Department of the Interior Award Recognizes Coast Salish Tribal
Journey Partnership Participants in the Coast Salish-U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) Tribal Journey Water Quality Project
were recognized recently with the U.S. Department of the
Interior (DOI) Partners in Conservation Award for their studies
to help restore nearshore marine habitats and ecosystem
functions across the Salish Sea. The award recognizes the
strength of collaborative activities, such as the USGS
partnership with the Coast Salish Western Washington Tribes and
British Columbia First Nations. This cooperative effort combined
traditional Tribal ecological knowledge and USGS science during
the 2008 Tribal Canoe Journey to research resources undergoing
decline in the Salish Sea, which includes Puget Sound, the
Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. "The Salish
Sea Ecosystem sustains our indigenous life way as People of the
Salmon and Shoreline," said Chairman of the Swinomish Tribe
Brian Cladoosby. "We say in our Lands, ‘When the