Restoring fish passage to spawning habitat is one of the most cost-effective ways to recover salmon runs. The Tulalip Tribes are leading the way in their watershed to remove barriers in hopes of ensuring future generations of salmon.

Watch the film to learn how that works—and why it’s important to Tulalip and all of us.

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Environmental DNA (eDNA) can detect species in an ecosystem by collecting the genetic samples organisms leave behind. The tribe is using this data to prepare for and monitor the success of an upcoming restoration project. 

This project aims to restore flows through an oxbow—a U-shaped bend in the river—that was cut off decades ago from the Quillayute River’s mainstem. A flood caused the main channel of the river to move away from the oxbow in 1967.

Anthropogenic impacts over the next few decades resulted in complete disconnection of the oxbow channel and the surrounding 100 acres of floodplain. That disconnection has increased the flood risk for the tribal village of La Push, as floods moving downstream have one less “safety valve” to disperse into the floodplain before they reach the village.

“When you can’t release pressure from a high flow event, it means you have bigger, more intense flows. You have more erosion. You have risks such as those to La Push,” said Caroline Walls, habitat program manager for the tribe.

The tribe has long planned to restore the oxbow. Once permits are approved, the tribe could begin to reconnect the oxbow in early summer 2026 by excavating channels between the main channel and the oxbow. They will add engineered logjams, then revegetate the site in 2027. The plan is to reconnect 2 miles of salmon habitat and 100 acres of floodplain.

“It’s a huge opportunity for us to add salmon habitat and flood control,” Walls said.

The project will reconnect the river’s main channel with the oxbow, which is now a series of disconnected ponds. Collecting eDNA has helped the tribe better understand species currently using the ponds.

This data can be used to monitor post-restoration changes in species and population sizes found in the ecosystem. While other survey techniques would be difficult in the oxbow ponds, due to their size, composition and water chemistry, collecting eDNA provides a full picture of the ecosystem’s composition, providing insight into salmon distribution, invasive species and overall ecological function.  

For example, data revealed that after the oxbow was temporarily reconnected with the mainstem after a 50-year flood in 2021, coho, pink and steelhead took refuge in the ponds.

“We likely had successful spawning in the oxbow, particularly with pinks.” Walls said, because eDNA from pink salmon was found in the oxbow ponds months after the flood, long after the adults that moved in would have died.  

“We’ve got evidence of great rearing habitat when the salmon are able to access the ponds,” Walls said. “The picture eDNA gives us is that this is suitable habitat for salmon. It’s really compelling. It helps tell us we’re on the right track.” 

Sierra Hemmig (left), a riparian biologist with the Quileute Tribe, helps as tribal staffers and partners get ready to collect eDNA samples in 2025. Photo and story: Trevor Pyle.

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Both tribes have been engaged in efforts to detect the first signs of green crab in their regions. Each activated a trapping effort after the first sightings.

In August, Tulalip Tribes staff discovered a live crab at Mission Beach along the tribes’ reservation lands, between routine green crab monitoring sites managed by the tribe with support from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The capture marked the first confirmed sighting of green crab within the Whidbey basin of north Puget Sound. Tulalip transferred the crab to Washington Sea Grant for genetic analysis.

“This changes the game for us,” said Todd Gray, Tulalip environmental protection ecologist. “We’re doubling our exploratory efforts and preparing for a quick shift in trapping effort as more of these green monsters inevitably pop up.”

In September, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community was alerted to a green crab shell found on the beach of Similk Bay off the tribe’s reservation. In partnership with Washington Sea Grant and WDFW, the tribe coordinated deployment of 343 traps in Similk Bay, Kiket Lagoon and areas of Whidbey basin in October that resulted in the capture of 12 live green crabs.

“Fisheries department staff knew that green crab would eventually reach our shores, but it was still disheartening to catch those first few crabs,” said Talia Davis, a Swinomish fisheries technician.

Trapping will resume throughout the North Sound region in the spring.

Genetic research in recent years has shown that invasive green crabs captured in Washington have had origins from both the first West Coast population, established in the San Francisco Bay area, and the first Salish Sea population, established in Sooke Bay off Canada’s Vancouver Island.

The European green crab’s ability to move easily through the water to new habitat and thrive in versatile environments is in part what makes it menacing. In the Pacific Northwest, the species is a particular threat to fragile eelgrass and coastal marsh ecosystems, where it may prey on and compete with native species like Dungeness crab and bivalve shellfish.

Since the state issued an emergency order in January 2022, nearly 3 million invasive green crab have been removed in trapping efforts, often led or supported by tribes, including the Lummi Nation, Makah Tribe, Skokomish Indian Tribe, Quinault Indian Nation and others. About 1.1 million crabs were removed during 2025 alone.

