The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) is a natural resources management support service organization for 20 treaty Indian tribes in western Washington. Headquartered in Olympia, the NWIFC employs approximately 65 people with satellite offices in Burlington and Forks.

NWIFC member tribes are: Lummi, Nooksack, Swinomish, Upper Skagit, Sauk-Suiattle, Stillaguamish, Tulalip, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Nisqually, Squaxin Island, Skokomish, Suquamish, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, Lower Elwha Klallam, Makah, Quileute, Quinault, and Hoh.

The NWIFC was created following the 1974 U.S. v. Washington ruling (Boldt Decision) that re-affirmed the tribes’ treaty-reserved fishing rights. The ruling recognized them as natural resources co-managers with the State of Washington with an equal share of the harvestable number of salmon returning annually.

Read more on our About Us page.

  • Assistant Marine Fish Program Manager – Suquamish Tribe

    May 17, 2019

    Download Announcement Responsible for assisting the Marine Fish Program Manager and the Marine Fishery Biologist in daily tasks while learning how the Suquamish Marine Fish Program operates within the usual and accustomed fishing areas of the Suquamish Tribe. The Program Manager provides biological analysis and management recommendations for marine fish fisheries. This requires detailed knowledge […]

  • Administrative Policy Analyst – Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Commission

    May 16, 2019

    Download Announcement Provide leadership and policy analysis in the areas of employment law, and financial and insurance regulations. Will also assist the Commission in implementing various human resource functions.

  • CMER Staff Manager/Lead Scientist

    May 13, 2019

    Download Announcement Support the implementation of the Cooperative Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (CMER) Adaptive Management Program under guidance from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Adaptive Management Program Administrator. Basic functions include management of the CMER staff program at NWIFC, supervising and administering the CMER staff members, providing technical support for CMER and the Scientific […]

RSS News from nwtreatytribes.org

  • Lummi Nation reopens spring clam harvest in Portage Bay
    Portage Bay opened to Lummi clam diggers on a sunny afternoon in April for the first time since 2014 when the beds were closed because of fecal coliform contamination. Closing 820 acres of shellfish beds from April through June left Lummi tribal members with no opportunity to harvest there during daylight hours. “Now, when the […]
  • Tribes outraged by EPA move to rescind water quality standards
    Treaty Indian tribes in western Washington were shocked and disappointed to learn that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is rolling back Washington’s water quality standards that were the most protective of human heath in the nation. “This action is outrageous,” said Lorraine Loomis, chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. “Like all federal agencies the […]
  • Stillaguamish estuary restoration gives juvenile salmon more places to rear
    Juvenile salmon are using the new habitat at zis a ba in the Stillaguamish estuary, where the Stillaguamish Tribe restored tidal flow in October 2017. Formerly part of the tidal marshes connected to Port Susan and south Skagit Bay, zis a ba had been isolated from the river and tides by a dike built more […]