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.

  • Fisheries Biologist – Nooksack Tribe

    October 14, 2020

    Download Description Supervise and coordinate fisheries technician crew, oversee spawn survey, harvest sampling, and salmonid population monitoring data including collection, QA/QC, analysis and synthesis. Participate in technical co-management forums for finfish and shellfish. Provide technical support to policy on shellfish, finfish and on proposed annual management plans. Conduct fish exclusion and technical support for habitat […]

  • Environmental Scientist – Suquamish Tribe

    October 2, 2020

    Download Description Serves as a senior environmental scientist providing expert advice to program and executive management on measures required to investigate and clean-up chemical pollution impacts to Treaty-reserved rights and resources. The Environmental Scientist position serves as staff lead on multi-agency project teams evaluating human health and ecological impacts of CERCLA and MTCA sites located […]

  • Hydrologist/Water Resources Coordinator – Suquamish Tribe

    October 2, 2020

    Download Description Position provides expert advice to program and executive management, and serves as program technical expert on measures required to protect ground and surface water resources and aquatic habitat.  Incumbent will be the staff lead on planning and implementing water resources management activities for the Suquamish Tribe. For more information on these positions and […]

RSS News from nwtreatytribes.org

  • Hundreds more invasive European green crab found in Lummi Bay
    In the year since the first invasive European green crab were found on Lummi Nation beaches, hundreds more have been trapped in the aquaculture pond near the tribe’s fish and shellfish hatchery. “They just arrived in our sea pond last year,“ said Lummi Nation biologist Nick Jefferson. “Go figure, the aquaculture pond would be able […]
  • Tribal Watersheds Report Shows Little Improvement, but Hope Remains
    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. I wish there were better news in our 2020 State of Our Watersheds Report that […]
  • Quileute Tribe Working to Restore River Function and Protect Village
    It took the Quileute Tribe decades to have the traditional fishing area known as Thunder Field returned in a land swap with the National Park Service in 2012. Now the tribe and its partners are investing millions of dollars in a restoration effort to restore parts of the Quillayute River to protect Thunder Field, the village […]