The state, tribes and other partners agree that the pervasive green crab cannot likely be eliminated from Washington waters now that it’s here. But removing as many as possible helps give Dungeness crab, shellfish, eelgrass and other native species a fighting chance against the invasive species.

“While coast-wide eradication may not be possible, early detection and focused local suppression efforts are already reducing impacts and protecting sensitive species and habitats from this harmful species,” a WDFW report states.

Left and above: A European green crab captured unexpectedly by Tulalip staff during a beach seine. Tulalip Tribes photos. Story by Kimberly Cauvel

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Thanks to a partnership between the Quinault Indian Nation, Quileute Tribe and other Indigenous communities, fishers can get real-time data about ocean conditions.

The Backyard Buoys project was launched following outreach by several regional groups of the Integrated Ocean Observing System program, funded by the National Science Foundation, which found a need to support fisher and whaler safety by providing real-time ocean wave information. The project allows Indigenous communities throughout the Pacific Rim to deploy buoys that provide hourly data on conditions such as water temperature and wave height. The data can be viewed online or on the Backyard Buoys phone app.

“We want everyone who goes out on the water or the beaches to look at the app before they leave,” said Joe Schumacker, Quinault’s marine resources scientist.

The Quileute Tribe placed an electronic bulletin board at its marina, providing fishers with real-time weather forecasts, wave height data from the buoys, and mooring data streams for the Washington coast. This information can help boaters decide whether to leave the protection of the harbor or when it will be a good time to head back to shore. The data can save lives in a region where conditions can change quickly, and ports can be far away.

“We get Bering Sea-sized waves—those are Deadliest Catch monsters,” Schumacker said.

“Our harbor entrance can get pretty gnarly and can be dangerous,” said Jennifer Hagen, a marine policy advisor and marine biologist with the Quileute Tribe. “If they have a 40-foot vessel, they may not want to go out in anything bigger than 5-foot swells.”

The device that makes the Backyard Buoy system possible was developed by California-based Sofar Ocean Technologies. The buoys are a little larger than a basketball and include a payload for sensing their place in the universe to measure wave height, solar panels for power, and two-way communication. The number of operational buoys changes due to maintenance schedules, threatening weather and other factors, but Quileute and Quinault have deployed as many as three buoys each. Tribal members help determine where the buoys should be placed for best results.

Jennifer Hagen, a Quileute Tribe marine policy advisor and marine biologist, prepares to deploy a buoy. Photo proved by the Quileute Tribe. Story: Trevor Pyle

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In partnership with King County, the Suquamish and Tulalip tribes want to know where and how many juvenile chinook salmon are using non-natal streams in Puget Sound during their migration to the ocean.

From February through May, scientists are looking at 35 streams throughout central Puget Sound, from Mukilteo to Dash Point on the eastern shores, from Point No Point to Olalla on the western shores, and on Bainbridge and Vashon islands.

Juvenile chinook recently have been observed taking refuge in freshwater creeks and estuaries along shorelines that are not known to support chinook spawning, said Steve Todd, the Suquamish Tribe’s salmon recovery biologist.

“Because central Puget Sound has lost much of its natural estuary habitat, non-natal streams may be important rearing habitats for juvenile chinook,” he said.

Scientists at the Tulalip Tribes and Skagit River System Cooperative have a model based on findings from small stream surveys in the Whidbey basin, said Todd Zackey, the Tulalip Tribes’ field studies program manager. 

“This study is to see if and how juvenile chinook use central Puget Sound, and update and refine the model developed for the Whidbey basin,” he said.

Chinook salmon populations and their habitat have been impacted by human-driven changes, such as pollution, deforestation and development. Puget Sound chinook are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Objectives of the study include identifying when and where juvenile chinook salmon are rearing within Puget Sound, and determining where juvenile chinook may rear based on habitat features, said Theo Suver, a field biologist with the Suquamish Tribe’s ecosystem recovery program. 

The study’s first data collection included surveying the quality of habitat conditions in the first 150 meters of the selected streams last fall, including looking at channel gradient, channel width, presence of woody debris, water temperature and conductivity.

This spring, scientists are electrofishing the same reaches, counting and measuring all species found. Electrofishing sends an electric circuit into the water, stunning the fish or encouraging them to swim toward the electric field for survey collection.

A fin clip from sampled chinook is sent to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to be analyzed for river origin or genetic assessment of the stock. Water samples taken by the Suquamish Tribe will be tested for eDNA to compare electrofishing and eDNA methods to determine fish presence.

