Tribal Natural Resources Management 2021 Annual Report

1. 2021 Annual Report from the Treaty Indian Tribes in Western Washington Tribal Natural Resources Management

2. 2 Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Member Tribes of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

3. 3 2021 Annual Report From The Chair.........4 Harvest Management..... 9 Salmon........6 Shellfish........7 Marine Fish........8 Hatchery Management........9 Habitat Management.......10 Wildlife Management .......11 Regional Collaboration.... ... Ocean Resources.. ...12 Forest Management.......13 Puget Sound Recovery .......14 Water Resources .......14 NWIFC Activities.......15 Table of Contents Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission 6730 Martin Way East Olympia, WA 98516 (360) 438-1180 contact@nwifc.org nwifc.org nwtreatytribes.org Left: Quinault Indian Nation tribal member and fisheries technician Angel Ellis measures a razor clam before returning it to the sand. Photo: Debbie Preston Map, opposite page: Ron McFarlane Cover: Clockwise, top left: Swinomish Shellfish Co. crew boss Willie Hunt opens a Pacific oyster to serve at the tribe’s annual clam bake; Nisqually tribal member Willie Frank III harvests a chinook salmon from the Nisqually River; Coho salmon; Elk in the Duckabush River Valley. Photos: Debbie Preston, Kari Neumeyer, Tiffany Royal

4. 4 Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission It was another challenging year for tribal natural resources co-management in western Washington during 2020. The year was marked by poor salmon returns, the ongoing loss of salmon habitat, impacts from COVID-19, increasing seal and sea lion predation, and a growing invasion of European green crab. Few bright spots appeared on the horizon, but the treaty Indian tribes in western Washington remain committed to sustainably co-managing the region’s natural resources and protecting tribal treaty-reserved rights. Salmon Returns Until we take bold action to protect and restore salmon habitat, we are looking toward a future with more tightly restricted fisheries for everyone. That was the take-home message again as treaty tribal and state fisheries co-managers agreed on a package of salmon fishing seasons for 2020-21 that provided greatly reduced harvest opportunities compared to recent years while still contributing to ongoing salmon recovery efforts. The main reason for the decline of salmon throughout western Washington is that their habitat is being lost faster than it can be restored and protected, and the trend shows no signs of improve- ment. Fisheries are based on impacts to individual salmon stocks de- pending on their overall abundance and how many are needed to escape harvest and spawn. Treaty tribal and nontribal sport and commercial fisheries are structured to limit impacts on stocks of concern that are not expected to reach spawning goals. Anticipated weak returns of chinook to the Stillaguamish River and mid-Hood Canal in 2020 required extensive closures to protect dwindling populations. Coho returning to the Queets and Snohomish rivers also were stocks of concern. The reductions we had to make this year were painful for both tribal and nontribal fishermen and fishing communities. We al- ready have reduced fisheries by 80-90 percent for nearly 40 years in response to declining salmon runs. There was no tribal fishing this year on river systems in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, such as the Hoko, Elwha and Dungeness. State fisheries managers had to sharply cut a popular winter chinook sport fishery to protect imperiled Stillaguamish River chinook, while the Stillaguamish Tribe harvested just 21 chinook for its First Salmon Ceremony and other traditions. We won’t be able to manage our way around the ongoing loss of salmon habitat much longer, but hope may be on the horizon. Riparian Habitat Initiative A possibly game-changing move came in November 2019 at the annual state/tribal Centennial Accord meetings. Creat- ed in 1989 to mark the state’s 100th anniversary of statehood, the gathering brings together the tribes and state in a government-to-government forum. As part of the 2019 Centennial Accord commitments, Gov. Jay Inslee recognized the importance of healthy riparian, or streamside, areas as critical to both our region’s salmon recovery efforts and climate change resilience. In a bold move, he directed his state natural resources agencies to develop a consistent approach for uniform, science-based riparian management and guidance to protect salmon and their habitat. Riparian habitat is among the most important for salmon. Shade from trees and other vegetation helps keep water temperatures low to aid salmon survival at all life stages. That led treaty tribal and state salmon co-managers – for the first time – to include habitat recovery as part of fisheries management planning. Tribes are encouraged that Gov. Inslee’s plan to work with tribes to address riparian habitat across the landscape of western Washington will improve the habitat that is essential to salmon survival and recovery. You can learn more at riparianhabitat.org. Seal, Sea Lion Predation Increasing populations of harbor seals and California sea lions in western Washington are hurting salmon, orcas and other marine species more than we realize. It’s estimated that seals and sea lions eat about 1.4 million pounds annually of threatened Puget Sound chinook and take six times more salmon than tribal and nontribal fisheries combined while damaging fishing communities and economies. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife partnered with treaty tribes to survey harbor seal populations in northwest Washington inland waters. The survey was funded by the Swin- omish, Suquamish, Tulalip, Squaxin Island and Puyallup tribes. From results of the study released in 2020, we learned that harbor seal populations in the study area had remained stable at about 19,000 since the agency’s last survey in 1999. But another recent study involving a larger survey area showed that harbor seal numbers in the Salish Sea have grown tenfold from about 8,500 to more than 80,000 since 1972 when the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) was enacted. Meanwhile, California sea lion populations have exploded to historic levels of more than 300,000 today. The MMPA was created to protect fur seals, dolphins and whales, and has been successful in stemming the decline of those species. California sea lions and harbor seals have never been in danger of extinction, and their populations in some places exceed the ecosystem’s ability to support them. Historically, tribal fishermen never used to see harbor seals and California sea lions traveling up western Washington rivers. Today, we need to manage in-river predation by harbor seals of out-migrating juvenile salmon and returning adults – especially the threatened chinook that are their favorite target. That can’t be done effectively without a lot more information about their movements, dietary needs and other factors. We also want to make certain that plans to increase salmon hatchery production to support fisheries and southern resident orca recovery don’t end up feeding seal and sea lion population growth. COVID-19 Like communities across Washington, tribes continue to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted every part of their daily lives, economies and traditions. High rates of certain illnesses, combined with limited access to medical care, put tribal members at increased health risks due to COVID-19 and led some tribes to close reservation boundar- ies. That came with a huge financial cost as tribes closed casinos, resorts and other businesses that are the economic engines of our own and nearby communities. Tribes are among the top 10 From The Chair

