John Konovsky (left), environmental program manager for the Squaxin Island Tribe, and Joe Puhn, water quality technician, set slides to collect bacteria tainted sedmient in Oakland Bay.

The tribe is trying to learn more about harmful bacteria from failing septic systems and livestock manure that may become trapped on top of tideland sediments in upper Oakland Bay. “We think that instead of dying off like they usually do, the bacteria are surviving and amplifying the pollution, particularly during the summer months,” said John Konovsky, environmental program manager for the Squaxin Island Tribe.

“In a lab, we can recreate similar environmental conditions and track what the bacteria are doing more precisely,” he said.

Fecal coliform bacteria come from human and animal waste, and can’t usually survive long in saltwater. But if the bacteria become trapped on nutrient-rich sediment particles, they may undergo a physiological reaction that enables their survival, Konovsky said.

Tribal researchers are collecting polluted sediment from the bay for use in two 40 gallon aquariums. Twenty-four cups filled with sediment from the tidelands will be subject to conditions similar to the bay. Twice a day, water levels in the aquariums will rise and fall like the tides in Oakland Bay. The “tide” will gradually expose one set of cups, then the other.

“By recreating every aspect of the bay that would impact the bacteria, down to the temperature, sunlight and water quality, we hope we can get a better idea of how well these bacteria survive,” Konovsky said. “You can only get this close a look in a laboratory, you’d never be able to track detail like this in the field.”

In recent years, pollution has peaked in Oakland Bay during the summer, which is contrary to its normal cycle. “Usually, in marine areas like Oakland Bay, pollution peaks in the winter when rain washes it into the bay,” Konovsky said. “This summer peak indicates something different is going on here.”

The uppermost portion of Oakland Bay remains restricted for shellfish harvest in the summer. “We need to reverse the trend now,” said Andy Whitener, natural resources director for the tribe. “More harvest closures in Oakland Bay would be disastrous for tribal harvesters and would devastate the shellfish industry, a vital part of the local economy.”

“Tribal members always have depended on shellfish as a source of nutrition, for income and as a way of life,” Whitener said. “Our treaty right to harvest shellfish depends on healthy shellfish, so we need to track down and solve this pollution problem.”

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For more information, contact: John Konovsky, environmental program manager, Squaxin Island Tribe, (360) 432-3804. Emmett O’Connell, South Sound information officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwifc.org

Cliff Cultee, Lummi Nation fisherman, cleans a sea cucumber. Tribes had a record sea cucumber harvest this year.

LUMMI NATION – It’s been a good season for tribal dive fishermen.

This year, tribes reached the harvest goal of more than 300,000 pounds of sea cucumbers in the San Juan Islands for the first time since a 1995 court ruling that upheld their treaty shellfish harvest rights.

For the Lummi Nation, the sea cucumber harvest provides some relief from the impact of having salmon fisheries closed because of declining runs.

The Lummi Nation’s schelangen, or “way of life,” has always centered around the natural resources of the sea. The harvest of fish, shellfish and other ocean-dwelling creatures not only is an important part of tribal members’ income, but also their culture.

“Crab, prawn and salmon seasons are short, so dive fisheries are a more stable source of income for Lummi tribal members,” said Cliff Cultee, a fisherman, tribal councilman and member of the Lummi Fisheries Commission.

It has taken some time for Lummi to develop the skills and obtain the equipment to participate fully in the dive fisheries.

Sea cucumbers harvested by tribal members are predominantly exported to Asia, where they are a delicacy.  Known as “namako” in Japan, sea cucumbers are related to starfish and sea urchins, and occupy a niche in the Japanese culture.

Tribes thought they might have to close the fishery early because of strong markets and an increased number of divers. The harvest limit had been set artificially low in recent agreements as a precautionary matter in the absence of specific information on sustainable harvest levels.

“We do need to safeguard the population, but there’s not a lot of knowledge about how sea cucumbers age or repopulate,” said Elden Hillaire, chairman of the Lummi Fisheries Commission. “We’ve been giving back to the resource by not harvesting our entire quota all these years.”

The Lummi Nation has more than 500 fishermen, and 18 of those are registered dive fishermen.

“Our whole fleet is diversified into a lot of different fisheries,” Hillaire said. “We’ve seen crab fishermen try out dive fisheries and stick with it.”

For more information, contact: Alan Chapman, Lummi Nation, 360-384-2267 or alanc@lummi-nsn.gov; Kari Neumeyer, NWIFC, 360-424-8226 or kneumeyer@nwifc.org.

Tulalip wildlife staffer Amanda Shelton maintains a meadow on the Tulalip reservation

The Daily Herald has a story about Tulalip Tribes’ efforts to create foraging meadows for wildlife on the reservation:

Tulalip and other local tribes also are part of efforts by the state and a national elk hunters group to improve and maintain several forage meadows in the North Cascades foothills.

