FY 2014 Makah Salmon Recovery Planning

This project supported Makah staff participation in the many interconnected agencies and groups throughout the region that are involved in salmon stock and habitat preservation and recovery efforts. The primary forums included the Lake Ozette Sockeye Steering Committee, Lake Ozette Technical Review Team, the North Olympic Peninsula Lead Entity (NOPLE), and the North Pacific Coast Lead Entity (NPCLE) and Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Partnership (WCSSP), both as an Initiating Government (IG) and as Technical Review Group (TRG) representatives. Staff interaction with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA Fisheries, and with other area tribes, cities, counties and citizen groups were also be supported by the grant. Our involvement within these forums results in the development of policies supporting salmon preservation and recovery; and habitat restoration throughout the Makah Tribe’s usual and accustomed area. These forums also provided the Makah Tribe with a the means to maintain our active input on emerging or existing land-use regulations, project permit reviews, and sub-basin planning impacts to water quality and quantity to ensure adequate protection of salmon- these represent actions that are necessary to implement sockeye recovery plan in the Lake Ozette watershed. This funding also supports staff as they seek to secure additional salmon recovery funding that forward actions necessary for recovery under the plan. Of particular note this year was the Tribe’s ability to work with NOAA in securing additional fund support for contracting technical expertise to help further develop protocols surrounding the use of sonar imagery (i.e. ARIS) at the Ozette River adult weir site. The Tribe worked with NOAA’s contractor closely and the technical input will further enable the Tribe to discontinue the use of the adult weir which was believed to be contributing to increased adult predation mortalities because of its presence as migration barrier.

Funding of salmon recovery planning allows and supports the Tribe’s participation and coordination in groups and meetings that affect regional salmon restoration planning, habitat preservation, stock management, and funding efforts. Participation provides the opportunity to apply knowledge and experience toward prioritizing projects, reducing duplication of effort, and maximizing productivity and effectiveness. It will also allow the Makah Tribe to pursue a number of additional funding opportunities from other grant sources in support of salmon recovery efforts to implement the action strategies of the Lake Ozette Sockeye Recovery Plan.