5. 5 2021 Annual Report employers in the state and most employees are nontribal. Economic problems were compounded with the collapse of the seafood market due to both COVID-19 and Chinese retaliatory tariffs. Tribes quickly shut down most of their fisheries and delayed or canceled others. As restaurants closed, markets dried up for salmon, crab, shrimp and other species. Fish buyers were scarce and our fishermen were paid about half of normal prices when there was an opportunity for an opening. In times like these, tribes rely on ceremonial and subsistence harvests of fish and shellfish to feed our families and cultures. The fisheries provide important nutrition when many tribal members have limited options for groceries or are furloughed or unemployed. Many tribes have distributed fish, elk and other foods to members, but even limited fisheries have been difficult to conduct due to social distancing requirements. State of Our Watersheds Report In 2020, we updated the State of Our Watersheds Report, which has documented the decline of salmon habitat throughout western Washington since 2004. The 2020 State of Our Watersheds Report revealed that we continue to tread water on a few indicators of the overall health of our region’s environment, while losing ground on most others. The report provides a watershed-by-watershed look at actual conditions resulting from our land and water use choices. Each chapter focuses on impacts that habitat loss and degradation have on salmon populations in relation to our tribal communities, economies and treaty-reserved rights. A wide range of science and data are used to document salmon and shellfish habitat trends and our efforts to resolve the most pressing problems created by population growth, polluted stormwater runoff, climate change and other factors. Among the findings: • Shoreline armoring continues to threaten salmon and forage fish spawning and rearing habitat throughout Puget Sound. Of the total 2,460 miles of shoreline within Puget Sound, 715 miles – about one-third – is armored with bulkheads and other structures. Between 2015 and 2018, there was a net reduction of about 1 mile of armoring. • We remain concerned that the state of Washington is not providing adequate funding for removal of fish-blocking culverts under state roads as required by a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The court upheld tribal treaty-reserved fishing rights in a ruling requiring the state to correct 450 of its 800 most signifi- cant salmon-blocking culverts by 2030. Current budget projec- tions make it unlikely the state will meet the court’s mandate. • Despite the knowledge that surface water and groundwater are connected, more than 67,000 wells have been drilled in our region since 1980. The increase in wells threatens groundwater supplies affecting instream flows and overall ecosystem health across the region. • The amount of impervious surfaces – like parking lots and roads – has increased along with polluted stormwater runoff. Meanwhile, forest cover has continued to disappear, which increases water temperatures that can kill salmon. The updated report is available at nwifc.org/sow. 50th Anniversary of the Fish Wars Fall 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of an event that sparked the landmark ruling by federal Judge George Boldt in U.S. v. Washington that upheld our treaty-reserved rights to hunt, fish and gather. It occurred on Sept. 9, 1970, at the height of the Fish Wars that had rocked western Washington since the early 1960s. The state of Washington refused to recognize tribal treaty-reserved rights, and when tribal members tried to exercise those rights, they were arrested – often beaten – and thrown in jail. Boats, motors, nets and other gear were confiscated along with any fish caught. Treaty rights are civil rights, the same as the right to vote, and protected under the U.S. Constitution as the “supreme law of the land.” To defend their rights, tribes mounted a nonviolent resistance effort patterned after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s strategy in his civil rights campaign: Protest, get arrested, get out of jail and protest again. Tribes and their supporters had set up a fish camp under the Puyallup River Bridge on that September day when the state of Washington and local law enforcement agencies began tear-gas- sing and arresting the protesters. A U.S. Attorney for western Washington was part of the crowd that came to watch the arrest of more than 60 men, women and teenagers. Troubled by what he saw, he took the first steps to file U.S. v. Washington on behalf of the tribes, which led to Judge Boldt’s 1974 ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Boldt decision in 1979. Today the bridge spanning the site has been named the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge, or yabuk’wali, which means “place of a fight.” The Boldt decision established the tribes as natural resources co-managers with the state and upheld the tribal right to half of the harvestable salmon returning annually to western Washing- ton waters. However, 50 percent of nothing is still nothing, which is the direction salmon stocks are going because salmon habitat continues to be lost. It could take another 50 years or more to achieve salmon recovery, but tribes remain confident we will get there. Indian people have always lived in western Washington and we always will. We will never stop fighting for the health of our cultures, communities and natural resources – and we will never stop defending our treaty rights. NWIFC Chair Lorraine Loomis

