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Treaty Tribes release the State of Our Watersheds Report

Ongoing damage and destruction of salmon habitat is resulting in the steady decline of salmon populations across western Washington, leading to the failure of salmon recovery and threatening tribal treaty rights, according to a report released today by the treaty Indian tribes.

The tribes created the State of Our Watersheds report to gauge progress toward salmon recovery and guide future habitat restoration and protection efforts. It tracks key indicators of salmon habitat quality and quantity over time from the upper reaches to the marine shorelines of 20 watersheds in western Washington. The report confirms that we are losing salmon habitat faster than it can be restored, and that this trend shows no sign of improvement.

“Indian people have always lived throughout the watersheds of western Washington. We know these places better than anyone else because they are our homes,” said Billy Frank Jr., a Nisqually tribal member and chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. “This State of Our Watersheds report clearly shows that we must reverse the loss and damage of habitat if the salmon, our cultures and our treaty-reserved rights are going to survive.”

Explore the entire report in our interactive map viewer here.

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Sauk-Suiattle Tribe plans for climate change

The Sauk-Suiattle Tribe is studying how climate change will affect members of the tribe and the natural resources that sustain them.

“The tribe values a healthy river as equal to a healthy and vibrant human community,” said Jason Joseph, Sauk-Suiattle natural resources director. “This project will be a case study of sustainability in the face of global warming. We’re focusing on the effects on fisheries and reservation infrastructure.”

The homes and administration buildings of the Sauk-Suiattle reservation are on the banks of the Sauk River near Darrington. With nearly 400 glaciers in the region, the Sauk and other tributaries to the Skagit River – the Suiattle and Whitechuck – will see rapid change as the climate continues to warm. (more…)

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Upper Skagit Tribe manages elk habitat with Seattle City Light

Upper Skagit biologist Doug Couvelier, right, and timberland services forester Robert Schuyler assess a parcel of Seattle City Light land.

The Upper Skagit Tribe has been contracted to help assess more than 10,000 acres of wildlife habitat that Seattle City Light (SCL) purchased to mitigate for habitat lost due to the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project.

As required by the 1991 Wildlife Settlement Agreement among SCL, tribes, and federal and state resource agencies, the public utility has been acquiring property in the Skagit and Nooksack watersheds.

“Acquisition and protection of the South Fork Nooksack River property is a great example of investing in a nearby watershed that has high habitat mitigation value” said Ron Tressler, a wildlife biologist for SCL. South Fork Nooksack land was identified by tribal representatives and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as important habitat for the Nooksack elk herd.

Degraded and disconnected habitat is one of the main causes of the decline in numbers of Nooksack elk, which went from a population of more than 1,700 20 years ago to about 300 by 2003.

Since then, tribal and state co-managers have worked to improve elk habitat in the region. Surveys the last few years have shown that the elk population has rebounded to more than 800 animals, allowing for limited hunting opportunities. (more…)

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First Stewards Send Resolution to Congress, President Obama

First Stewards Resolution July 20, 2012, signed
Resolution 8 28

David Hudson, fisheries policy spokesman for the Hoh Tribe, speaks about the changes he has observed on the Hoh Tribe’s coastline due to climate change.
Climate change is occurring rapidly, creating an urgent need for the world to make use of indigenous ways of adapting and maintaining the resiliency that has served ancient coastal cultures for thousands of years.

That was the message delivered by representatives of most of the indigenous coastal people of the United States when they gathered last month in Washington, D.C., for the First Stewards Symposium, where their unified voices called for action on climate change.

The symposium was created to gather the voices and create a mechanism for the indigenous people of the United States to engage with governments, non-governmental agencies and others to help mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The very fabric of indigenous societies is threatened by the over-development of coastlines; alteration of freshwater streams and lakes; destruction of life-giving watersheds; destruction of reefs; and the decline of marine and terrestrial species. These have been exacerbated by climate change, creating astonishing changes in coastal natural systems that indigenous cultures are witnessing. (more…)

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Upper Skagit tribal youth learn traditional cedar gathering

Students in the Upper Skagit Tribe’s summer youth enrichment program are learning traditional ways to gather and weave cedar.

Recreational youth coordinator Tara Rodriguez, who arranged the trip, said there haven’t been any organized cedar gatherings for tribal youth since she was a child.

In small groups, the 10- and 11-year-old students hiked into an old-growth forest in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near Darrington, accompanied by education specialist Curt Pavia and biologist Doug Couvelier. Selecting a healthy cedar, Couvelier used a small ax to lift up the outer layer of bark before showing the students how to pull long strips from the tree.

After three or four strips were pulled, Couvelier moved students to another tree, ensuring no permanent harm was done to the trees. (more…)

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New Video: Traditional Food Night at Paddle to Squaxin 2012

Dinner last night at the Paddle to Squaxin 2012 celebration included traditional foods, including salmon, deer and clams. The special meal was part of a multi-day Potlach Protocal, culminating the intertribal event.

The video below features some of the cooks preparing the evening’s meal: (more…)

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Tulalip Tribes release record number of coho

Hatchery salmon are collected from a holding pond before having their adipose fins clipped in NWIFC’s automatic tagging trailer.

The Tulalip Tribes’ Bernie Kai-Kai Gobin Salmon Hatchery released a record number of coho salmon this year, thanks to rearing improvements that led to a high survival rate.

In June, tribal hatchery staff released 1.3 million coho smolts from brood year 2010. This brings the total number of hatchery salmon released this year to 12 million, including brood year 2011 chinook and chum.

“We have made slight changes to the way we do things as far as fertilizing and handling of eggs,” said Jesse Rude, assistant manager of the hatchery. “Our survival rates have gone from around 80 to 85 percent up to 95 percent.” (more…)

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Opening up Midway Creek gives salmon more habitat

John Konovsky, environmental program manager for the Squaxin Island Tribe, and Brian Combs, salmon restoration biologist for the SPSSEG, inspect the newly installed fish passing culvert on Midway Creek.

The Squaxin Island Tribe joined the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group, Simpson Lumber and the Green Diamond Resource Company to open almost a mile of salmon habitat by removing two fish-blocking culverts.

The culverts blocked Midway Creek, a tributary to Goldsborough Creek and ran underneath a railroad owned by Simpson Lumber, which is contributing significant funding to the project. The Green Diamond Resource, a sister company to Simpson, is also provided important support to the project.

“Midway Creek is relatively undisturbed, so fish will be able to use excellent habitat when we’re done,” said Sarah Zaniewski, a salmon biologist with the tribe. The enhancement group and the tribe replaced two undersized culverts with one 14-foot-wide culvert that will provide a more natural stream channel.

“In addition to some great spawning habitat, the fish that make it up Midway Creek will also have access to deep rearing pools and wetlands,” said Brian Combs, biologist for the enhancement group.
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PBS NewsHour highlights impact of climate change on tribes

Photo by Michael Werner

Ahead of this week’s First Stewards symposium, PBS NewsHour has run a piece about the effects of climate change on the Quileute Tribe.

For centuries, the Quileute tribe has relied on the area’s ocean and rivers. Native fishermen and hunters once escaped dangerous weather along territory that stretched across the Olympic Peninsula. But that’s no longer an option. (more…)

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