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.

  • Senior Restoration Ecologist – Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC)

    March 13, 2020

    Download Announcement The Senior Restoration Ecologist will work on a team with other technical specialists to implement salmon habitat planning, design, and construction projects that advance tribal objectives for salmon recovery. Projects can occur throughout the Skagit River basin and associated estuary and nearshore environments. The Senior Restoration Ecologist will initially work on a portfolio […]

  • Hatchery Maintenance Technician 1/2/3/4 – Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians

    September 30, 2019

    Download Announcement This position performs a variety of fish hatchery, maintenance activities for the Tribe’s hatchery facilities. The position may provide input to the Hatchery Manager, Enhancement Biologist, or Fisheries Program Manager regarding scheduling, grounds keeping, activities, and efficiencies relative to the successful completion of hatchery activities and preventative maintenance. Along with the rest of […]

  • Introducing Northwest Treaty Tribes

    August 24, 2015

    Tribes. Treaty Rights. That’s what we’re all about. This week, the treaty tribes in western Washington are launching a new communications effort called Northwest Treaty Tribes: Protecting Natural Resources for Everyone. At first blush, the only change you’ll notice is that instead of getting tribal natural resources news from social media and web platforms of […]

RSS News from nwtreatytribes.org

  • Wrestling with Sharing, Protecting Culture in Parks
    For tribes, the struggle between sharing culture and protecting it from being used by nontribal people for profit is a part of daily life. The Nisqually Tribe is determining what information will be shared at public park sites on both Nisqually land and public spaces that traverse ancestral lands. For example, identifying important cultural plants […]
  • Cooperation Key to Containing Green Crab Invasion
    Being Frank is a monthly 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. Treaty tribes are encouraged by cooperative efforts with federal and state natural resources managers […]
  • Nearly 1,000 acres of land returns to Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
    Port Gamble S’Klallam tribal members recently celebrated the return of nearly 1,000 acres to tribal ownership, 165 years after the tribe signed the Point No Point Treaty that ceded most of the tribe’s land to the U.S. government. Since 2013, the tribe has been negotiating with property owner Pope Resources to purchase 937 acres of […]