Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe Natural Resources Department Report to General Council September 13, by Scott Chitwood

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe Natural Resources Department Report to General Council September 13, by Scott Chitwood"

Kristopher Thompson
5 years ago
Views:

Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe Natural Resources Department Report to General Council September 13, 2008 by Scott Chitwood As the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe s Natural Resources Director it is my pleasure

I encourage you to review our updated brochure which provides information about all of the Natural Resources staff.

1 Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe Natural Resources Department Report to General Council September 13, 2008 by Scott Chitwood As the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe s Natural Resources Director it is my pleasure to report to you, the citizens of the Tribe, on the status of your natural resources. The Department has undergone a number of staffing changes in the past several months. I encourage you to review our updated brochure which provides information about all of the Natural Resources staff. While I won t attempt to report on all of our Department s functions I do want to report on some representative activities. For example, fisheries management is a term we use often but what does it mean really? This is certainly an activity we spend much of our staff time on, including staff who work for us at the Point No Point Treaty Council and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. Fish Management Fish management is the understanding and application of biology, harvest, political science and perhaps most importantly, accurate record keeping. We try and understand as much as we can about the biology of the fish populations we manage. That is why we need trained fisheries scientists on staff. We collect large amounts of information about the biology of the fish. We constantly monitor their status and the conditions that determine salmon production. Salmon and steelhead are particularly complex fish because of their unique migratory patterns. Anadromy is the term used to describe the well known salmon migration pattern where fish are born in freshwater, swim to the sea as juveniles, mature there for several years and return to spawn in the same stream where they themselves were born. This complex migration pattern makes effective management of these species a significant challenge. Harvest is an important part of management. While we might be devoting staff time and effort to management of salmon and steelhead in the absence

Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 2 of harvest, having fisheries in the mix certainly requires that we invest far more time and effort to do the job properly.

2 Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 2 of harvest, having fisheries in the mix certainly requires that we invest far more time and effort to do the job properly. Whenever harvest is involved there are lots of people involved. That is, people are part of the harvest mix and there are always questions of fairness, who gets what, how much, when, where, etc. The art of negotiation and planning is a critically important element of harvest and fish management. All too often, it seems the toughest part of fish management is getting people to agree on how to manage. Finally, there is record keeping. Fish management requires particular attention to record keeping. Large quantities of useful information are at the center of effective fish management. This means that we know how many fish there are of a certain species in a certain river, how many spawning adults in one year produce how many migratory juveniles the next, how many fish were caught in each fishery, where they were from, how well they survived in the ocean, how many are expected to return, and so on. While we often discuss what is happening at the local and regional level we do not often report on fisheries management happenings at the international or national level. Why is this important? Salmon from the U.S. migrate through Canadian waters on their way to the Gulf of Alaska and back. Similarly, Canadian salmon will move into U.S. waters south and north of their borders. It is important to each country to have reasonable expectations as to what will happen to these salmon populations that move through a neighboring country. Effective international salmon management provides for these expectations. Canada and the United States entered into a Pacific Salmon Treaty over 20 years ago. Among other things, the treaty created an organization called the Pacific Salmon Commission. The purpose of this treaty was to formalize management actions that impact salmon from both countries. This year a major change to the Pacific Salmon Treaty was negotiated. Since Tribal Chairman Ron Allen is an important member of the team of policy people who represent the Untied States it is important to recognize his

Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 3 contribution to the Tribe s and to the nation s fisheries management efforts.

His presence was particularly important this year as the two countries negotiated a Chinook annex to the treaty that will guide international Chinook salmon management for the next 10 years.

A key element of the new annex was a significant reduction in the amount of commercial Chinook fishing effort by the Canadians off of their north coast and off of the west coast of Vancouver Island.

