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.

  • Scientific Technician II (3 positions) – Puyallup Tribe of Indians

    November 20, 2020

    Download Announcement The Scientific Technician II will work under direction of the Puyallup Tribal Fisheries staff to monitor juvenile salmon during spring emigration using a rotary screw trap on the Puyallup and White Rivers. Online Application URL: https://us59.dayforcehcm.com/CandidatePortal/en-US/ptoiad/Posting/View/468

  • Forest and Fish Biologist – Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC)

    November 9, 2020

    Download Announcement The SRSC Forest and Fish Program covers the Skagit, Sauk and Samish River basins to help implement protection of fish habitat, waters and other treaty resources from forestry activities. The ‘Forest and Fish’ Biologist will perform a variety of technical, communication and administrative tasks to support the Program and broader SRSC goals (consult […]

  • Fisheries Biologist III – Lummi Nation

    November 4, 2020

    Download Announcement The Fisheries Biologist III is a profession level position that serves as a senior staff natural resource specialist and will be assigned projects that are a high priority for the Lummi Natural Resource (LNR) Department. Under the direction of LNR’s Fisheries Harvest Manager, the Fisheries Biologist will work to fulfill the Lummi Indian […]

RSS News from nwtreatytribes.org

  • 2020 State of Our Watersheds: More Restoration Projects, Less Shoreline Armoring
    The fifth edition of the Northwest Treaty Tribes’ State of Our Watersheds Report is now available as a PDF to download in its entirety (46 MB) or by individual chapters. The 2020 State of Our Watersheds Interactive Viewer also is available here. The State of Our Watersheds Report (SOW) from the 20 treaty tribes in […]
  • Beaver program expands, increasing habitat resilience to climate change
    Tulalip wildlife staff and volunteers from Beavers Northwest lined up five cages in a Skykomish mountain stream in September, counting down to a synchronous opening of the gates. From the cages, six beavers – a breeding pair, three kits and a subadult – took a moment to get their bearings, then scurried off in all directions, including […]
  • Looking back at the Fish Wars 50 years later
    Being Frank is a column written by the chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. As a statement from the NWIFC chair, the column represents the natural resources management interests and concerns of the treaty Indian tribes in western Washington. This fall marked the 50th anniversary of an event that sparked the landmark ruling by […]