State environmental regulators have proposed increasing the fish consumption rate used to determine water quality safety standards. The state’s current rate of 6.5 grams a day was set in the mid-1980s, but officials believe Washington residents eat much more than that. And members of fishing tribes in western Washington eat even more fish and shellfish […]
ALLYN — Mushrooms might help treat one of the most widespread causes of water pollution — fecal bacteria from human and livestock waste in stormwater runoff. And if it works, the system can be used to protect the rich shellfish heritage of Puget Sound. The Squaxin Island Tribe is teaming up with Mason Conservation District […]
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 Conner and other tribes in Washington, local game and seafood are an integral part of every funeral, birthday celebration or other family gathering. “We were […]
DARRINGTON – In the springtime, frogs and salamanders busily lay eggs in a 5-acre wetland behind tribal members’ homes on the Sauk-Suiattle reservation. Tribal natural resources staffers have been monitoring the hundreds of egg clusters, along with the live amphibians they find in the wetland, between February and May for the past four years. Because […]
The Stillaguamish Tribe is working with the city of Arlington and the USGS to look at the levels of pharmaceuticals that contaminate our rivers. The Herald: Hormone replacement pills and other drugs, along with dandruff shampoo, perfumes and other personal-care products that go down the drain could be hurting life in the Stillaguamish River. The […]
The Associated Press had the following story about the Tribal Canoe Journey: TSAWWASSEN, British Columbia — Pushing off one morning from a beach riddled with dead eelgrass, skipper Larry Nahanee plunked a scientific probe into the water and steered the hand-carved cedar canoe toward the next landing. His ancestors, the Coast Salish Indians, had paddled […]
The EPA today announced nearly $2 million in grants to 19 tribes for “on-the-ground” projects to protect and preserve water quality and salmon habitat in the Puget Sound region. The grants support the Puget Sound Partnership’s 2020 Action Agenda. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission made the […]
Thousands of people come through Seattle on cruise ships bound for Alaska via the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound every summer. They bring suitcases, cameras and a lot of raw sewage. Western Washington’s treaty tribes are concerned about where these cruise ships dump their raw or treated sewage between the Washington coast […]
The Habitat Services Division provides coordination, representation and technical assistance to member tribes on fish habitat and other environmental issues. The division monitors these issues and acts as an information clearinghouse. Activities within the division include: Coordinating policy and technical level discussion between tribes and federal, state and local governments, and other interested parties Coordinating, […]
MOUNT VERNON (March 20, 2008) – During this summer’s annual Canoe Journey, Northwest tribes plan to blend modern science with traditional ways, by collecting water quality data from their canoes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is assisting with the technology, which was first used with canoes last year during a watershed healing journey on the […]
