Port Gamble Tribe FY 2021 Salmon Recovery Planning

The Natural Resource Director will represent the tribe in various local, regional, and statewide salmon recovery and planning forums. The Director will oversee implementation of the Puget Sound Chinook and Hood Canal Summer Chum Recovery Plans in collaboration with other tribes, WDFW, HCCC, NOAA and other agencies. The Director will also work closely with PGST policy and leadership to help inform relevant decision-making by the Port Gamble Tribal Council and community members as it pertains to salmon recovery issues. The project scope includes the development of salmon recovery recommendations developed through various resource management processes while considering climate change impacts. This includes assessing the current status of threats and limiting factors to summer chum and identifying data gaps; and developing effective habitat restoration strategies based on our new understanding; and expanding the monitoring and adaptive management plan for climate-change related factors that may affect them.

Involvement with watershed planning activities including coordinating habitat assessments and restoration project planning will result in identifying and then preparing to address factors that may be constraining the recovery of healthy natural salmon production in the Tribes Usual and Accustomed (U&A) area. We will continue working with state and county officials for watershed planning and instream flow rules that are especially needed based on our climate change studies.

The project will provide the opportunity for the Port Gamble SKlallam Tribe to participate in the salmon recovery planning process and to coordinate with federal, state, and local recovery planning agencies. The recovery planning process will benefit from having the Tribes expertise and technical input that can be applied to directly benefit the salmon and the habitat they occupy. The Tribes involvement in habitat assessments have shown concerns in quality and quantity and are likely to decline in the future. The Tribe is pushing for ecological gains in our important salmon streams and rivers, including the nearshore habitat.