Meat salvage returns traditional food to tribal tables
SKAGIT COUNTY (Feb. 8, 2008) – Many North Sound tribes traditionally relied on elk meat for sustenance. But these days there are fewer hunting opportunities because of diminishing quality habitat and declining elk populations.
Without sufficient harvest opportunities to feed their members, tribes turn to meat salvage. The proximity of the Upper Skagit Tribe’s reservation to Highway 20 puts the tribe in a prime location to retrieve animals that have been struck by vehicles. Each year, the tribe recovers three to five elk that have been killed on the road or illegally hunted.
In September, members of the Upper Skagit Tribe recovered a seven-point elk that was struck by a vehicle along Highway 20. The animal was towed from the bank of the Skagit River and shared with the Swinomish Tribe.