6. 6 Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Lummi tribal fishermen harvested salmon from Whatcom Creek in Au- gust 2020, for the first time in at least 100 years. The chinook salmon were released as juveniles in 2017 from the Belling- ham Technical College’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Science program’s hatchery, which works in partnership with tribal and state fisheries managers. When the chinook returned as adults, they congregated below the waterfalls in the creek beside the hatchery. Whatcom Creek travels from Lake Whatcom through the city of Bell- ingham to Bellingham Bay, where a pulp and paper mill operated on the waterfront from 1926 to 2007. Lost and degraded habitat is the main cause of declining salmon runs. To supplement populations until habitat can be restored, the Lummi Nation and state co-managers oper- ate hatchery enhancement programs on the North and South Forks of the Nooksack River, Lummi Bay and the Samish River, as well as the new program at the Whatcom Creek Hatchery. In 2017, some of the chinook spawned at the Lummi Nation hatchery on Skookum Creek were not suitable for release in the South Fork Nooksack River. Those fish were brought to the college’s hatchery on Whatcom Creek where they were released. “There wasn’t any intention of having these fish spawn in the wild,” said Ben Starkhouse, Lummi harvest manager. “It was intended that these would be caught.” A group of about 20 tribal members gathered by the creek in August, hold- ing a small ceremony to pray for the safety of all fishermen, before setting a net in the creek. “You may see a thriving community in this place you call Bellingham,” said Steven Solomon, chairman of the Lummi Natural Resources Commis- sion. “For us, it’s Whatcom. Home of the Noisy Water. It wasn’t just noisy over that fall, that water coming down. This creek was full of fish. Our great-grandfathers said there used to be upwards of 300,000 fish in this creek.” After the Lummi fishermen harvested about 100 fish, an emergency rule change by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife provided a recreational fishing harvest opportunity until September 13. “People forget Whatcom is a Lummi word,” said tribal fisherman Troy Olsen. “We need to remind them we’re still here.” Harvest Management: Salmon Treaty Indian tribes and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife co-manage salmon fisheries in Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and nearshore coastal waters. • For decades, state and tribal salmon co-managers have reduced harvest in response to declining salmon runs. Tribes have cut harvest by 80 to 90 percent since 1985. • Under U.S. v. Washington (the Boldt decision), harvest occurs only after sufficient fish are available to sustain the resource. • The tribes monitor their harvest using the Treaty Indian Catch Monitoring Program to provide accurate, same-day catch statistics for treaty tribal fisheries. The program enables close monitoring of tribal harvest levels and allows for in-season adjustments. • Tribal and state managers work coop- eratively through the Pacific Fishery Management Council and the North of Falcon process to develop fishing seasons. The co-managers also cooper- ate with Canadian and Alaskan fisheries managers through the U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty. Tribe Returns to Ancestral Fishing Grounds Lummi fishermen harvest hatchery chinook from Whatcom Creek in August. Photo: Shirley Williams, Lummi Nation

7. 7 2021 Annual Report Harvest Management: Shellfish Treaty tribes harvest native littleneck, manila, razor and geoduck clams, Pacific oysters, Dungeness crab, shrimp and other shellfish throughout the coast and Puget Sound. • Tribal shellfish programs manage harvests with other tribes and the state through resource-sharing agreements. The tribes are exploring ways to improve management of other species, including sea cucumbers, Olympia oysters and sea urchins. • Tribal shellfish enhancement results in larger and more consistent harvests that benefit both tribal and nontribal diggers. • Shellfish harvested in ceremonial and subsistence fisheries are a necessary part of tribal culture and traditional diet. • Shellfish harvested in commercial fisheries are sold to licensed buyers. For the protection of public health, shellfish are harvested and processed according to strict state and national standards. • Tribes continue to work with property owners to manage harvest on nontribal tidelands. • In 2019 (the most recent year for which data is available), treaty tribes in western Washington com- mercially harvested more than 1.3 million pounds of manila and littleneck clams, more than 2.1 million pounds of geoduck clams, more than 3 million oysters, 4.2 million pounds of crab, 242,000 pounds of sea cucumbers, 674,000 pounds of green and red sea urchins, and 414,000 pounds of shrimp. When the coronavirus hit western Washington in winter 2020, shutting down just about everything, tribal shellfish managers adapted to the changing market. In February, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe fishermen noticed markets disappearing as the virus spread, said Matt Ives, a Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe fisherman and tribal council member. When the outbreak began, crab prices plummeted. “We never got the price we wanted and it makes a difference on the guys who do winter fisheries since they’re not big fisheries to begin with,” he said. The price for crab from winter harvests plummeted to $3-$4 a pound, instead of the normal $6 a pound, he said. Prawn fisheries didn’t receive the typical prices at first either, starting at $3 a pound; shrimp usually sell for $7 a pound, Ives said. But by early June, markets were back at their normal price. Shrimp harvests also started a month late. Point Elliott Treaty tribes agreed to fish in groups of 50 for spot prawns, to avoid flooding the market. “This was a way to get all our fishermen from the Point Elliott Treaty on the water and get them making money,” said Jonathon Lane, Lummi Fisheries and Natural Resources commissioner. Harvests for manila clams were minimal while restaurants were shut down, but interest in clams and oysters picked up in mid- May as the state started to reopen, Ives said. Shellfish harvesters from the Skokomish Tribe also felt the effect of the pandemic on their harvest efforts, said Skokomish fisherman Kevin Cagey. “Even the oyster harvests weren’t what they used to be. In April, the markets were 10 percent of regular volume.” Buyers were only taking oysters that were about 4 inches or bigger for grocery retail, he said. The restaurants that prefer smaller to medium sizes were shut down. “As restaurants reopen, the market will likely pick up again,” he said. “But at least it gives the shellfish a chance to spawn and grow.” Reduced markets meant tribal geoduck harvests also were down, as well as the price. But as of June, markets were opening again and demand and price were increasing. Tribes could roll over some of their unharvested 2020 geoduck harvest to 2021 if needed, said Sandy Zeiner, NWIFC shellfish and enforcement policy analyst. Shellfish Harvest Adapts to Market Changes During Pandemic Skokomish shellfish biologist Andrew Pavones samples oysters. The tribe continued to do field work during the pandemic. Photo: Tiffany Royal

