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Being Frank
August 2021
Untangling Nooksack River Water Rights
The Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe are looking forward to the start of the process to untangle water rights and protect threatened salmon in the Nooksack River basin by finding out just how much water there is and who is … Continue reading
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July 2021
Outdated Wastewater Facilities Undermine Water Quality Gains
We’ve seen some real progress over the past few years in efforts to prevent human waste from damaging the health of Puget Sound and the Washington coast. Still, we face a chronic problem with outdated wastewater treatment plants that undermine … Continue reading
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June 2021
Seattle City Light Should Address True Costs of Skagit River Dams
It is time for Seattle City Light to address the damage its three hydroelectric dams have caused over the past 100 years to the Skagit River, the tribes who have always lived here and their treaty-reserved fishing rights. The utility … Continue reading
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May 2021
Ocean Conditions, Lost Habitat Drive Salmon Concerns
Treaty tribes and our state salmon co-managers are looking ahead to another grim year of fishing because of poor ocean conditions that reduce marine survival, and the ongoing loss of freshwater habitat. Higher marine water temperatures, changing currents and a … Continue reading
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April 2021
Billy Frank Jr. Statue Gaining Momentum
Treaty Indian tribes in western Washington strongly support proposed state legislation to place a statue of the late natural resources and civil rights champion Billy Frank Jr. to replace Marcus Whitman in our nation’s capital. We think Washington should join … Continue reading
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March 2021
Increased Outdoor Recreation Impacting Tribal Treaty Rights
Already robust levels of hiking, camping, boating and every other kind of outdoor recreation in our region has exploded during the Covid-19 pandemic as many try to cure the effects of cabin fever. Increased outdoor recreation has led to unprecedented … Continue reading
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February 2021
A Big Step Towards Accountability for Habitat Impacts
Habitat loss and damage is the driving factor for the decline of salmon in our region. It doesn’t discriminate and never stops. Every hour of every day it kills salmon, including salmon listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). … Continue reading
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January 2021
Time for Fish-Killing Dam to Go
It’s time to get rid of the Electron Hydroelectric Dam on the Puyallup River that has been killing salmon, steelhead, bull trout and other fish for more than a century. The dam is so old that it escapes most regulatory … Continue reading
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December 2020
Tribal Watersheds Report Shows Little Improvement; Hope Remains
I wish there were better news in our 2020 State of Our Watersheds Report that will be released later this month, but at best we are treading water on a few indicators of the overall health of our region’s environment, … Continue reading
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December 2020
A Time to Remember
This fall marks the 50th anniversary of an event that sparked the landmark ruling by federal Judge George Boldt in U.S. v. Washington that upheld our treaty-reserved rights to hunt, fish and gather. It was Sept. 9, 1970, the height … Continue reading
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