The Coast Salish - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Tribal Journey Water Quality Project was recognized with the Department of the Interior's Partners in Conservation Award. The award recognizes the strength…
TAHOLAH (April 11, 2006) - Ocean waves pound the beach and wind-driven spray chills the fingers of Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) shellfish biologist Kelly Curtis and tribal technicians on a late winter day near Ocean Shores. The crew is out completing a winter razor clam survey as part of a five-year cooperative effort by QIN and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to improve estimates of natural razor clam mortality, a critical piece of information used in setting harvest rates. Razor clams are important to QIN both culturally and economically. Culturally, razor clams have been a part of tribal diets and ceremonies for thousands of years. QIN is also the only Washington tribe that has a commercial razor clam enterprise; a small but vital supplement to tribal incomes. QIN and WDFW co-operatively manage the razor clam resource on off-reservation beaches within the nation’s traditional gathering areas.
OLYMPIA (January 24, 2005) – The treaty Indian tribes in western Washington, in cooperation with the state of Washington, have produced the most comprehensive report to date on the status of salmon habitat in the region. “State of Our Watersheds” compiles decades of data collected by tribes, and state and federal agencies, painting a picture of watersheds across western Washington.
“Tribes have always lived on watersheds, along the rivers,” said Billy Frank Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. “We have always had a watershed perspective, and this report tells the story of salmon habitat from our perspective.”
SHELTON (April 14, 2003) — Since Goldsborough Dam was torn down two years ago, hundreds of salmon have begun spawning above the site of the old dam. Last year, the Squaxin Island Tribe counted over 15,000 young chum salmon migrating down from the newly opened habitat. “A lot great salmon habitat was blocked when Goldsborough Dam was built. We’re excited to see how many salmon have been getting up there in the two years the creek has been open,” said Joseph Peters, fisheries biologist with the Squaxin Island Tribe. “The success of removal can’t be judged without first seeing how many salmon use the new habitat.”