8. 8 Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Harvest Management: Marine Fish The treaty tribes are co-managers of the marine fish resource and work closely with state and federal agencies and international forums to develop and implement species conservation plans for all marine fish stocks in Puget Sound and along the Pacific coast. • The treaty tribes have been active through the Pacific Fishery Management Council on issues that relate to the management of all groundfish stocks including sablefish, Pacific cod, lingcod, petrale sole and yelloweye rockfish. NWIFC staff are members of the Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team, Endangered Species Working Group, Ecosystem Workgroup and Groundfish Management Team. • Under the council’s management, all groundfish and coastal pelagic stocks are healthy with the exception of yelloweye rockfish and sardines. The sardine stock rebuilding plan was initiated in September 2020 and yelloweye rockfish is scheduled to be rebuilt in 2027. • The tribes have been increasingly involved with the International Halibut Commission process. The tribes, with the states of Washington, Oregon and California, reached an agreement in 2019 for a 1.65 million pound quota, of which the tribes are allocated 35 percent through 2022. The tribes hope to extend that as a minimum harvest level for the foreseeable future. • The tribes actively manage marine fisheries including purse-seining for sardines and anchovy, midwater fisheries, bottom trawl fisheries and fixed gear fisheries. Important species to the tribes include Pacific halibut, sablefish, petrale sole, Pacific hake and lingcod. • The ripple effect of COVID-19 on groundfish fisheries made management of both treaty and nontreaty fisheries problematic during the 2020 fishing season. The treaty tribes tried to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on fisheries by moving fisheries to later in the year in hopes that the pandemic would pass. Effort has remained lower than normal as individuals and tribes consider the public health. Aside from directed fisheries, the National Marine Fisheries Service also canceled multiple stock assessment surveys and 2020 will not have the same fishery independent data for groundfish as previous years. What was thought to be a dwindling herring population made a surprising appearance in 2020 in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Schools of the silver forage fish were found along shorelines, filling eelgrass beds with trans- lucent golden eggs in March and April, creating a mighty buffet for marine life. The feeding frenzy caught the attention of Jon Oleyar, the Suquamish Tribe’s fish biologist, who soon began receiving reports of herring swimming by the dock in downtown Suquamish. Tribal fishermen then started reporting catches of herring, ranging from 500 to 2,000 pounds, he said. “During my 20-plus years working here, I have never had a tribal fisherman fish for herring on or around the reservation until this year,” he said. “Many elders I spoke to don’t recall seeing anything like this during the last 50 years or so.” The herring spike is important, as it was recently believed that the population might be heading for extinction due to lack of herring in areas that were once abundant, Oleyar said. Herring lay their eggs on eelgrass and other underwater vegetation. Coincidentally, the tribe and the state have been im- proving eelgrass beds and habitat on private and state beaches for the past decade. “We hope some of this is starting to pay off and benefit some of the locally important wildlife,” he said. The resurgence of herring has cultural importance too, as younger tribal members have only heard stories of how their grandparents used to harvest herring and herring roe from the waters and beaches surrounding the Port Madison Reservation. Now there could be possibilities for them to harvest in the future as well. Herring populations are considered one of the Puget Sound vital signs, an indicator of the sound’s health, and are an important part of the food web as a source for salmon and other wildlife. Boost in Herring Population Herring eggs cling to eelgrass in Puget Sound. Photo: Jon Oleyar, Suquamish Tribe

9. 9 2021 Annual Report Hatchery Management The Skokomish Tribe and Tacoma Public Utilities staff were jubilant to see the first sockeye salmon return to the Saltwater Park Sockeye Hatchery on Hood Canal in July 2020. It was the first time sockeye had returned to the facility since the start of a 2016 program to bring back sockeye to the North Fork Skokomish River and Hood Canal. The program is a result of a 2009 hydroelectric relicensing agreement between the tribe and the utility. Tacoma operates the Cushman Hydro Project, which includes two hatcheries, adult and juvenile collection facilities, and enhanced fish and habitat monitoring and evaluation programs. “It’s been exciting to see the effort of the partnership pay off, especially (last) summer with the first returning sockeye,” said Dave Herrera, the tribe’s fisheries policy representative. “Our efforts to restore sustainable runs in the North Fork Skokomish again is becom- ing a reality.” More than 130 sockeye returned to the hatchery last summer and hatchery staff collected about 110,000 eggs for spawning and incubation. The fish are not fin-clipped like most hatchery salmon so they will not be harvested, allowing more sockeye to return to the river. Any sockeye that show up at the hatchery are brought into the spawning program. These eggs were the first to go through the new hatchery system, from incubation to being released in Lake Cushman for a year, then transferred around the dams and released into the river, before swimming out to the ocean, said Andrew Ollenburg, the Cushman fish facilities manager. “These sockeye have made the whole loop and the first lot of eggs from those fish are at the eyed-egg stage and look really good,” Ollenburg said. “There is a better than 97 percent survival of those eggs.” The 2009 hydroelectric dam relicensing agreement between the tribe and utility has led to river restoration, increased water flow, fish passage improvements, fish and wildlife habitat restoration, and salmon hatchery programs on the North Fork. First Sockeye Return to Hood Canal Hatchery In July 2020, Skokomish tribal member and Saltwa- ter Park Sockeye Hatchery employee Charlie Henry shows off the first returning adult sockeye to the hatchery, which is operated by Tacoma Power. Photo: Tacoma Power Hatcheries must remain a central part of salmon management in western Washington as long as lost and degraded habitat prevent watersheds from naturally producing abundant, self-sustaining salmon runs of sufficient size to meet tribal treaty fishing rights. • Treaty Indian tribes released more than 35 million salmon and steelhead in 2019 (the most recent year for which data is available), including 14.1 million chinook, 13.1 million chum and 7.1 million coho, as well as more than 150,000 sockeye and more than 880,000 steelhead. • Most tribal hatcheries produce salmon for harvest by both tribal and nontribal fishermen. Several serve as wild salmon nurseries that improve the survival of juvenile fish and increase returns of depressed salmon stocks that spawn naturally in our watersheds. • Tribes conduct an extensive mass marking and coded-wire tag program. Young fish are marked by having their adipose fin clipped before release. Tiny coded-wire tags are inserted into the noses of juvenile salmon. The tags from marked fish are recovered in fisheries, providing important information about marine survival, migration, harvest rates and hatchery effectiveness.

