Hunting

Wild turkey population introduced on Tulalip reservation

About 170 wild turkeys were released into a meadow on the Tulalip Tribes reservation in August with the hope they will sustain a harvestable population.

“Tribal hunters don’t have the same access to nutritious protein that they once had,” said Ray Fryberg Sr., fish and wildlife director for the Tulalip Tribes. “Populations of deer and elk have declined and they’re running out of decent habitat.”

A few years ago, the tribes’ natural resources department started planting meadows on the reservation to provide a haven for wildlife. The meadows support populations of deer, small mammals and birds – and now wild turkeys.

“We hope these turkeys will breed successfully and sustain a harvestable population that can feed our community,” Fryberg said. “Having wild turkeys right here on the reservation also could engage tribal youth who haven’t been exposed to our hunting culture.” (more…)

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Port Gamble S’Klallams Concerned About Dosewallips State Park Expansion

The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe is concerned about impacts to tribal hunting rights if Washington State expands Dosewallips State Park by 1,300 acres, as recently proposed. Point No Point Treaty Council biologist Tim Cullinan explains tribal concerns in this article published by the Kitsap Sun recently. The Point No Point Treaty Council provides natural resources management services to its member tribes, the Jamestown S’Klallam and Port Gamble S’Klallam tribes.

From the article: (more…)

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Puyallup Tribe wants your signature to help save elk

Last fall, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians took a public stand against a proposal by the state of Washington to expand hunting on the fragile South Rainier elk herd.

Now, the tribe of Indians is asking for signatures to a petition to oppose the increase in harvest of female elk from the South Rainer herd near Packwood. The proposal would more than double the number of dead female elk from 35 to 79. The herd numbers fewer than 1,000 animals while the target population is more than 2,100, according to the tribal and state co-managers.
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Elk herd keeps Stillaguamish Tribe fed

The (Everett) Herald recounts Stillaguamish Tribal Chairman Shawn Yanity’s experience hunting the Nooksack herd for the first time in recent memory:

“We drove out to the area where I figured they might be. I’d been watching that herd for quite a while, and when we got there … were probably 20 there, mostly bulls.

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