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Introducing Northwest Treaty Tribes

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NWIFC News is transitioning to Northwest Treaty Tribes, so articles will now appear at nwtreatytribes.org. Information like technical reports and job postings will still be found on nwifc.org.

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 the NWIFC, you’ll be getting it from Northwest Treaty Tribes. NWIFC is not changing its name and will continue to function as it has since its inception.

The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission has been around for 40 years, supporting tribes in the exercise of their treaty rights. One way we’ve helped is by telling the story of the tribes protecting and restoring natural resources.

Over the next few months, we’ll be rolling out other projects under the Northwest Treaty Tribes banner that will help the broader community better understand the role of treaty tribes.
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Puyallup Tribe: Will a wall of warm water stop salmon?

The Puyallup Tribe is keeping a close eye on the harm caused by warm water to salmon returning to the river, including hundreds of thousands of pink salmon.
The Puyallup Tribe is keeping a close eye on the harm caused by warm water to salmon returning to the river, including hundreds of thousands of pink salmon.

Will a wall of warm water prevent salmon from migrating into the Puyallup River watershed this year? High temperatures and low river flows are combining for what might be a remarkably bad salmon return.

To better understand the conditions, the Puyallup Tribe has more than doubled the number of temperature monitors in the watershed to 13 to track a feared “thermal barrier” to fish returning from the ocean.

“If the water in the lower river is too warm, it’s likely these fish will delay entry or go somewhere else,” said Russ Ladley, resources protection manager for the tribe. “Even if some fish do try to head upstream, they might die before they spawn because of the warm water.”

Warm water is deadly for salmon. If a stream’s water gets too warm, salmon have to expend more energy to survive, which can often lead to starvation. Diseases that kill salmon are also more virulent and spread easily in warm water.
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Read more about the article Drought prevents salmon from returning to hatchery
A chinook salmon waits to be let into the holding pond from the Tulalip Bay fish ladder.

Drought prevents salmon from returning to hatchery

A chinook salmon waits to be let into the holding pond from the Tulalip Bay fish ladder.
Chinook salmon wait to be let into the holding pond from the Tulalip Bay fish ladder.

Tribal fishing in Tulalip Bay closed in July because a thermal barrier kept many salmon from entering the bay, and low flows prevented others from swimming upriver.

Tulalip Tribes closed fishing in the bay July 22, and the state restricted the sport chinook fishery in the “bubble” at the mouth of the bay to catch-and-release as of July 31.

Normally, chinook salmon return via the Skykomish River to the state’s Wallace River Hatchery, where they are spawned for the Tulalip Tribes’ and state’s joint hatchery program. But this year, along with other rivers in the region, the Skykomish is setting records for the lowest flows ever recorded.

“Wallace River Hatchery doesn’t have enough fish,” said Mike Crewson, Tulalip salmon enhancement scientist. “Escapement is really low. The fish cannot make it up there in the shallow water. They’re all holding down in the lower pools of the Skykomish and Snohomish mainstems. They don’t want to come into Tulalip Bay even, because it’s too warm.”

Temperatures around 70 degrees can be lethal for salmon. In rivers, pathogens such as Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (ich) and columnaris (gill rot) thrive in warm water. The diseases spread more quickly when the rivers are crowded by low flows, and can lead to increased pre-spawn mortality. (more…)

Continue ReadingDrought prevents salmon from returning to hatchery

Restored, opened habitat leads to record run of coho from Goldsborough Creek

Scott Steltzner, biologist for the Squaxin Island Tribe, inspects a newly constructed logjam in 2013.
Scott Steltzner, biologist for the Squaxin Island Tribe, inspects a newly constructed logjam in 2013.

SHELTON – A combination of dam removal and aggressive habitat restoration has meant record runs of juvenile coho salmon in Goldsborough Creek for 2015.

This year’s run of 113,000 juveniles counted by the Squaxin Island Tribe continues a strong trend of increasing the number of juvenile coho leaving the Goldsborough watershed. The previous record was 61,000 coho.