3 Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 3 contribution to the Tribe s and to the nation s fisheries management efforts. Ron was picked to represent the United States many years ago by the Department of State. He has continued in this effort every year since. His presence was particularly important this year as the two countries negotiated a Chinook annex to the treaty that will guide international Chinook salmon management for the next 10 years. Ron s years of international fisheries management experience paid major dividends to the U.S. side of the 2008 negotiations. A key element of the new annex was a significant reduction in the amount of commercial Chinook fishing effort by the Canadians off of their north coast and off of the west coast of Vancouver Island. Puget Sound Chinook populations make up a major portion of the Canadian catch of Chinook and a reduction in their harvest is a welcome component to the recovery efforts of our ESA-listed Chinook, including those from the Dungeness. National fish management plans are tied to our international fish management negotiations. Our conservation plans and recovery plans are built in to our harvest management plans. These efforts are conducted through the Management Council process established under the Magnuson Act of There are eight different areas along the coastline of the United States where these management councils are in place. The Pacific coastline from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, from 3 to 200 miles off shore is the responsibility of the Pacific Fishery Management Council. In the spring of 2008, like it does every year, the Pacific Fishery Management Council considered the estimates of abundance of each salmon population along the coast and the array of fisheries that were proposed. This information is provided by fisheries management agencies such as the states and the tribes. Fisheries proposed for the ocean waters are matched up with the abundance estimates and harvest models provide a picture of what the outcomes might be based on the assumptions used and the strength of the estimates provided. For the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, our fish populations and our fisheries are part of Puget Sound. We submitted estimates of abundance and proposed fisheries to a regional management process that is referred to as North of

Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 4 Cape Falcon. Cape Falcon is a landmark along the Oregon coast, just south of the Columbia River mouth.

The area north of Cape Falcon, from the Columbia River, along the coast of Washington up to and including Puget Sound (see map) is all one region within the Pacific Fishery Management process.

Should run sizes and other conservation measures allow, fishery proposals are either kept in the plan or adjusted within allowable harvest rates.

4 Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 4 Cape Falcon. Cape Falcon is a landmark along the Oregon coast, just south of the Columbia River mouth. If you are familiar with the Oregon coast, Cape Falcon is very near Manzanita Oregon. The area north of Cape Falcon, from the Columbia River, along the coast of Washington up to and including Puget Sound (see map) is all one region within the Pacific Fishery Management process. Other regions exist along the Oregon and California coast line. When fisheries plans in our North of Cape Falcon process are completed they are meshed with those of the other coastal regions. Should run sizes and other conservation measures allow, fishery proposals are either kept in the plan or adjusted within allowable harvest rates. Eventually the fishing plans are submitted to the Pacific Fishery Management Council as a package. This package is voted on by the Council and is normally approved as part of the annual salmon management plan for the Pacific coast. This plan is then submitted to the Secretary of Commerce for approval and adoption into the federal regulations. Fish management normally leads to fish harvest. Knowing what fish were harvested by Jamestown commercial fishers is one of our important jobs; part of the record keeping responsibility discussed above. In the past year Jamestown fishers have harvested the following amounts of fish in commercial fisheries: Harvest data for the past year: Species Number Pounds Chum 387 3,559 Coho 813 6,280 Steelhead Halibut 315

Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 5 Salmon Recovery During the last year, salmon recovery for the Puget Sound region has moved from what was referred to as the Shared Strategy

This agency is called the Puget Sound Partnership and was the result of an effort by Governor Gregoire to bring all of the efforts to clean up Puget Sound under one umbrella.

5 Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 5 Salmon Recovery During the last year, salmon recovery for the Puget Sound region has moved from what was referred to as the Shared Strategy for Puget Sound to a new state agency. This agency is called the Puget Sound Partnership and was the result of an effort by Governor Gregoire to bring all of the efforts to clean up Puget Sound under one umbrella. This includes salmon recovery. The Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council is a group of representatives form around Puget Sound. Steve Tharinger is the representative for the Dungeness and Elwha watersheds and I am his alternate. This group works directly with the Salmon Recovery Program Manager at the Partnership. The Recovery Council advises the Partnership on matters of spending available funds for salmon recovery in the region making sure that only the best projects receive money and that these efforts result in the greatest gain for salmon Puget Sound. Here on the north Olympic Peninsula we have been quite successful proposing projects that are at the higher end of the priority list. These are the projects that tend to get the needed funding. Wildlife Management Our wildlife program benefits from the cooperative relationship we have with the Port Gamble S Klallam Tribe. Because we are able to work together as the Point No Point Treaty Council we can share the duties and responsibilities as well as the costs of experienced staff. Tim Cullinan is our wildlife biologist. He is shown here in a recent photo placing a radio collar (holds a small radio transmitter powered by a

In the case of the Dungeness elk herd the radio collars are used to activate traffic warning signs along Highway 101 whenever the radio collared elk get close to the highway.