10. 10 Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Habitat Management Habitat protection and restoration are essential for recovering wild salmon in western Washing- ton. Tribes are taking action to recover salmon in each watershed, and have restored thousands of miles of habitat. • At the November 2019 state/tribal Cen- tennial Accord meeting, Gov. Jay Inslee made a commitment for state agencies to develop a consistent approach for uniform, science-based riparian management and guidance. That led treaty tribal and state salmon co-managers – for the first time – to include habitat recovery as part of fisheries management planning. Healthy riparian, or streamside, areas are critical to both our region’s salmon recovery efforts and climate change resiliency. • The NWIFC Salmon and Steelhead Habitat Inventory and Assessment Program (SSHIAP) provides data management and analysis assistance to member tribes. In 2020, SSHIAP updated the State of Our Watersheds Report, which assesses habitat conditions and gaug- es progress toward salmon and ecosystem recovery. This report is available at nwifc. org/sow. • SSHIAP also completed the Fish Manage- ment Data Exchange which will assist in co-managing fisheries with the state. • Tribes continue to collaborate with the state of Washington to fix the fish-blocking culverts that were the subject of a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court case. The Supreme Court affirmed a ruling that state blockages of salmon habitat violate tribal treaty rights. The state was ordered to remove barriers to fish passage. • Tribes conduct extensive water quality monitoring for pollution and to ensure factors such as dissolved oxygen and temperature levels are adequate for salmon and other fish. To make limited federal funding work to its fullest, tribes partner with state agencies, industries and property owners through col- laborative habitat protection, restoration and enhancement efforts. • In western Washington, the National Ocean- ic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund has support- ed projects that have restored and protected fish access to more than 1 million acres of spawning and rearing habitat, and removed hundreds of fish-passage barriers. The last of 127 engineered logjams were placed in the Farm- house reach of the North Fork Nooksack River in 2020, complet- ing an extensive multi-year salmon habitat restoration project. The Nooksack Tribe has installed large woody structures in the North and South forks of the Nooksack River nearly every year since 2008. Last summer, the final 56 logjams were placed in the 3-mile-long reach of the North Fork near Maple Falls, complet- ing restoration that began there in 2014. Restoring river habitat is essential to recovering threatened salmon populations in the Nooksack watershed. Habitat in the North Fork Nooksack was degraded and made unstable by years of instream wood removal, clearing of riparian forests and more frequent large floods. Engineered logjams stabilize side channels for salmon to spawn and rear in, and form pools for them to rest in. They also slow currents and create areas where gravel accumulates to form islands. Ambitious projects like these are only possible with the hard work and support of staff from many agencies and partners, including the expertise from several Nook- sack Natural Resources tribal staff, engineering consultants, log supply and construction contractors, and funding and permitting agencies, said project manager Lindsie Fratus-Thomas. North and Middle Fork Nook- sack early chinook are a genet- ically unique, native population with low numbers of returning natural-origin fish. The Nooksack Tribe hasn’t had a directed commercial fishery on early chinook in the Nooksack River since about 1980. The Farmhouse reach is up- stream from the state’s Kendall Creek Hatchery, which runs a chinook supplementation program to help recover the population. Over time, as habitat recovers, more chinook are expected to return and spawn in the reach. The project also benefits steelhead, bull trout, cutthroat trout, and coho, chum and pink salmon. Major Habitat Restoration Completed in Nooksack River An engineered logjam is installed in the Farmhouse reach of the North Fork Nook- sack River. Photo: Kari Neumeyer

