Bookends of Restoration Efforts: Skokomish and Nisqually sub-basins of Puget Sound

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1 Bookends of Restoration Efforts: Skokomish and Nisqually sub-basins of Puget Sound Presented by Keith Dublanica Environmental Specialist / Habitat Biologist Mason Conservation District Restore America s Estuaries Galveston, Texas November 15, 2010

2 Restoration Planning Across Multiple Jurisdictions and Habitats RAE Session A cursory comparative investigation of restoration efforts within two sub-basins of Puget Sound, Washington state * Skokomish in the lower Hood Canal * Nisqually in southern Puget Sound

3 Process Derived Outcomes Tribal Treaty Rights (U & A) of 1855 Sub-basin watershed restoration efforts Habitat Enhancement w/ ESA emphasis Flood control and water quality improv. Communication thru enhanced dialogues Ecological integrity & cultural legacies Sub-basin actions benefiting Puget Sound

4 Salish Sea Encompasses Puget Sound, Straits of Juan de Fuca and Georgia. First Nations and Native American Tribes of the Pacific Northwest were located at most of the river mouths of the subbasins. Graphic from Seadoc Society

5 Puget Sound Geomorphology Puget Trough created from glacial activities 16,500 B.P Vashon lobe of the Cordilern Ice Sheet Alpine glaciers of the montane areas Cascade Range and Mt Rainier; Olympic Range Organisms adaptation to systems Salmonid life history behaviors

6 Reconstruction of the Puget Lobe of the Cordillern Ice Sheet at glacial maximum ca. 16,500 cal yr before present (BP) (H. Greenberg, Univ. Washington, Seattle, unpubl. data).

7 The Georgia Basin of Canada & Puget Sound of the USA encompass the traditional lands of the First Nations & Coast Salish Indian Tribes. Georgia Basin of Canada and Puget Sound, USA encompasses traditional lands of the First Nations & Salish Coast Indian Tribes, also defined as the Salish Sea. The Skokomish, People of the River, descend from the Tua duq, and are located at Hood Canal s Great Bend. The Nisqually, People of the River, People of the Grass Country, descend from the Squalli- absch are located east of Olympia.

8 Rich waters of Puget Sound and Washington coast true color image (top) false color image- (bottom) Showing high phtyoplankton biomass concetnrations in Sound and coastal upwelling

9 Usual and Accustomed Area U and A area is a treaty term that encompasses the ceded territory; Reservations are a fraction. Skokomish U and A is 2.2 million acres of Hood Canal, incl. east flanks of Olympics; reservation of 5300 acres at Great Bend Nisqually U and A is acres of eastern/southern Puget Sound, originating from the Nisqually glacier on Mt Rainier (Tahoma); reservation of 5000 acres upstream of Sound, 2/3 of which were taken by Fort Lewis.

10 Treaty Rights with the First Nations Established Reservations in 1870 Pre-dates Washington statehood of 1889 Protects Tribe s ability to continue to practice culturally significant activities i.e.: Fishing Hunting Gathering Medicine Language culture and landscape relationships

11 Puget Sound River mouths were tribal-used / inhabited T-sheets show historical channels/ shores Early agricultural conversion / modification Deltaic and estuarine processes, by definition, require tidal / river interchange

12 1855 Treaty of Point No Point The Skokomish Indian Tribe, the Tuaduq signed this Treaty along with three other Tribes, Port Gamble, Jamestown and Lower Elwha with US Territorial Governor. The tribes were granted continued cultural access to the usual & accustomed areas and stations as defined in the treaties, predating Washington statehood, as were many Pacific Northwest Indian Tribes.

13 Digital elevation model of the Great Bend region of southwest Hood Canal. Data from Finlayson (2006).

14 The Skokomish Indian Tribe, the Tua duq - People of the River

15 Nisqually Indian Tribe, Squally-Absch People of the River People of the Grass

16 Nisqually Watershed originates on Mount Rainier (Tahoma) Only US River w/ protection in origins and at mouth Glacial melt water Rain on-snow Pierce, Thurston count Rainier National Park National Forest; USFW Tacoma hydro Weyerhauser Timber Valley dwellers Nisqually Rez Olympia - WA capitol I-5 corridor

17 Landscapes w/ Jurisdictional Overlaps USFS / USDA - National Park System WA Department of Natural Resources Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Tacoma s Cushman Hydro Project #460 Skokomish Tribe / Nisqually Tribe co-manage fisheries with WDFW (as do other treaty tribes) Mason; Pierce and Thurston Counties (SEPA) WSDOT Highways 101 and 106; I-5 corridor Skokomish Tribe / BIA on Reservation Nisqually USFWS Refuge system; Fort Lewis

