Being Frank

  January 2024

Successful Co-Management Requires Renewed Commitment

by Ed Johnstone As the 50th anniversary of the Boldt decision nears, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has room to improve as co-managers with treaty tribes. Judge Boldt’s 1974 ruling in U.S. v. Washington affirmed tribal fishing rights and … Continue reading

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  January 2024

Salmon Recovery Is Working, but We Can’t Stop Here

by Ed Johnstone  After decades of work and millions of dollars of restoration work, one of our region’s threatened salmon runs is showing encouraging signs of recovery—summer chum that return to the Hood Canal and Strait of Juan de Fuca. … Continue reading

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  December 2023

Crabbers Must Be Accountable for Their Share of the Harvest

by Ed Johnstone Our shared natural resources are our shared responsibility. Following federal Judge Edward Rafeedie’s 1994 ruling in U.S. v. Washington, state and tribal co-managers have a legal obligation to share equally in the harvest of Dungeness crab. We … Continue reading

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  August 2023

Tell the Truth, Trust the Science About Orca Recovery

by Ed Johnstone My mentor Billy Frank Jr. always said that it’s going to take all of us working together to recover salmon.  He also said, “Tell the truth.”  The truth is that sometimes we have to change our thinking … Continue reading

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  June 2023

Harvest Management Is Not Enough

by Ed Johnstone Salmon extinction is not an option, but harvest management alone is not going to get us to recovery. In April, the treaty tribes in western Washington and our state co-manager finalized the 2023-24 fishing seasons’ agreement.  The … Continue reading

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  May 2023

Hatchery Salmon Hold the Ecosystem Together

by Ed Johnstone Salmon are a keystone species in the Pacific Northwest — a central part of the food chain and our way of life. Throughout the region, salmon runs are imperiled by the cumulative effects of habitat degradation and … Continue reading

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  April 2023

Salmon Management Must Build on Past Lessons

by Ed Johnstone One year from now, in February 2024, we will mark the 50th anniversary of federal Judge George Boldt’s ruling in United States vs. Washington, which affirmed tribes’ treaty-reserved rights to harvest salmon outside of our reservations. The … Continue reading

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  March 2023

Dead Zones Are a Symptom of a Warming Planet

by Ed Johnstone As first stewards on the front lines of climate change, treaty tribes have been sounding the alarm for more than a decade about low oxygen levels in the ocean and the Salish Sea. My mentor, former NWIFC … Continue reading

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  February 2023

Water Quality Protection Is Headed in Right Direction

by Ed Johnstone Tribes have traveled a long road and back again to improve water quality standards and protect the health of everyone who eats salmon and shellfish in the state of Washington.  In November, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) … Continue reading

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  January 2023

Climate Change Forces Tribes to Leave Traditional Lands

by Ed Johnstone Native nations are on the front lines of climate change. The impacts have reached our shores and are forcing us to leave traditional lands behind. Sea level rise, flooding, erosion, intensity of storm surges and threats of … Continue reading

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