11. 11 2021 Annual Report Wildlife Management The treaty Indian tribes are co-managers of wildlife resources in western Washington, including deer, elk, bear and mountain goats. • Tribal wildlife departments work with state agencies and citizen groups on wildlife forage and habitat enhancement projects, regularly conducting wildlife population studies using GPS collars to track migration patterns. • Tribes implement occasion- al hunting moratoriums in response to declining populations because of degraded and disconnected habitat, invasive species and disease. • Western Washington treaty tribal hunters account for a small portion of the total combined deer and elk harvest in the state. In the 2019 season, treaty tribal hunters harvested a reported 441 elk and 619 deer, while nontribal hunters harvested a reported 5,429 elk and 27,187 deer. • Tribal hunters hunt for suste- nance and most do not hunt only for themselves. Tribal culture in western Washington is based on extended family relationships, with hunters sharing game with several families. Some tribes have designated hunters who harvest wildlife for tribal elders and others unable to hunt for themselves, as well as for ceremonial purposes. • As a sovereign government, each treaty tribe develops its own hunting regulations and ordinances for tribal members. Tribal hunters are licensed by their tribes and must obtain tags for animals they wish to hunt. • Many tribes conduct hunter education programs aimed at teaching tribal youth safe hunting practices. Tulalip wildlife staff and volunteers from Beavers Northwest released six beavers into a Skykomish mountain stream in September 2020. The beavers – a breeding pair, three kits and a subadult – took a moment to get their bearings, then scurried off in all di- rections, including one that took a wrong turn onto the streambank. The beavers were the latest participants in Tulalip’s program to relocate beavers from places where they interfere with human activity to watersheds where their industriousness can be appreciated. In the well-populated lowlands, beaver dams cause expensive flooding on private property. In the mountains, on the other hand, beaver activity has the potential to increase the habitat’s resilience to climate change, according to a 2019 doctoral dissertation by Ben Dittbrenner at the University of Washington. Dittbrenner, the co-founder of Beavers Northwest, partnered with the Tulalip Tribes in 2014 to develop the relocation program. His research found that beaver activity can lower water temperatures and increase summer water availability by up to 20 percent in some Pacific North- west watersheds where salmon survival is threatened by the effects of climate change. Despite the water storage possibilities, wildlife biologists make every effort to allow the animals to remain in familiar territory. “We don’t want to relocate beavers just because they can benefit habitat, even when they’re considered nuisance animals,” said Tulalip wildlife biologist Molly Alves. “It’s our last resort. The first thing we do is an assessment to make sure it’s really the beavers that are causing the problem.” The next step is to try to find a solution, such as installing devices that prevent beaver activity from flooding property. Tulalip’s wildlife department has relocated more than 200 beavers since the program began. In September, Tulalip Chairwoman Teri Gobin signed an agreement with the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to expand the tribes’ program to the Stillaguamish watershed. “Tulalip has been working collabora- tively with the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to steward our ancestral lands for quite a few years,” Gobin said. “The beaver reintroduction effort is our first project under the Tribal Forest Pro- tection Act.” In addition to expanding their range to include the Snoqualmie and Stillaguamish watersheds, Tulalip has worked with the Cowlitz Tribe and South Sound Beaver Recovery, which is coordinating with the Puyallup Tribe, to set up beaver relocation programs in other regions. A beaver finds its way after being relocated in the Skykomish watershed. Photo: Kari Neumeyer. Tribal Beaver Program Expands

12. 12 Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Regional Collaboration The state of Washington, the Hoh, Makah and Quileute tribes, and the Quinault Indian Nation work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other partners to integrate common research goals to understand changing ocean conditions and create the building blocks for better managing these resources. • In recognition of the challenges facing the Olympic coast ecosystem, the tribes and state of Washington established the Intergovernmental Policy Coun- cil (IPC) to guide management of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS). Many of the research and planning goals established by tribes and the state support U.S. Ocean Policy. In 2019, the tribes worked with their partners to reauthorize the IPC through 2022. • The tribes also are active members of the OCNMS Advisory Council, regional Marine Resource Com- mittees, the Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council, the West Coast Ocean Alliance and the Pacific Fishery Management Council. • Climate change, ocean warming, ocean acidification, hypoxia and harmful algal blooms are top priorities. Because of their unique vulnerability, coastal indigenous cultures are leaders in adaptation and mitigation in response to events driven by climate change. As ocean conditions change due to climate change and disruptions such as the Pacific decadal oscillation, El Niño, the marine heat waves and seasonal upwelling, it will be important to understand the changes that are occurring and how they affect the ecosystem. Tribes are working with the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observ- ing Systems (NANOOS) and other state and federal partners to improve monitoring of marine conditions and access to data products necessary for effective decision-making. • The tribes continue to work with the state of Wash- ington and federal partners to respond to the findings of and enact the recommendations of the state’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification. Several tribes are members of the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification, including serving on its Exec- utive Council. Tribes also are working with the state Department of Natural Resources to monitor ocean acidification conditions in nearshore waters as part of the Acidification Nearshore Monitoring Network (ANeMoNe) program. The IPC has expressed its support for the designation of the Olympic coast as an Ocean Acidification Sentinel Site, and are working to ensure it is a successful endeavor. • The tribes and the federal government are working to map marine resources on Washington’s outer coast using the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classifica- tion Standard (CMECS) as part of the Habitat Frame- work project. CMECS uses habitat data to provide a more comprehensive understanding of habitats and their ecosystem function. The habitat maps produced in this process will be used to improve management by looking closer at the relationship between habitat and species. Learn more at nwtt.co/oceanmaps. Ocean Resources With warming ocean temperatures and more frequent and intense harmful algal blooms, the Makah Tribe wants to better understand how toxins travel through the food chain to marine life and humans. “We are looking at several types of fish to see if and at what levels domoic acid and saxitoxin exist in their systems and how those levels change throughout the season as algal blooms take place,” said Adrianne Akmajian, the tribe’s marine ecologist. “We are also looking for the toxins in gray whales since they feed in the nearshore and lower on the food web.” The toxins are known to cause shellfish poisoning in humans when ingested. Domoic acid causes amne- siac shellfish poisoning, and saxitoxin causes paralytic shellfish poisoning. Akmajian has studied both toxins in sea lions. “Domoic acid in particular is well known in California for causing sea lions to have seizures and aggressive- ness,” she said. “In other parts of the world, saxitoxin has caused respiratory pa- ralysis in several species of whales and seals.” Now she wants to target fish and study the potential exposure to human health. Since 2018, the tribe has been sampling fish caught by several of the tribe’s commercial fishermen and ana- lyzing toxins in fish stomach contents and fillets. Fish tested include chinook salmon, yellowtail rockfish, petrale sole, wall- eye pollock, spiny dogfish, arrowtooth flounder and skate. The tribe samples fish monthly from May to November, with increasing frequency when active algal blooms are detected in rou- tinely monitored shellfish. Based on other studies, Akmajian says she does not expect the toxins to make their way into the fish mus- cle tissue, but if there is a big bloom, they could see higher levels of toxins in the fillet. Tribe Studying HAB Toxins Lora Halttunen, Makah Tribe marine ecology technician, prepares to transfer diluted toxin samples into tubes to be spun in the centrifuge. Photo: Adrianne Akmajian, Makah Tribe

