Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

The Stillaguamish Tribe will have its first Salmon Ceremony in at least 25 years on July 25. The ceremony marks the first time the tribe has had a ceremonial and subsistence chinook fishery since 1985.

The Daily Herald:

Even when other tribes continued welcoming the fish that are at the center of Coast Salish culture, the Stillaguamish instead focused on reviving the chinook run on

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SWINOMISH RESERVATION(Sept. 5, 2008) – A Federal District court judge in Seattle has ruled in favor of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in a case involving a diking and drainage district’s failure to comply with the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act when replacing tidegates in its jurisdiction. The Tribe brought the lawsuit against Skagit County Dike District No. 22 after several years of …

The Peninsula Daily News published a story about Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s treaty hunting rights being met within the Dungeness Recreation Area. Jamestown tribal chairman Ron Allen is quoted.

DUNGENESS — Clallam County soon may tell the state Department of Fish and Wildlife that hunters won’t be welcome much longer at the Dungeness Recreation Area.

The county, however, may have to accommodate members of the Jamestown S’Klallam …

The Kitsap Sun has published a follow up story to the proposed dock to be constructed in Port Gamble Bay, across the way from the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe’s reservation. The dock has been approved, but the tribe plans to appeal.

Property Group has won county approval for a 160-foot dock in an old industrial area on Port Gamble Bay — but final approval may come

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The (Everett) Herald recounts Stillaguamish Tribal Chairman Shawn Yanity’s experience hunting the Nooksack herd for the first time in recent memory:

“We drove out to the area where I figured they might be. I’d been watching that herd for quite a while, and when we got there … were probably 20 there, mostly bulls.

Following Monday’s listing of Puget Sound steelhead as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, the Skagit Valley Herald (subscription required) reported the following:

Swinomish tribal officials said today that the tribe would likely cut back on its already limited take of steelhead.

“The listing of steelhead as threatened is one more indicator that now is the time to act to save our anadromous fish” said

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Skagit County commissioners proposed raising property taxes to create streamside buffers around the Skagit River and its tributaries.

The Seattle Times:

A proposal announced Thursday and headed to the county’s voters in the summer would cost the average homeowner about $25 a year. The county commissioners say raising public money to buy land from willing sellers would not only preserve land along the river and

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The North Kitsap Herald ran a story January 17 about the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe receiving an emergency oil spill response trailer from the state Department of Ecology:

After the Port Gamble Bay was hit hard by a preventable oil spill in October 2005, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe decided it never wanted to be that helpless again.

Working with the Washington State Department of Ecology, …

Especially this part that focusses on Jones’ efforts to revive their First Salmon Ceremony and habitat restoration:

The tribal chairman also is credited with helping to revive Tulalip ceremonies and traditions. Following the Boldt decision in 1974, which awarded Washington tribes half of the state salmon catch, the Tulalips gathered some of their elders to teach the younger generation traditional songs, drum chants and dances.

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King 5:

One of the nation’s richest shell fish bays is in trouble.

Oakland Bay near Shelton produces 60 percent of the entire nation’s Manila clams.

But the water quality in parts of the bay barely passes state health standards because of the levels of fecal coliform, a form of bacteria found in human and animal waste.

… “It would have a major impact on

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