Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

The Skokomish Tribe has solid data showing how salmon are using the Skokomish Tidelands after a year of monitoring the 400-acre restored estuary.

While the tribe monitors the estuary year round, the first full year of sampling (December 2011 to November 2012) showed 20 fish species, including chinook, chum and coho salmon, using both the large and small tidal channels in the restored areas of the …

The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe is undertaking the restoration of the internationally known botanical garden called Heronswood.

The tribe purchased the 15-acre property, located near the tribe’s reservation, in July 2012 mainly to preserve it for the community, said Noel Higa, the tribe’s economic development director.

“I think there was a real sense that a treasure could be lost if the tribe didn’t do what it …

EarthFix (KCTS) has a two-part series about the latest effort on the habitat restoration and fish studies taking place during the Elwha River Restoration project. Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe habitat program manager Mike McHenry is quoted in both stories.

Mike McHenry, a fisheries habitat biologist with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, strides across a newly revealed mudflat above the lower dam. It’s a place very few

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The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is restoring salmon habitat in the 118-acre Washington Harbor by replacing a roadway and two culverts with a 600-foot-long bridge.

The 600-foot-long road and the two 6-foot-wide culverts restrict tidal flow to a 37-acre estuary within the harbor adjacent to Sequim Bay, blocking fish access and harming salmon habitat.

The tribe seined the harbor in April to take stock of current fish …

In its 10^th year of a successful partnership, the Suquamish Tribe has donated 50,000 chum salmon fry to the Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project, supporting the effort to teach the public about salmon and why it’s important to keep streams clean.

“A few years ago, we released 70,000 fry and 164 came back last year, which is a good return for us,” said Bill Hagen, …

Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe elder Adeline Smith died March 19, 2013. She was 95. She was known for helping preserve the Tse-whit-zen village site and the Klallam Language, and played a part in the removal of the Elwha River dams.

From the Peninsula Daily News:

PORT ANGELES — Adeline Smith, the Lower Elwha Klallam tribal elder who played key roles in preserving the site of

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If the waters of Hood Canal were drained from the Skokomish delta today, the exposed seafloor would show a complex network of channels within the delta that leads to steep ridges on the bottom of Hood Canal.

The Skokomish Tribe is working with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to map the topography, morphology and habitats of the delta and the tribe’s 1,000-acre estuary in southern Hood Canal.…

The Kitsap Sun released an article recently about the Skokomish Tribe filing a lawsuit against the state of Washington over hunting rights.

The suit involves tribal rights to hunt on “open and unclaimed lands”.

From the story:

The lawsuit claims that actions by state agencies and officials have denied tribal members access to their legitimate hunting areas. Furthermore, state officials have imposed civil and criminal sanctions

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The Seattle Times reported recently that the federal court in Tacoma has dismissed the March 2012 lawsuit brought against the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the operation of its hatchery, citing that the suit was “moot”.

From the story:

 

(U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin) Settle found that the suit was moot because, since the suit was filed, the tribe had obtained permits from federal fisheries

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Treaty tribes in Northwest Washington are working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to use caged mussels to analyze toxic chemicals in Puget Sound.

The National Mussel Watch Program, run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has been monitoring toxic contaminants in lakes and coastal waters since 1986.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recently began a pilot project in conjunction …