13. 13 2021 Annual Report Forest Management More than 1,200 Muckleshoot tribal and community members gathered in the rural foothills of Mount Rainier at the tribe’s Tomanamus Forest property for a community celebration at the end of 2019. The tribe celebrates Tomanamus Community Day at Medicine Eagle Flats within the forest. Salmon, elk, deer and medicinal teas are prepared and served. There are outdoor activities, traditional games, information about programs associated with the forest property, and other tribal programs promoting wellness, education, outdoor activities and careers. “The tribe restored this nearly 100,000 acres of traditional territory to tribal members by purchasing it in 2013,” said Cinnamon Bear, a key organizer of the event. “It’s a good way to familiarize the community with this property, how it’s managed, how the youth are involved in coming here to learn culture and job opportunities, and how tribal members can access it and use it.” Attendees were welcomed by a carved sign designed by Muckleshoot tribal art- ist and carver Keith Stevenson. The sign was erected by a Muckleshoot youth forestry crew as part of the summer work program, which included cutting and stripping the cedar poles used to mount the sign. Hancock Forest Management (HFM), which carries out the tribe’s management plans on the land, had a booth detailing job openings and forestry practices on the property. Such practices include harvesting cedar bark for baskets, hats, clothing and other uses before a section is logged. HFM works with Muckleshoot Wildlife and Fisheries and other departments when planning these units. Also at the event were SSC Contrac- tors, who are contracted by Muckleshoot to teach forestry skills to adult and teen tribal members. “I’ve seen lives changed from folks being outside, learning skills and feeling good about themselves,” said Bob Sokol, general manager for SSC Contractors. The Muckleshoot Tribal School’s Forestry Club booth gave out cards that identify important cultural plants found on the property. Science instructor and forestry club adviser Benjamin Price brings the students to the property as often as possible, where they engage in projects such as calculating how much the forest aids in combating climate change by remov- ing carbon from the atmosphere. “It’s applied science and math, and the more they come out here, the more engaged they become,” Price said. Muckleshoot Tribe’s Tomanamus Day: Connecting with the Land and Community Two processes – the Timber/Fish/ Wildlife (TFW) Agreement and the Forests and Fish Report (FFR) – provide the framework for adaptive management by bringing together tribes, state and federal agencies, environmental groups, counties and private forestland owners to protect water quality and the habitat of salmon, wildlife and other species, and provide for the economic health of the timber industry. • Treaty tribes in western Washington manage their forestlands to benefit people, fish, wildlife and water. • Reforestation for future needs is part of maintaining healthy forests, which are key to maintaining vibrant streams for salmon and enabling wildlife to thrive. • Forestlands are a source of treaty-protected foods, medicine and cultural items. • A tribal representative serves on the state’s Forest Practices Board, which sets standards for activities such as timber harvest, road construction and forest chemical applications. Tribes also are active participants in the FFR Cooperative. Muckleshoot Tribal School students Cameron Williams, 14, center, and Brandon Moran, 15, right, hand out cards that identify indigenous plants on the tribe’s property in the Mount Rainier foothills. Photo: Debbie Preston