A juvenile coho salmon sampled from Klebeal Creek in March. Story and photos: Tiffany Royal

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Tribal representatives take a brief break from meetings in Washington D.C. during the 2026 Puget Sound Day on the Hill. From left: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Executive Director Justin Parker, NWIFC Legislative Analyst Sheyanne Lewis, Puyallup Tribe of Indians Fisheries Resource Policy Representative Rodney Sission, NWIFC Chairman Ed Johnstone, NWIFC Commissioner Randy Harder and NWIFC Treasurer Joe Peters. 

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Last fall, students spawned coho salmon at the hatchery with the help of staff, then fertilized the eggs in their classroom hatchery. Fish began hatching in January.

“This is the first time we’ve hatched salmon eggs here in this incubator,” said teacher Nicole Perry.

Students gathered around Perry as she extended one of the incubator trays from its holding deck. A few students shined lights from their cellphones into the water, illuminating a collection of orange coho eggs.

The room buzzed with excitement as students noticed a few of the salmon had hatched from the confines of their eggs, stretching into oblong alevin not quite ready to swim.

Bill Finkbonner, who retired from a 47-year career at the hatchery, fielded questions from students and is helping the class troubleshoot how to best care for the salmon in the school facility.

“I really enjoy coming in and helping these kids,” Finkbonner said. “It’s good to get them in here so they can actually see what working with fish is like.”

The goals of the class include teaching students skills applicable to jobs in fisheries, environmental science and natural resources management. Staffing those roles at tribes, as well as across other government sectors and organizations, is critical to sustaining salmon and Northwest ecosystems for the future.

“There are so many job opportunities in fisheries: stream monitoring, tagging, enforcement,” Finkbonner said.

For Lummi tribal members and juniors Russel Covington and Emilio Little Brave, the class is shedding light on the kind of work some of their relatives do in hatcheries in Whatcom County and in other areas of the state.

The boys—both accustomed to seeing adult salmon in the Nooksack River caught by tribal fishers and smoked to perfection— said they hadn’t expected to see the early life stages of salmon unfold in their classroom.

“I’m pretty stoked,” Little Brave said. “It actually got me thinking about working at a hatchery because I like being out on the river.”

The class also is tending to goldfish and other species held in fish tanks. Each student is tasked with keeping the water quality healthy in their designated tank. They learn to monitor and manage water chemistry and are graded on how well they keep it in balance.

“There’s a lot to learn from the tanks about water quality and the nitrogen cycle that they will need if they’re ever going to work in the fisheries industry,” Perry said.

Graduates have taken jobs at Lummi’s hatchery and natural resources department. The class runs all school year, is open to all grades, and is offered in beginning and advanced levels.

Surrounded by students, Nicole Perry, who teaches aquaculture at Ferndale High School, shines a light on coho eggs and hatchlings in student care through a partnership with Lummi Nation’s Skookum Creek Fish Hatchery. Photos and story by Kimberly Cauvel

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Standing on the riverbank one November evening, surrounded by the silhouettes of trees and the sparkle of stars beyond, Lummi Nation fisherman Jeff Solomon maneuvered a dip net into the water to try to intercept some hooligans on their migration upriver to spawn.

“I’ve got a few,” said Solomon, who is also a natural resources specialist for the tribe and has been helping to study these fish for about a decade.

He angled his catch to a group of university students huddled nearby in the dark, waiting to document the timing of the catch and the size, sex and spawn readiness of each fish. They also prepared some of the fish for further analysis in a lab.

“We’re trying to answer a couple of biological and ecological questions,” said Delaney Adams, a master’s student in marine science at Western Washington University (WWU). “Any information we can uncover will be exciting.”

Adams is leading the current research, with support from other students of WWU and Northwest Indian College, and in partnership with Solomon and Lummi’s natural resources department. The study aims to gain insight into spawn timing, the ratio of male to female fish, egg abundance per female, and the diet the fish consume on their way upstream.

“Very little is known about the Nooksack River population of hooligans,” said Marco Hatch, associate professor of environmental science at WWU and an advisor of Adams’ project. “It’s not a fish that’s in every river, at least in big numbers, so it’s interesting that way.”

The team spent many frigid evening hours dipping for hooligans and gathering data this past migration season. The work—and tribal harvest—takes place in the dark because hooligans travel upriver during high tides, which peak at night during their migration season.

Beyond that well-established element of hooligan movement, most of what is known about the Nooksack population comes from the long history of tribal harvest, including declines Solomon has reported during his lifetime.

“We’re still here, trying to figure them out,” he said.

Maiyuraq Nanouk Jones, a WWU student, right, measures a hooligan caught from the Nooksack River after sundown in November while her WWU peer Isaac Potter takes notes. Photos and story by Kimberly Cauvel. 

