Puget Sound Tribal Capacity Program grant #PA-00J27701 final report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a Five-year Puget Sound Tribal Capacity Program grant (Grant #PA-00J27701) to the Skokomish Indian Tribe. The tribe received approximately $1 million over a five-year project period (10/1/2010-9/30/2015). The purpose of the Puget Sound Tribal Capacity Program is to assist Puget Sound tribes in participating in the development and implementation of the Puget Sound Action Agenda.

Overview

Under PA-00J27701, the tribe completed numerous outputs under several areas, including:
 
·         Developed an extensive monitoring program for the Skokomish Estuary Restoration Project;
·         Provided consistent leadership throughout the grant period as one of three tribal representatives to the Ecosystem Coordination Board;
·         Ensured protection of sensitive habitats and species within the Tribe’s usual and accustomed (U&A) resource areas by reviewing forest practice applications during the project period;
·         Provided education outreach to Hood Canal students to teach future generations stewardship and watershed protection;
·         Provided expertise and leadership in local coordinating bodies such as the Hood Canal Action Area.
 
The tribe exceeded many of its targets for this grant, including reviewing 115 forest practice applications (the target was 60), and engaging over 2500 students in its education and outreach efforts (the target was 1850 students). Elements of the monitoring program developed under this grant are described in a USGS report (although the report itself was funded under a different grant).

 

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About the Author: 
What is now known as the Skokomish Tribe actually was primarily composed of Twana Indians, a Salishan people whose aboriginal territory encompassed the Hood Canal drainage basin in western Washington State. The tribe’s first recorded direct contact with European culture came in 1792 and resulted in a devastating smallpox epidemic that took the lives of many. There were nine Twana communities, the largest being known as the Skokomish, or “big river people.” The Twana subsisted on hunting, fishing and gathering activities, practicing a nomadic life-style during warmer weather and resettling at permanent sites during the winter. Twana descendants live on the Skokomish Reservation, and all have become known as the Skokomish Tribe.