“It makes me feel good when I see it now,” (tribal member Gary) Baker said of the Bluff Meadow. “It’s beautiful here, and it’s gonna work.”

What’s working is a growing deer population attracted to the meadows on the Tulalip reservation. Motion-activated cameras at each of the meadows record the numbers and mark the progress.

First there was a single deer. Then a group of bucks. Today, the camera in the Bluff Meadow is recording the return of young does and their babies, said Mike Sevigny, wildlife manager for the Tulalip Tribes.

“They eat day and night. We don’t see skinny animals anymore. The females are healthier and they have healthier young,” Sevigny said.

Tribal fisherman Johnnie Grossglass prepares to release one of the ceremonial salmon.

There is a new video posted at http://nwifc.blip.tv/ of the Swinomish Tribe’s 2010 Blessing of the Fleet ceremony and luncheon that took place May 13. Guests were treated to a salmon and shellfish meal, before following the Edwards family from the tribal gym to the waterfront. The tribe’s fleet of fishermen received blessings from the Shaker, Pentecostal and Catholic churches. Fishermen were then sent in each of the four cardinal directions to return several salmon back to the water.

Port Gamble shellfish biologist Tamara Gage observes the bay's shores for oil.

The 50-foot long former surplus Navy torpedo recovery boat drifted onto reservation shores after becoming loose from its mooring late Wednesday night, and heeled over as the tide dropped, resulting in diesel fuel spilling from a fuel tank vent. How much oil was spilled is unknown, however, contractors pumped 1,200 gallons of diesel fuel from the stranded boat Thursday night, according to the DOE. The agency also estimated the total fuel tank capacity to be 1,500 gallons.

The tribe has shut down all shellfishing on the east side of the bay, from Point Julia to the southern border of the reservation, until further notice. Tribal members harvest shellfish from the beach often for ceremonial and subsistence purposes.

“We’re going to monitor the situation over the weekend and re-assess potential openings next week,” said Tamara Gage, the tribe’s shellfish management biologist. “It’d be great for a big storm to come through this weekend to help dissipate the oil.”

Gage walked the beach on Friday morning to observe the remaining oil sheen. There was still a faint smell of diesel and light shimmers of oil along the waterline.

Diesel fuel, unlike crude oil, evaporates quickly. Shellfish are also good at filtering out toxins, but not if the oil is still seeping out of the beach, said Paul McCollum, the tribe’s natural resources director.

The spill comes at a time when the tribe has been working hard with its neighbors to help clean up the bay. While still relatively clean compared to other areas of Puget Sound, incidents like this are happening more and more in Port Gamble Bay.

“Trying to help keep this area as clean as possible is getting harder and harder, but the tribe is not going to give up,” McCollum said. “The tribe can’t just pick up and leave once its natural resources are destroyed. Not just the tribe, but everyone, has to work together to help cleanup and protect the bay.”

See more photos at NWIFC’s Flickr site.

Students from Lummi Nation School danced and sang as small pieces of the first spring chinook salmon were shared with the tribal community and guests.

After the remains of the first salmon were returned to the water, a traditional tribal meal was served.

Read the Bellingham Herald’s story here.

View photos on the NWIFC Flickr Feed.

Swinomish tribal members Mike Cladoosby, left, and Kevin Day fish the Skagit River during a one-day spring chinook fishery

The Swinomish and Upper Skagit tribes are having a limited fishery on Skagit River spring chinook. Each tribe is fishing for three 24-hour openings.

“My dad will be 77 years old this year, and he’s still hand-pulling nets,” said fisherman and Swinomish Chairman Brian Cladoosby, referring to his father, Mike. “He’s still exercising his treaty rights.”

View more photos on the NWIFC Flickr feed.

The conservation-based package focuses state and tribal salmon fishing opportunities on abundant runs of wild and hatchery salmon expected to return to Washington’s waters this year. Those include coho returns to portions of Puget Sound, and fall chinook making their way along the coast to the Columbia River.

While these and other runs are expected to provide good fishing opportunities this summer, state and tribal salmon fisheries throughout Washington’s waters will continue to be constrained to protect weak salmon stocks.

“This package of state and tribal salmon fisheries reflects the co-managers’ continuing commitment to recover depressed salmon populations,” said Phil Anderson, WDFW director. “As we continue to work toward that goal, we will ensure that our salmon fisheries meet or exceed conservation objectives for wild salmon.”

Overall, state and tribal salmon fishing opportunities this year in Puget Sound and on the coast will be similar to last year. But there will be some changes.

Unlike last year, there will not be state and tribal fisheries for summer chinook on the Skagit River because of low salmon returns expected back to the river this year. Last summer, anglers and tribal fishers had limited fishing opportunities for chinook on the Skagit River – the first summer chinook opener in 16 years.