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Team Longboat, a group of students from Port Townsend’s alternative learning school OCEAN, are helping operate an Olympia oyster nursery on the docks of Port Townsend’s Northwest Maritime Center to fulfill their science project requirement. 

“When you’re teaching maritime topics, having some kind of real-world application for what they’re learning makes that education stronger,” said Simona Clausnitzer, Northwest Maritime’s Career Explore and School program manager. “Their experience situates it within the community, the place and the world, so it makes the education—including using math and science skills—more meaningful.”

Funded by the tribe and developed and overseen by the Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF), the small nursery system is filled with baby Olympia oysters from PSRF’s hatchery and seawater from Port Townsend Bay. 

Students are learning how to feed the oysters (science) using a ratio of micro algae paste mixed with fresh water (math) and figuring out how much food will be needed each week (more math). Students also will figure out the number of animals in the tanks and their density as they grow.

“These settling tanks will help increase the overall capacity of producing Olympia oysters for restoration projects in the Salish Sea,” said Neil Harrington, the tribe’s environmental biologist. “More oysters in the sea improves water quality and helps bring back this iconic species to areas where they grew historically.”

The partnership made sense, as PSRF has been trying to scale up its production while also wanting to add an educational component to their work.

“It’s awesome to partner with these educational organizations,” said Ryan Crim, PSRF’s hatchery manager. “This fits within our goals, and it fits within their goals. It’s just a really good match.”

After the oysters are released into north Puget Sound in the early summer, the nursery will be disassembled and stored at the Jamestown tribal campus until the following winter when it will be reinstalled for the next round of Olympia oysters. 

Students from Team Longboat clean and set bags of empty shells that provide cultch—a hard surface where oyster seed can settle—in the Olympia oyster nursery at Port Townsend’s Northwest Maritime Center. Photo courtesy of the Northwest Maritime Center

Story by Tiffany Royal

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The packs are storage boxes, holding batteries that power two monitoring devices at each tree. Trinies, a hydrologist, and Auguston, a water resources technician, keep the monitors in working order to record data in this secluded forestland of the Nooksack River watershed.

The tribe is taking the pulse of these particular trees—Douglas firs planted on state Department of Natural Resources land—to better understand how different age classes of commercially managed trees consume different amounts of water, tapping into groundwater supplies important for replenishing streams.

“Streamflow is the big driver,” said Maggie Taylor, the tribe’s water resources program manager. “The goal is to better understand how land uses are impacting Nooksack River flows.”

The team is investigating how tree growth on this forestland near Acme may interact with the hydrology of the South Fork Nooksack River. Their study will quantify how much more water younger, thirstier trees consume compared to more mature trees.

“We want to know specifically, what are these trees here doing in this watershed?” Trinies said.

Previous soil moisture studies in other Northwest forests found that young trees likely use more water than mature trees because they are growing rapidly—and that repeated harvest and regrowth could be taxing on water resources.

“There is a hydrologic cost to that,” Taylor said. “When you’re constantly growing younger, thirsty trees, you are going to be using more water.”

At the study site, Trinies and Auguston visit one set of trees they could easily wrap their arms around and another set of trees too large to encircle in their arm spans. These adjacent groups of trees are about 60 years old and 120 years old, and appear roughly uniform because they are on land where timber harvests have taken place in the past.

Sensors attached to the study trees measure sap flux—the vertical movement of sap inside of a tree that distributes water and nutrients needed for growth. Soil sensors measure water content in the ground.

The information provided by the sensors, combined with information from core samples taken from the trees, will be used to estimate water consumption.

“With this project, we’re measuring how much sap is moving up in the trees, and using that combined with soil moisture levels to quantify how much water they are actually pulling out of the ground,” Trinies said.

Understanding how tree age corresponds to levels of water consumption could inform future forest management and land use priorities in the watershed. Wetlands, for example, bank water naturally and may warrant being prioritized over land uses that siphon water off the landscape.

The study is building off hydrologic modeling the tribe has been working on for over a decade.

“This project fits into a group of projects Nooksack has been doing to explore all of the ways we can retain more water on the landscape, as those resources decrease because of melting glaciers and other impacts of climate change,” Taylor said. “We are seeing drier summers and wetter winters, so the question becomes: how can we retain water so that we have it available when it’s needed?”

The South Fork Nooksack River in particular has low flow issues that are a concern for salmon in the summertime.

Chris Trinies, hydrologist for the Nooksack Indian Tribe, foreground, and Rich Auguston, water quality technician, check a monitoring station attached to a Douglas fir. Photo and story by Kimberly Cauvel. 

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