State takes new look at how much fish is safe to eat
The Seattle Times has a story about state plans to take a look at its water quality standards, after prodding by tribes and other parties. For the Swinomish of La…
Seattle Times: Meet the newest Washington state park: Kiket Island
The Seattle Times visits Kiket Island with Swinomish tribal Chairman Brian Cladoosby: Meet Kiket Island: a 96-acre gem in Puget Sound, just northwest of La Conner. Washington's newest state park…
Partnership creates state park on Swinomish tribal land
After more than 50 years, Kiket Island has been returned to the Swinomish Tribe, thanks to a partnership between the tribe and the state Parks and Recreation Commission. The small…
Climate crisis jeopardizes tribal sovereignty
Michele "Shelly" Vendiola of Swinomish discusses the ways climate change interferes with tribal treaty rights and sovereignty in a column, "Tribal Sovereignty is jeopardized by climate crisis" in the Earth…
Tribes host Earth Day events in Skagit County
The Upper Skagit Tribe is hosting a tree-planting event starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 17 at its Hansen Creek restoration site, off Helmick Road in Sedro-Woolley. Sign up before…
Mother Earth Journal reports on Swinomish climate change report
Mother Earth Journal picked up an Indian Country Today story about a federal report on climate change and the Swinomish Climate Change Initiative: Tribes are on the forefront of climate…
Breakthrough week in tribal estuary restorations
The Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) celebrated the success of two major estuary restoration projects this week.
Returning tidal flow to former estuaries is an important step toward restoring salmon habitat. Puget Sound chinook salmon are listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act.
On Wednesday, Aug. 19, an excavator made the final berm cut to allow full tidal flow to 200 acres of the Crescent Harbor salt marsh on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island for the first time in about 100 years. (more…)
Tribal canoes to land Saturday in Bellingham for Coast Salish Day
Coast Salish tribes will gather Saturday at Boulevard Park in Bellingham, ahead of the Tribal Canoe Journey.
The public is invited to the Coast Salish Day celebration, which begins at 11 a.m., with canoes scheduled to land at noon. Activities include native art, the traditional bone game slahal, canoe rides and food vendors. (more…)
Tribes monitor fish in nearshore ‘nursery’
LA CONNER— Nearly every day in the spring through early fall, somewhere in the Skagit basin and San Juan Islands, a crew from the Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) is sampling fish populations.
Rain or shine, in smooth waters or blustery wind, the crew pulls beach seines and sets fyke traps to count and measure fish before returning them to the water. Crew members also record water temperature, salinity, depth, velocity, substrate and vegetation. As a result, SRSC, the natural resources arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes, has a 15-year (and counting) comprehensive database of the way fish use nearshore habitat.
The nearshore is a nursery to a variety of fish including sculpins, perch, smelt, herring and salmon. Puget Sound chinook salmon, listed as “threatened” by the federal Endangered Species Act, depend on estuaries for extended rearing during outmigration.
Monitoring this habitat is a crucial, yet often underfunded, aspect of the salmon recovery effort, said Eric Beamer, SRSC’s research director. Without it, nobody knows whether a restoration project did what it was supposed to do. (more…)
Coast Salish-USGS partnership honored with Partners in Conservation Award
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…