forest cover conditions while within the state and private lands, the overall trend is negative. Watersheds with the highest losses were West Fork Dickey (with a 12.1% change) and Lower Bogachiel River (9.9%).

Even though these coastal watersheds generally have healthy forest conditions, the decline in forest health is still worrisome.