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.

  • Research Natural Resource Technicians – Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC)

    June 20, 2022

    Download Announcement Provide support to a variety of SRSC projects and its diverse staff in the collection and compilation of samples and/or data required in the implementation diverse suite of salmon specific research projects.

  • Finfish Technician IV – Skokomish Indian Tribe

    June 20, 2022

    Download Announcement This position provides technical assistance to finfish program biologists. During April through July, the individual will assist the Finfish Biologist with a long-term steelhead supplementation project to be conducted within the Hood Canal. The individual will also assist with projects being conducted by other Tribal biologists; specifically, he or she will assist the […]

  • Information Officer

    June 20, 2022

    Download Announcement Provide direct, comprehensive public relations and communications services for NWIFC member tribes.

RSS News from nwtreatytribes.org

  • Tribes on the forefront of preparing for climate change
    Tribes in western Washington are on the front lines of climate change adaptation. The climate crisis threatens every aspect of natural resources management. For years, the treaty tribes have been gathering data to better understand vulnerable areas on reservations and tribal communities, including impacts to salmon, shellfish, wildlife, water resources, snowpack, traditional plants and tribal […]
  • We Need All Hands on Deck to Slow the Spread of European Green Crab
    Being Frank is a column written by Chairman Ed Johnstone of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. As a statement from the NWIFC chairman, the column represents the natural resources management concerns of the treaty Indian tribes in western Washington. Efforts are ramping up to control the explosion of invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) in […]
  • Habitat restoration protects fish and farm from flooding
    The Skokomish Tribe’s recent salmon habitat restoration project on a working farm shows how such work can benefit both fish and farms. The tribe purchased more than 100 acres of the old Bourgault farm in the Skokomish River Valley in 2011. The farm regularly floods during significant rain events as the Skokomish River cuts through […]