Tag: Tribes

A new oral history project looks at the unique development of natural resource policy in Washington state 

From left right: Nisqually Tribe Chairman Willy Frank III, Jim Wilcox of Wilcox Family Farms, and Nisqually Tribe Natural Resource Director David Troutt are shown in a still image from the TVW/Collaborative Leadership Project.
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Our affiliates at the Center for Urban Waters and external partners will examine 50 years of collaborative leadership in the state leading to groundbreaking outcomes on forest, fish, wildlife, land, and water management. Funding secured to date includes generous gifts and pledges from Anchor QEA, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, the Nisqually Tribe, the Puget Sound Partnership, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, the Squaxin Island Tribe, the Suquamish Tribe/Suquamish Foundation, the City of Tacoma, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington State University. Billy Frank Jr. was just […]

‘Homewaters’ blends natural and cultural history of Puget Sound

Book cover
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A new book explores our complicated connection to the ecosystem that we call home. We interview author David B. Williams about Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound, published this month by the University of Washington Press. The following is an excerpt from our publication the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Long before the explorer George Vancouver began remaking the names and maps of our region, Puget Sound was known as “Whulge,” an onomatopoetic Coast Salish word denoting the sound of waves. If you listen closely, the waves washing […]

Ancient harvests: A history of Salish Sea herring

Herring fishing boats in the Strait of Georgia, BC. Photo: marneejill (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/23BepQz
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If you were to ask a group of experts to make a list of culturally important foods in the Pacific Northwest, it would not be a surprise if salmon rose to the top. But researchers say Pacific herring may have at times rivaled salmon in importance in the Salish Sea. Scientists believe that herring have been a staple of Salish Sea food and culture since humans first arrived here at least 12,500 years ago. That importance has continued into modern times, even as herring numbers have declined in parts of […]

Salmon council approves new priorities for Chinook recovery

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By Jeff Rice, Puget Sound Institute The Puget Sound Partnership Salmon Recovery Council has posted a list of recommended priority actions for Chinook salmon recovery. The measures were proposed last spring by area tribes hoping to see stronger efforts to protect the region’s threatened Chinook populations. The document summarizes nine recommendations approved by the Council at its September 28th meeting, including broad language on habitat protection, water quality, water quantity and management of predation of salmon by seals and sea lions. The actions are meant to inform state and federal […]

Salmon council debates new priorities proposed by tribes

Spring Chinook Salmon. Photo courtesy Michael Humling, US Fish & Wildlife Service
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By Jeff Rice The Puget Sound Partnership’s Salmon Recovery Council last Thursday gave preliminary approval to six of the seven proposed recovery priorities known as “bold actions” to improve Chinook salmon numbers in Puget Sound. One of the actions calling for “a net gain in ecosystem function and habitat productivity” for salmon was tabled for ongoing discussions in August and September. The actions were proposed last May by regional tribes dissatisfied with a state-proposed salmon plan known as the Chinook Implementation Strategy. Tribes felt that the strategy didn’t go far […]

‘Bold actions’ to save Puget Sound salmon gain qualified support

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The Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council wants the opportunity to clarify the meaning of a new tribal proposal. By Christopher Dunagan, Puget Sound Institute Native American tribes in the Puget Sound region are calling for “bold actions” to reverse the decline of Puget Sound Chinook salmon, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Such actions would include: — Protecting all remaining salmon habitat in and around Puget Sound with more consistent and enforceable land-use regulations; — Preventing water uses that would limit salmon recovery; — Improving management of predators, […]

‘Bold actions’ to be discussed in a revised Chinook Implementation Strategy

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By Christopher Dunagan, Puget Sound Institute A desire to come up with “bold actions” for rebuilding Chinook salmon runs in Puget Sound has slowed approval of the first Chinook Implementation Strategy designed to accelerate recovery efforts for the threatened species. The Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council, which oversees salmon-related planning, was scheduled to adopt the Chinook Implementation Strategy at its March meeting. The strategy underwent 14 months of study, discussion and review, and council staffers said it was ready for approval. Before the meeting, however, representatives of Puget-Sound-area Indian tribes […]