Almost 15 years ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removed a dam on Goldsborough, opening over 30 miles of near intact habitat to salmon. Since then, the Squaxin Island Tribe has worked with community partners to further improve the habitat through restoration projects throughout the watershed.

“The lesson of Goldsborough Creek is pretty basic: If you give salmon habitat, they’re going to succeed,” said Andy Whitener, natural resources director for the Squaxin Island Tribe.

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Read more about the article Quinault Indian Nation jump-starting important spruce tree growth
A Quinault Indian Nation tree planting crew plants spruce trees as part of jump-starting the growth of this key species that helps stabilize river channels and fish habitat.

Quinault Indian Nation jump-starting important spruce tree growth

A Quinault Indian Nation tree planting crew plants spruce trees as part of jump-starting the growth of this key species that helps stabilize river channels and fish habitat.
A Quinault Indian Nation tree planting crew plants spruce trees as part of jump-starting the growth of this key species that helps stabilize river channels that are important fish habitat.

Restoring Sitka spruce and native vegetation to the upper Quinault River valley floodplain is another piece of the complex puzzle the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) is assembling to rehabilitate the Quinault River and the sockeye or blueback salmon that depend on a healthy river system.

In the first phase of river restoration, QIN installed 13 engineered logjams in Alder Creek in 2008. The 2012 project built seven more engineered logjams to stabilize the river channel, restore habitat for salmon and reduce risk to landowners’ property from erosion.

Most recently, the Quinault Division of Natural Resources (QDNR) and its contractor R2 Resource Consultants, began the first of many floodplain forest treatments this spring after an extensive planning process. (more…)

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Read more about the article What Tribal Hatcheries Are Doing to Save Salmon from the Drought
Dean Jackson, Quileute tribal fisheries technician, moves salmon fry out of a pool cut off from Morganroth Creek as part of the tribe's work to move as many stranded fry as possible from pools created by early and persistent drought conditions.

What Tribal Hatcheries Are Doing to Save Salmon from the Drought

Dean Jackson, Quileute tribal fisheries technician, moves salmon fry out of a pool cut off from Morganroth Creek as part of the tribe's work to move as many stranded fry as possible from pools created by early and persistent drought conditions.
Dean Jackson, Quileute tribal fisheries technician, moves salmon fry out of a pool cut off from Morganroth Creek as part of the tribe’s work to move as many stranded fry as possible from pools created by early and persistent drought conditions.

Tribal hatchery managers are working to save salmon from potentially deadly water temperatures and low flows.

On the Olympic Peninsula, the Makah Tribe’s Hoko Hatchery released chinook three weeks early and sockeye a month early.

“In the summer, we’re usually looking at flows of 100 gallons a minute – we’re already at 160 gallons a minute and it’s only June,” said Joe Hinton, Makah hatchery manager. “Even with the lower flows, I have lots of room to spread them out – but as temperatures go up, I can’t do much about that.”

Temperatures higher than 60 degrees are bad for salmon, because pathogens such as Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (ich) and columnaris (gill rot) thrive in warm water. The diseases spread more quickly when the rivers are crowded by low flows, and can lead to increased pre-spawn mortality. (more…)

Continue ReadingWhat Tribal Hatcheries Are Doing to Save Salmon from the Drought
Read more about the article How a Hot Summer Could Be Deadly for Salmon
Coho fry are rescued from pools that had become disconnected from the Hoh River.

How a Hot Summer Could Be Deadly for Salmon

Coho fry are rescued from pools that had become disconnected from the Hoh River.
Coho fry are rescued from pools that had become disconnected from the Hoh River.

After a winter of record low snowfall and Gov. Jay Inslee’s May declaration of a statewide drought, treaty tribes in western Washington are concerned about high water temperatures, low flows and pre-spawn mortality in returning salmon.

