If salmon are to be restored in this state, it will require many efforts. Most of all, it will require a team effort. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The state and the tribes must learn to
work together. Like people paddling a canoe, it only makes
sense for us to paddle in the same direction.
We hope this is a message that Jeffrey Koenings, the newly appointed director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, will take to heart. It is critically important for the director of WDFW to be aware of the fact that treaty Indian tribes are co-managers of the salmon resource in this state. It is important for him to understand
that decisions regarding the salmon resource must be made on a government-to-government basis, in full collaboration with the tribes from the outset of any natural resource planning process. Just as important, it will be necessary for him to understand the need for the co-managers to work together, as a team, in the management
and restoration of the salmon resource.
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