18 .additional jurisdictions. EPA for Section 401 CWA WA Department of Ecology -TMDL / 401 Army Corps of Engineers Sec. 404; NEPA Sec. 106 Cultural Resources; Sec. 7 ESA. State Historic Protection Act (SHPO) Tribal Historic Preservation Act (THPO) WA Department of Fish and Wildlife - HPA Mason County SEPA Skokomish Environmental Protection Act

19 Past Land Uses and Management Homesteading Estuary and river dikes Dams Timber harvest and road construction

20 Skokomish Reservation / Delta courtesy of Wa Dept of Ecology (aerial oblique looking NW)

21 High Tide, Low Elevation Skokomish 9/28/08 WSDOT Aerial Photo

22 Basin-wide Complexities of Nisqually & Skokomish sub-basins 1,000 s miles of streams Headwaters in snow-covered peaks, thru steep, forested terrain, to valley and largest estuaries in Hood Canal and southern Puget Sound Mixed land owners / land uses Diverse and abundant fish, wildlife, plants incl. ESA-listed Environmental education Nisqually Refuge status

23 Compelling Need for Restoration Flooding Landslides, washouts Declining water quality Impaired fish habitats - ESA Loss of wildlife habitat Loss of arable land U and A issues

24 Skokomish River Flood at the Forks - December 2007 looking Northwest from Eels Hill

25 Cushman (FERC #460) Water Flow Enhancement through MEDIATION b/w Skokomish Tribe and 3 Tacoma Tribal representatives and others celebrate increased water flows from mediated settlement

26 Skokomish Reservation / Delta courtesy of Wa Dept of Ecology (aerial oblique looking NW)

27 5

28 reference I tidelands II

29 Skokomish River Estuary Project Intertidal habitats restored with freeflowing tides Access is provided to wetlands for fish harvest and ceremonies

30 Nisqually Delta courtesy of Wa Dept of Ecology (aerial oblique looking south) THU0014 5/13/ :30:00 AM Nisqually Reach

31 True color and infra-red of Nisqually by Bergman 7/09

32 View pictures of the Nisqually restoration and construction» Panoramic photographs have been established prior to restoration. To view these 360 degree panoramics, please access: Google Earth Panoramic Images of the Nisqually Delta KMZ [requires Google Earth] - OR - Google Earth Panoramic Images embedded in a web page

33 Boardwalk placement at Nisqually

34 Sub-basin actions at Nisqually benefit Puget Sound through Partnerships Nisqually Indian Tribe; NWIFC USFWS Nisqually Nat l Wildlife Refuge Salmon Recovery Funding Board Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project -PSNERP Ducks Unlimited; Nat l F/W Foundation Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Estuary and Salmon Restoration- WDFW NOAA; EPA; USGS;; Partners in Flight

35 Sub-basin actions at Skokomish benefit Puget Sound through Partnerships Skokomish Indian Tribe; NWIFC City of Tacoma; Tacoma Power Salmon Recovery Funding Board Estuary and Salmon Restoration- WDFW Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project -PSNERP NOAA; EPA; USGS; Army Corp; BOR; Skokomish Watershed Action Team

36 Puget Sound Restoration Advocates provide a NATIONAL imperative Connecting to the OTHER Washington to: Washington State Local Advocates Federal nexus of fiduciary / trust responsibility to American Indian Tribe s treaty rights

37 .as we collectively nurture a future history.

38 Nisqually River Council The Nisqually Watershed Stewardship Plan is implemented through the Nisqually River Council The Council seeks to integrate the history, culture, environment, and economy of the watershed into healthy and sustainable future. A separate Nisqually River Citizens Advisory Committee assures citizen representation.

39 Points to Ponder Who and what are UPSTREAM and DOWNSTREAM? Ecological restoration is not mutually exclusive of cultural or social restoration but INTER-DEPENDENT Utilize the strengths and assets of basin dwellers and stakeholders and LEVERAGE THE COLLABORATIVE STRENGTHS, and EMPHASIZE the PARTNERSHIPS. Watershed health, integrity and well-being is a DYNAMIC PROCESS, requiring committed efforts to address sustainable and processes in a dynamic social forum. The stories of the watershed follow the thread of the river. Bridge the conflicts through consensus-based processes, acknowledging ALL histories

40 . We learn from all of the histories Wisdom of elders passed on legacies that are iterative and adaptive

41 Thank you for your attention

42 Keith Dublanica Mason Conservation District x cell Skokomish Indian Tribe Nisqually Indian Tribe Iguazu Falls Argentina 2009