14. 14 Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Puget Sound is the second largest estuary in the United States. Its resources have been over-allocated to industrial and recreational uses for decades, leading to a steady decline in the health of the estuary. • In 1988, Congress designated Puget Sound as an Estu- ary of National Significance, further acknowledging the critical contributions that Puget Sound provides to the environmental and economic well-being of the nation. Through the National Estuary Program, the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency (EPA) works with tribal, state and local partners to aid in the protection and restoration of this iconic and ecologically important place. • In 2007, the state of Washington created the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP), dedicated to working with tribal, state, federal and local governments and stakeholders to clean up and restore the environmental health of Puget Sound by the year 2020. While this did not happen, the work still continues to this day. This diverse group continues to work toward a coordinated and cooperative recovery effort through the Partnership’s Action Agenda, which is focused on decreasing polluted stormwater runoff and protecting and restoring fish and shellfish habitat, along with many other environmental concerns. • The Tribal Management Conference was created in 2016 through EPA’s model for the National Estuary Program for Puget Sound. It increases the ability of tribes to provide direct input into the program’s decisional framework both at the federal and state level. The Tribal Manage- ment Conference is working with the PSP to implement a list of “bold actions” that can turn around salmon recovery in Puget Sound. The bold actions fall under several broad categories: Protect remaining salmon habitat; create a transparent and open accountability system on habitat; stop all water uses that limit salmon recovery; reduce salmon predation; improve monitoring; and increase funding for habitat restoration. • Western Washington treaty tribes participate in Puget Sound Day on the Hill, a two-day advocacy effort each spring in Washington, D.C., where tribes discuss issues with federal, state and local leaders. The Coordinated Tribal Water Quality Program was created by the Pacific Northwest tribes and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address water quality issues threat- ening tribal rights and resources. • EPA’s General Assistance Program (GAP) was established in 1992 to improve capacity for environmental protection programs for all tribes in the country. The treaty tribes in western Washington are now advancing the “Beyond GAP” project to build on these investments and creating the environmental implementation programs necessary to meet national environmental protection objectives. • Tribal programs are essential to combat threats to treaty resources such as declining water quality and quantity. In western Washington, climate change and urban development negatively affect water resources and aquatic ecosys- tems and will get worse with the state’s population expected to rise by nearly 1 million in the next 10 years. • Tribal water resources program goals include establishing instream flows to sustain harvestable populations of salmon, identifying limiting factors for salmon recovery, protecting existing groundwater and surface water supplies, and participating in multi-agency planning processes for water quantity and quality management. Puget Sound Recovery Water Resources The North Fork Skokomish River in July. Photo: Debbie Preston Regional Collaboration

15. 15 2021 Annual Report Fisheries Management • Long-range planning, salmon recovery efforts and federal Endangered Species Act implementation. • Develop pre-season agreements, pre -season and in-season run size forecast monitoring, and post-season fishery analysis and reporting. • Participate in regionwide fisheries management processes with entities such as the International Pacific Halibut Commission and Pacific Fishery Management Council. • Marine fish and shellfish management planning. • Facilitate tribal participation in the U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty including organizing intertribal and interagency meetings, developing issue papers and negotiation options for tribes, serving on technical committees and coordinating tribal research associated with implementing the treaty. • Administer and coordinate the Treaty Indian Catch Monitoring Program. • Provide statistical consulting services. • Conduct data analysis of fisheries studies and develop study designs. • Update and evaluate fishery management statistical models and databases. Habitat Services • Protect and restore the productive capacity of freshwater, marine and land-based fish, wildlife and plant communities. • Support tribal habitat protection and restoration priorities and objectives. • Provide policy and technical support, coordination and analysis regarding fresh and marine water resources, forest and agricultural practices, growth management and climate change. • Engage science and technical support to maintain a comprehensive inventory, assessment and analysis of watershed conditions. • Develop policies to strengthen and align federal, state and local authorities to protect tribal treaty resources. Enhancement Services • Assist tribes with production and release of an average of 40 million salmon and steelhead each year. • Coordinate coded-wire tagging of more than 4 million fish at tribal hatcheries to provide information critical to fisheries management. • Analyze coded-wire tag data. • Provide genetic, ecological and statistical consulting for tribal hatchery programs. • Provide fish health services to tribal hatcheries for juvenile fish health monitoring, disease diagnosis, adult health inspection and vaccine production. Communication Services • Provide internal and external communication services to member tribes and NWIFC. • Develop and distribute communication products such as news releases, newsletters, videos, photos, social media and web-based content. • Respond to public requests for information about the tribes, their treaty rights, natural resources management activities and environmental issues. • Work with federal and state agencies, environmental organizations and others in cooperative communication efforts. • Respond to state and federal legislation. Wildlife Management • Manage and maintain the intertribal wildlife harvest database and the collection of tribal hunting regulations. • Provide assistance to tribes on wildlife issues. • Respond to and facilitate tribal discussions on key management, litigation and legislation issues. • Provide technical assistance, including statistical review and data analysis, and/or direct involvement in wildlife and habitat management projects. (Boldt decision) Endangered Species Act Pacific Salmon Treaty Fish, Shellfish and Wildlife Harvest Management Harvest Monitoring/Data Collection Salmon and Watershed Recovery Policy Development and Intergovernmental Relations Fisherman and Vessel Identification Climate Response and Adaptation Habitat Restoration Ocean and Watershed Management Enhancement/Hatcheries U. S. Constitution Magnuson – Stevens Act Indian Self-Determination Education Assistance Act Shoreline Management Act Clean Water Act Marine Mammal Protection Act Stevens Treaties Core Programs Core Programs NWIFC Activities Our core programs, which protect treaty rights and resources, are guided by state, federal and international treaties and laws. The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) was created in 1974 by the 20 treaty Indian tribes in western Washington that were parties to U.S. v. Washington. The litigation affirmed their treaty-reserved salmon harvest rights and established the tribes as natural resources co-managers with the state. The NWIFC is an intertribal organiza tion that assists member tribes with their natural resources co-management respon sibilities. Member tribes select commis sioners who develop policy and provide direction for the organization. The NWIFC employs about 75 full- time employees and is headquartered in Olympia, Wash., with regional offices in Forks, Poulsbo and Burlington. It provides broad policy coordination as well as high-quality technical and support services for member tribes in their efforts to co-manage the natural resources in western Washington. The NWIFC also acts as a forum for tribes to address issues of shared concern, and enables the tribes to speak with a unified voice.

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