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Sought-after local, sustainable seafood sold at Lummi market

Lummi tribal fishermen harvest Fraser River sockeye during 2010's record-breaking run.
Lummi tribal fishermen harvest Fraser River sockeye during 2010’s record-breaking run.

Tribally caught fish sold at the Lummi Nation’s Schelangen Seafood Market is both locally sourced and sustainable, two of the most sought-after qualities for chefs, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Schelangen, in the Lummi language, means “way of life.”

“Harvesting has always been the cornerstone of our culture,” said Elden Hillaire, chairman of the Lummi Fisheries Commission. “All of our harvest targets healthy stocks while protecting weak wild runs. Fishing sustainably and being able to supply locally caught seafood is important to us.”

Locally sourced meat and seafood is the top trend in the National Restaurant Association’s What’s Hot 2013 survey. Ninth on the list is sustainable seafood. The What’s Hot list was compiled from a survey of professional chefs about the food, cuisines and culinary themes that will be popular on restaurant menus this year. (more…)

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Stillaguamish Tribe sponsors salmon habitat restoration on Cherokee Creek

cherokee creek
Coho salmon swim in newly restored habitat in Cherokee Creek.

The Stillaguamish Tribe recently partnered with the state Department of Natural Resources Family Forest Fish Passage Program to restore access to Cherokee Creek, near Darrington.

Cherokee Creek provides spawning, rearing and refuge for coho and other species of Pacific salmon, as well as cutthroat and bull trout. However, the creek also was home to a deteriorating metal culvert that had been poorly installed and was too small to withstand floods.

“The culvert had created an artificial waterfall that was too high for salmon to swim or jump past on their way upstream,” said Scott Rockwell, Forest and Fish biologist for the tribe. “It was also interfering with natural stream ecology, interrupting the downstream movement of water, fallen trees and gravel.” (more…)

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Sauk-Suiattle Tribe battles invasive knotweed

Sauk-Mtn-Sauk-River-knotweed-credit-AndrewThe Sauk-Suiattle Tribe is determined to eradicate invasive knotweed in its watershed.

Knotweed is such a fast-growing invasive species, and some infestations so extensive that all natural resources managers can do is control the spread. The plants can grow 15 feet tall and crowd out native vegetation needed for quality fish and wildlife habitat.

“During the fall, knotweed plants transfer significantly more nutrients from the leaves to the roots than do native riparian plants. When they drop their leaves, fewer nutrients are available for bacteria, insects, and fish,” said Andrew McDonnell, Sauk-Suiattle natural resources field coordinator. “Knotweed has no value for wildlife and is detrimental to salmon.” (more…)

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Upper Skagit Tribe surveys habitat use by juvenile chinook, steelhead

The Upper Skagit Tribe and the University of Washington (UW) are doing a two-year study examining seasonal habitat preferences for yearling chinook and steelhead in the Skagit River.

Not all juvenile chinook salmon migrate out to sea right away. They spend a few months to two years in freshwater and estuarine habitat. This study will help researchers learn more about the fish that stay in the Skagit watershed’s freshwater habitat during the first year of life. (more…)

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Two weekend stories about tribes fighting for salmon habitat

During the tribe’s Return of the Salmon ceremony, members of Port Gamble S’Klallam royalty hold the baskets of fish before being ceremoniously returning the salmon to the water.

Lynda Mapes and Chris Dunagan both wrote stories over the weekend on how tribes in western Washington are fighting the continued decline of salmon habitat.

Dunagan in the Kitsap Sun wrote about the last three years in the “culvert case,” in which tribes have fought for the repair of hundreds of state-owned culverts. Over ten years ago the tribes sued to get the culverts fixed. Now five years after a federal judge ruled in favor of the tribe, no on the ground solution has been found.
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Tribes monitor Hooper Creek after culvert removal

A cutthroat trout is counted and measured in newly accessible habitat in Hooper Creek.