6 Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 6 battery) on a cow elk and monitoring her health prior to release. Radio collars are an important tool that wildlife biologists use to manage elk herds, for example. In the case of the Dungeness elk herd the radio collars are used to activate traffic warning signs along Highway 101 whenever the radio collared elk get close to the highway. The radio collars are also used by Tim and other wildlife biologists for regular visits to the elk herd. Tim can find the group of elk with this radio collared cow whenever he wants by using a radio receiver and tracking the herd. He can monitor their seasonal migrations, the number of elk in the herd, the condition of the elk and so on. Perhaps the most important topic regarding the Dungeness elk herd is the recent effort to determine a suitable route for an elk fence. The fence would be designed to keep the elk south of Highway 101 where; a.) the elk would be less likely to damage commercial agricultural products, b.) less likely to be involved in car-elk interactions, including collisions on Highway 101, c.) more likely to exist in a natural environment with native plants as forage instead of farm land and seed crops, d.) more likely to intermingle with other elk populations and e.) more likely to use public lands for their normal range which is important for tribal citizens wishing to exercise their treaty right to hunt. Water Quality The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe s water quality program has been working hard to finish up three important studies related to Sequim/Dungeness fresh and marine waters. The Tribe has been monitoring bacteria levels intensively in streams and tributaries of Dungeness Bay since We have found that two stream sites have improving conditions since 2000, thirteen stream sites have remained about the same, and eleven stream sites have worsening conditions. Of these sites only three currently meet state water quality standards. For the Dungeness Bay, the news is better! Twelve of thirteen of the Bay sites have improved since 2003, with one other station remaining about the same. It is intriguing that the streams appear to have more bacteria loads than before, whereas, the Bay has less.

Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 7 We have completed the first phase of our microbial source tracking study, which identifies the source of the bacteria sampled from the

7 Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 7 We have completed the first phase of our microbial source tracking study, which identifies the source of the bacteria sampled from the water. It is very much like fingerprinting. The results show that the predominant sources of bacteria are avian, waterfowl, gull, raccoon, human/septic, rodent and dog. Because human waste was found as a predominant source, we intend to continue to partner with Clallam County Environmental Health Department to support septic system maintenance programs. Also, we plan to continue our pet waste management program Scoop the Poop Bag It and Put it in the Trash! Shellfish [Picture: 2004 Sequim Bay, Tribal youth planting geoduck tubes] Inter-tidal geoduck aquaculture involves placing PVC pipes (10-14 in) which act as a predator exclusion device into the tideland substrate. Pipes are placed approximately 1.5 feet apart and seed geoducks (3-8 mm) are planted in each tube. There are approximately 20,000 to 43,500 of these PVC pipes planted per acre on tidelands. These nursery tubes typically stay in the beach for the first year or two of a crop cycle. Harvesting takes place every 4-6 years. Water pressure hoses using up to 50 gallons of water per minute are used to extract the geoducks buried under two to three feet of sediment depth. Jamestown Tribal biologists have conducted pilot studies of geoduck aquaculture in Sequim Bay and Dungeness Bay for the past 10 years. The results from these projects indicate that geoduck survive and grow well but commercial harvesting methods are very challenging in these bays and may not be economically feasible. In 2006 a proposal was sent to the Navy to conduct a small experimental aquaculture project on Indian Island. This small scale project will test the biological and economic feasibility of growing geoducks at Indian Island, and if this project proves successful, we will expand the experimental project to a commercial size. This project will also provide an opportunity for the University of Washington to conduct research concerning potential geoduck aquaculture impacts to the environment. The Port Gamble and Lower Elwha Tribes will

8 Natural Resources Report to General Council, 9/13/08 page 8 also participate and share the costs of the project. We are currently in the process of obtaining permits and data collection and planting geoduck seed is expected to begin in [Picture: 2008 Sequim Bay, Paul Zohovetz harvesting geoduck planted in 2004] Harvest record keeping is as important for shellfish as it is for fin fish. Shellfish harvest by Jamestown fishers for the past year is shown below: Species Pounds Butter Clams 10 Geoduck 206,968 Littleneck Clams 2,275 Manila Clams 4,357 Dungeness Crab 50,742 Spot Shrimp 19,831

Jamestown S Klallam Tribe Natural Resources Department. Scott Chitwood Natural Resources Director March 8, 2008

Jamestown S Klallam Tribe Natural Resources Department Scott Chitwood Natural Resources Director March 8, 2008 Program Goals Protect and enhance the natural resources of the Jamestown S Klallam Tribe Protect