"I'm 78 right now and still in the courtroom all day, still talking about fixing the salmon problem," Frank said. "It never seems to get done, and we're running out of time." - Billy Frank Jr., Chairman, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.
The Seattle Times posted this story about Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe's steelhead broodstock program efforts recently: Tribe reviving wild Elwha steelhead In an effort to keep the wild steelhead in…
As reported on the Seattle Times Reel Time Northwest blog, the Tulalip Tribes will not have crab pots in the water when the recreational "bubble" fishery opens Friday. The bubble…
The Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) has found evidence that beavers living in the tidal marsh are creating prime salmon habitat. The SRSC is the natural resources arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes.
Today, only about 6 percent of the tidal scrub shrub habitat is left in the Skagit River Delta, and that’s better than a lot of places where it’s gone altogether. (more…)
From the Seattle Times:
Buried deep within the 298 pages of the proposed Senate operating budget for 2009-11 is the possible closure of the Voights Creek Hatchery on the Puyallup River watershed.
The long-standing hatchery in Orting, which has been producing salmon since 1917, pumps out a massive 780,000 yearling coho and 1.6 million hatchery-marked chinook annually.
(more…)
Nature has established a rhythm through the millennia of our planet's existence. It's a rhythm that, for the sake of our children's children, society cannot continue to ignore. The result…
The Seattle Times led its outdoor sports column on March 2 with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe's carcass project. From The Times: Almost 100 years ago the Elwha River on…
The Seattle Times today reports on the culvert case ruling and the challenges of replacing fish-blocking culverts:
More than 1,676 culverts from Neah Bay to Walla Walla block more than 2,377 miles of potential salmon habitat. And those are just the culverts owned by the state Department of Transportation. Pipes owned and maintained by other state and local agencies add to the problem.
It’s been a well-known problem for years. But culverts recently became a big, costly liability for the state.
Last summer, U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo S. Martinez agreed with 20 of the state’s Indian tribes that the state has a duty to fix problem culverts because they diminish salmon runs, and that violates the tribes’ fishing rights guaranteed by treaties signed in the 19th century.
The Seattle Times and the Marysville Globe reported on 100 years of hatchery cooperation.
The Seattle Times:
The Tulalip Tribes continued a century-old tradition last week of partnering with state hatcheries for the increased production of Puget Sound salmon.
Since 1907, tribal members have traveled to the Wallace River Hatchery near Gold Bar, working with employees of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to improve chinook- and coho-salmon numbers in the Snohomish River system.
Both the Seattle Times and PI ran editorials praising the culvert case decision from last week. From the Seattle Times: A federal judge articulated and reinforced a long-standing deal with…