In August 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe signed an agreement to become co-managers of two national wildlife refuges in the Puget Sound region. It was the first agreement of its kind in the state, and since that time, the tribe has been leading site operations at Dungeness Spit and Protection Island, greeting visitors, fixing roads, and hosting scientists. We spoke with refuge manager Fawn Wagner to get her insights into what it means for both wildlife and the tribe's strong historical and cultural relationship with the region.
Beavers are typically associated with freshwater environments, but scientists have learned that they also survive and thrive in the shoreline marshes of the Salish Sea. New research is revealing the vital connection between tidal beavers and salmon.
Three common words and their legal interpretation a half-century ago helped set the stage for a cultural revival among Native Americans while propelling an environmental movement that still resonates today. Environmental reporter Christopher Dunagan revisits the legal reasoning behind the famous Boldt decision that upheld tribal fishing rights in the state of Washington.
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community has begun constructing the first known clam garden to be built in modern times. They hope that what was once an ancient way of cultivating shellfish can now be a hedge against climate change.
Can restoring the natural balance of the Nooksack River also reduce flood risks? Officials on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border are taking note as climate change raises the stakes.
How can Puget Sound generate more salmon? That question has been at the center of ecosystem recovery efforts for decades. But even as scientists and conservationists make progress on many fronts — from breaching dams to cleaning up the water — they have faced one especially complicated and frustrating limitation: Salmon need more estuaries. We look at how local tribes are working to restore this critical habitat.
A Lopez Island-based nonprofit says the protection of critical habitat for native plants can also preserve a wealth of traditional knowledge. The group is working with private landowners to raise awareness of culturally important plants hidden in the bogs and underbrush of Puget Sound's natural areas.
A new book explores our complicated connection to the ecosystem we call home. We interview author David B. Williams about Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound, published this month by the University of Washington Press.
Years of struggle have led to reduced pollution and a stronger sense of community in the Duwamish Valley. As cleanup efforts there continue, environmental justice has come front and center for the area's diverse populations.
An update to state rules regarding the cleanup of toxic pollution is expected to bring more attention to factors like race, ethnicity and income within populations that live near contaminated sites.