“The returns just aren’t there to support summer chinook fisheries in the Skagit this year,” said Lorraine Loomis, fisheries manager for the Swinomish Tribe. “As important as these fisheries are to all of us, we must conserve these salmon for the good of the resource and future generations.”

Restoring and protecting salmon spawning and rearing habitat also is critical to rebuilding salmon stocks, said state and tribal co-managers.

“Conservative fisheries must go hand in hand with habitat restoration and protection so that we can continue to progress toward our goal of salmon recovery,” Loomis said.

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For more information, contact: Tony Meyer, NWIFC, (360) 438-1180 or Pat Pattillo, WDFW, (360) 902-2705

Anderson Glacier is the headwaters of the Quinault River. Larry Workman, QIN

The new NWIFC News features a story about the concerns of the Quinault Indian Nation about shrinking glaciers that feed two major coastal rivers. From the magazine:

The glaciers that feed the Queets and Quinault rivers are just fractions of their size today from a few decades ago. As they recede, they threaten salmon stocks important to the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN).

“These glaciers once provided large amounts of cold water year round that maintained higher summer flows,” said Tyler Jurasin, QIN operations section manager. Lower flows mean less habitat for spring/summer chinook runs in the Queets and Quinault rivers on the Olympic Peninsula, which already face many other threats to their survival.

“In addition to lower summertime flows, we are dealing with a lot of sediment released by the retreat of the Humes and Anderson glaciers,” Jurasin said.

You can download the entire magazine or any in the archives here. You can also read it at slideshare and scribd.

WDFW biologist Scott Harris and Skokomish Tribe biologist Bethany Tropp watch Tomokazu Hager, 13, administer medicine to a female elk with the help of tribal wildlife technician Emily Wirtz.

Skokomish tribal natural resources staff were out on an elk collaring survey when they spotted an uncollared herd in a private pasture.  With permission from the property’s owners, the tribe was able to track, capture and collar a female from the herd. The Global Positioning System (GPS) collar allows the tribe to follow the herd’s movement for the study.

The herd is a regular visitor to the Hager family, which owns the 41-acre pasture. But being able to witness and participate in a real-life science study opened up the eyes of the five homeschooled Hager children. The two oldest boys, 13 and 11, helped administer medicines given to the elk while she was sedated.

“That was pretty interesting,” said Tomokazu Hager, 13. “It felt like we were kind of part of Animal Planet.”

“We’ve never seen an elk that close before,” added Wes Hager, 10. After the elk was collared and released, the kids received a quick lesson in elk behavior, as well as a tour of the helicopter that was used to track the herd. The family also decided to name “their” elk Sacajawea and will integrate their observations into their studies.

Since 2008, the tribe has been tracking the herds within its primary hunting area, Game Management Unit 636, counting only about 150 elk.

“That is way too low – the herd population needs to be up around 500 elk or so,” said Bethany Tropp-Brinkerhoff, the tribe’s wildlife biologist. “We have several herds that we’re focusing on, trying to mark their foraging ranges and population growth.”

The tribe’s goal is to collar several elk in each herd so movements can be tracked year round. The tribe will also enhance elk foraging areas this fall with the Olympic National Forest by planting native trees and plants, such as dogwoods, snowberries and willows in areas where the elk are known to feed.

“Preserving the area’s elk population is key to supporting the tribe’s treaty-reserved right to hunt elk, which contribute to the tribe’s subsistence and ceremonial needs,” said Joseph Pavel, the tribe’s natural resources director. “Elk is a traditional food that is low in fat and a good source of protein.”

The tribe is partnering with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife on this project.

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For more information, contact: Bethany Tropp, Skokomish Tribe wildlife biologist, at (360) 877-5213 or btropp@skokomish.org; or Tiffany Royal, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission information officer, at (360) 297-6546 or troyal@nwifc.org.

From the Seattle Times:

Here on this inlet in far South Sound, a visitor recently arrived from distant waters, and the Squaxin Island tribe did what their ancestors taught them: They welcomed an honored guest.

That the visitor was a dead whale made it the more important; that it was a Bryde’s whale, never before documented in these waters, clinched it.

“We felt very sure it was a gift from the Creator,” said David Lopeman, Squaxin tribal chairman. “And we were going to treat it right.”

King 5 produced this video on the whale:

More background on the stranding of the rare tropical whale can be found at Cascadia Research.

Here is a selection from the introduction by chairman Billy Frank, Jr.:

We are the treaty Indian tribes in western Washington. We are salmon people. We have lived here for thousands of years. We depend on the natural resources of the Pacific Northwest to sustain our way of life.

For more than 150 years, we have fought countless battles to protect the salmon and the fishing rights that we reserved in treaties with the United States. We are natural resources co-managers with the state of Washington and leaders in salmon recovery. For us, the fight to save the salmon continues where we live – every day in every watershed.

The report is embedded below, but you can also download a pdf version here.

Comprehensive Tribal Natural Resources Management 2010