“This drought will have catastrophic, far-reaching effects for many years to come,” said Scott Schuyler, natural resources director for the Upper Skagit Tribe.

By May a lack of water had stranded coho, cutthroat and steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula and coast.

Some rivers, such as the Stillaguamish, are setting low flow records every day.

Temperatures higher than 60 degrees are bad for salmon, because pathogens such as ichthyophthirius multifiliis (ich) and columnaris (gill rot) thrive in warm water. The diseases spread more quickly when the rivers are crowded by low flows, and can lead to increased pre-spawn mortality. (more…)

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Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, students gather data from Tumwater Creek

Lucas Verstegen, left, and Tyler Hansen, students at North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center, prep a smolt from Tumwater Creek for identification. To view more, click on the photo.
Lucas Verstegen, left, and Tyler Hansen, students at North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center, prep a smolt from Tumwater Creek for identification. To view more, click on the photo.

A group of teenage “citizen scientists” have been helping the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe this spring by studying an urban creek that hasn’t been looked at in nearly 30 years.

Students in the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center’s (NOPSC) natural resources class helped install a smolt trap on Tumwater Creek in early May. Students and volunteers check the trap daily to count and identify the fish, measure water temperature and take pictures.

“We’ve been smolt trapping fish on the Olympic Peninsula for 31 years, but this is the first time we’ve had one in Tumwater Creek,” said Kim Williams, a tribal natural resources technician. “Tumwater Creek is historically known to have a salmon run, but currently we have no fish data after 1991 for this stream.” (more…)

Continue ReadingLower Elwha Klallam Tribe, students gather data from Tumwater Creek
Read more about the article When you add more wood to a river, it means more salmon
Over the past three years, the Squaxin Island Tribe has tracked 100,000 coho to see where they go.

When you add more wood to a river, it means more salmon

Over the past three years, the Squaxin Island Tribe has tracked 100,000 coho to see where they go.
Over the past three years, the Squaxin Island Tribe has tracked 100,000 coho to see where they go.

Coho in the Deschutes River are in trouble. In fact, every three years, no coho at all return to the river.

The results of a study recently completed by the Squaxin Island Tribe point to a deadly combination of a lack of trees making their way into the river and high concentrations of sediment. Each spring for the last three years, the tribe released 100,000 juvenile coho into the Deschutes. The releases were followed up with snorkel surveys to see where the fish go.

“What we discovered was that coho are attracted to wood in water, no matter where in the watershed they were,” Steltzner said. Because coho salmon spend an extra year in freshwater before heading out to the ocean, they are more dependent on river habitat than other salmon species.
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Continue ReadingWhen you add more wood to a river, it means more salmon
Read more about the article Jamestown S’Klallam reconnects creek to strait to save fish
Jamestown S'Klallam tribal staff dig out a channel in a sandbar that is blocking the flow of Seibert Creek to the Strait of Juan de Fuca due to low water flow.

Jamestown S’Klallam reconnects creek to strait to save fish

Jamestown S'Klallam tribal staff dig out a channel in a sandbar that is blocking the flow of Seibert Creek to the Strait of Juan de Fuca due to low water flow.
Jamestown S’Klallam tribal staff dig out a channel in a sandbar that is blocking the flow of Siebert Creek to the Strait of Juan de Fuca due to low water flow.

The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is starting to see the effects of this year’s predicted low water flow in the Dungeness River Valley much sooner than anticipated.

Tribal natural resources staff discovered this week that the mouth of Siebert Creek had been cut off by a sandbar – a typical problem with the creek during a low water year.

But this year’s low flows are more severe than usual due to the record-low snowpack in the Olympic Mountains.

“We never consider low flows in the spring because we typically have more water coming down the creeks,” said Chris Burns, Jamestown natural resources technician. “But when McDonald Creek started looking really skinny, I started getting really worried and checked Siebert. (more…)

Continue ReadingJamestown S’Klallam reconnects creek to strait to save fish