Published: Friday, September 25, 2009
Lummi's tideland survey has local benefits
The Whatcom County tribe’s study of what lives on the shore could help the Tulalip and Stillaguamish tribes
Lummi tribal members and employees this summer began surveying the tribe’s 7,000 acres of tidelands to determine what lives there.
Those conducting the Lummi Inter-tidal Baseline Inventory so far have found at least 150 species by digging into the sand at more than 360 Whatcom County sites, according to the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. They’re also conducting monthly shorebird surveys, collecting finfish samples each month and counting geoduck and horse clams. Data culled from the survey could indicate the health of the species that for generations have been the lifeblood of all Coast Salish tribes, including the Tulalip Tribes and the Stillaguamish Tribe in Snohomish County.
“It’s incredibly ambitious to include everything,” Lummi shellfish biologist Craig Dolphin told the fisheries commission.
Samples from the survey will be used by students at the Lummi Reservation’s branch of Northwest Indian College. Data from the survey will also be analyzed to determine the tribe’s changing natural resources.
The data also will be useful if anything catastrophic happens to the tribe’s shoreline, such as an oil spill or a natural disaster. Tribal natural resources experts will be able to determine the damage by comparing results from this year’s survey with what’s left behind.
The survey is funded by oil conglomerate BP.
Krista Kapralos: 425-339-3422, kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
Those conducting the Lummi Inter-tidal Baseline Inventory so far have found at least 150 species by digging into the sand at more than 360 Whatcom County sites, according to the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. They’re also conducting monthly shorebird surveys, collecting finfish samples each month and counting geoduck and horse clams. Data culled from the survey could indicate the health of the species that for generations have been the lifeblood of all Coast Salish tribes, including the Tulalip Tribes and the Stillaguamish Tribe in Snohomish County.
“It’s incredibly ambitious to include everything,” Lummi shellfish biologist Craig Dolphin told the fisheries commission.
Samples from the survey will be used by students at the Lummi Reservation’s branch of Northwest Indian College. Data from the survey will also be analyzed to determine the tribe’s changing natural resources.
The data also will be useful if anything catastrophic happens to the tribe’s shoreline, such as an oil spill or a natural disaster. Tribal natural resources experts will be able to determine the damage by comparing results from this year’s survey with what’s left behind.
The survey is funded by oil conglomerate BP.
Krista Kapralos: 425-339-3422, kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
Story tags »
• Natural resources • Wildlife Habitat • Stillaguamish Tribe • Tulalip Tribes • Whatcom CountyComments
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