Tribes and State Predict Decent Kalaloch Razor Clam Season
The Peninsula Daily News has a column regarding the upcoming razor clam harvest for Kalaloch Beach.
Intergovernmental Policy Council Annual Report 2008
The coastal treaty Indian tribes and the state of Washington as co-managers continue to work with the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) to achieve a shared vision of priorities for understanding and protecting the marine environment and improving the lives of all who depend on the sea.
Boat ramp and trails close as restoration continues on Wiley Slough in Skagit delta
WDFW released the following press release about the Wiley Slough restoration project, in partnership with the Skagit River System Cooperative, the natural resources management arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes:
OLYMPIA – Beginning July 15, the 175-acre Headquarters Unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area will be closed to public access as crews resume work on a major estuary-restoration project at the mouth of the Skagit River.
The closed area includes the public boat ramp and the dike-top trails along the Skagit River and Wiley Slough.
Crews will be removing approximately 6,500 feet of dikes and levees, allowing tides and the river to reclaim the area south of a newly constructed setback dike that was completed earlier this year. The restoration project began in 2008, when crews installed a new, larger tidegate farther upstream on Wiley Slough. (more…)
Suquamish Hopes for Early-Timed Chinook Run At Gorst Soon
In a few years, fishermen might be able to hit the water for chinook in Sinclair Inlet a month earlier than they can now.
Hatchery chinook generally return to the inlet near Gorst in August and September. An effort to expand the run timing would have fish swimming into Sinclair Inlet in July. (more…)
Work resumes on Wiley Slough project in Skagit River delta
Crews have begun the next phase of construction on the Wiley Slough restoration project, which will return tidal flow to a former estuary in the Skagit River delta. The Skagit…
Future of Voights Creek unclear in state budget
From Joe Turner at the News Tribune:
Reader points out to me that the no fish hatcheries will close is misleading too. The budget says (on Page 397): “During the 2007-09 biennium, the department shall not make a permanent closure of any hatchery facility currently in operation.” So, reader wonders, “if that means that since Voights Creek hatchery hasn’t been in “operation” since it was damaged in the floods that this leaves a door open for it to be permanently closed.”
(more…)
Treaty Tribes, State Develop Salmon Seasons That Protect Weak Wild Stocks
OLYMPIA – State and tribal salmon co-managers have crafted a conservation-based package of fisheries for 2009 that will protect weak wild runs while providing limited harvest for treaty tribal and state sport and commercial fisheries.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the annual cooperative season-setting process known as North of Falcon. The name refers to a cape on the northern Oregon coast that marks the southern boundary of where the treaty tribes and the states of Washington and Oregon cooperatively manage fisheries.
(more…)
Shellfish Treaty Rights FAQ
Why do tribal members get to come onto private property and harvest shellfish? Washington state is one of the few states in the nation where tidelands are privately owned. Most…
Hoh Steelhead Family Tree Subject of Hoh Tribe Cooperative Study
HOH RIVER -- The Hoh Tribe is conducting a study to determine the genetic relationships between today's Hoh River native steelhead and hatchery steelhead. The genetic study will reveal the…
Coho tagging to update population estimate in Stillaguamish River
Beginning in mid-September, tribal field crews will be capturing coho salmon with beach seines and hoop nets throughout the mainstem Stillaguamish River. Anglers should not be surprised if they see a field crew seining, or a net secured to the shoreline.