When Sierra Pacific replaced an inadequate culvert with a 45-foot bridge over a tributary to the Skagit River, enough sediment had accumulated behind the fish barrier to fill 30 dump trucks.

Biologists with the Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) monitored the channel, habitat quality and fish distribution before and after the 2008 culvert removal in Hooper Creek near Concrete. SRSC is the natural resources management arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes.

As the landowner, forest products company Sierra Pacific is required to fix culverts that block fish passage. (more…)

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Upper Skagit Tribe builds elk exclusion fence near Mosquito Lake

Upper Skagit natural resources technician RJ Schuyler (left) and timberland services forester Robert Schuyler install an elk exclusion fence.

The Upper Skagit Tribe is building an 8-foot-tall, 4,000-foot-long elk exclusion fence as part of a cooperative elk management project near Mosquito Lake in Whatcom County.

The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) provided the materials and arranged to have the fence built at the request of the landowners because resident elk were competing with their cattle for available pasture forage and causing some property damage.

While WDFW has an obligation to preserve, protect and perpetuate wildlife, the agency also has to ensure that animals do not threaten human safety or cause unreasonable damage to crops, livestock or property. (more…)

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Stillaguamish Tribe testing how mushrooms improve water quality

The Stillaguamish Tribe is testing ways to use mushroom spawn to improve water quality in agricultural areas.

The process, called mycoremediation, allows contaminated water to filter through the fungus’ fibrous roots, which helps reduce fecal contaminants.

“Mycoremediation could help improve surface water management on farms by getting rid of fecal coliform without having to excavate or give up farming,” said Kate Konoski, the natural resources technician for the tribe who is conducting the study. “It’s low-impact, low-cost remediation.”

The lower Stillaguamish River watershed is dominated by agriculturally zoned land. Pollutants from farms include excess nutrients, fecal matter and pesticide contaminated runoff. Excess nutrient and fecal loads can reduce available oxygen, while metals and emerging contaminants can negatively affect salmon spawning. (more…)

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Upper Skagit Tribe’s BioBlitz counts hundreds of species in restored habitat

Volunteers from Alderleaf Wilderness College investigate scat near Hansen Creek during the Upper Skagit Tribe’s BioBlitz.

The Upper Skagit Tribe recruited scientists and volunteers to help document the plant and animal life taking advantage of restored habitat along Hansen Creek.

A few years ago, the tribe partnered with other agencies to restore 140 acres of freshwater floodplain and wetland habitat within the Skagit County-owned Northern State Recreation Area near the Upper Skagit reservation.

Last summer, Upper Skagit hosted a 12-hour BioBlitz, a “citizen science extravaganza,” to develop a species list reflecting the site’s biodiversity. Volunteers assisted scientists in identifying plants, mammals, birds, macroinvertebrates, fungi and insects. In all, 296 species were documented, including mayflies and midges, herons and warblers, lichen and fungus, and beavers and skunks.

“The Hansen Creek BioBlitz was a great success thanks to all the amazing experts and volunteers who came out and participated,” said environmental specialist Lisa Hainey. “We hope to conduct another BioBlitz at a different time of year to see other species. Who knows what else might be out there?” (more…)

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Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Has Success with River Otter Work

Biologist Dave Manson prepares an otter trap as part of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s river otter study on the Elwha River. For more pictures, click on the photo.

Standing on the Altair Bridge in Olympic National Park, members of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe wildlife staff peer into the rushing Elwha River below, trying to find signs of river otters in the riffles.

Suddenly, a couple of smooth brown heads break the surface, one playfully pouncing on the other before they dive back under. A few seconds later, four heads pop up while making their way upriver.

Since starting to track river otters in the Elwha River valley last year, the tribe’s wildlife staff has been busy chasing these elusive members of the weasel family. The tribe wants to know what effects dam removal and river restoration will have on the otters, including the population size, eating habits and den areas.

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