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A Blending of Science and Tradition

The Coast Salish leaders, skippers and community and USGS have formed a new dynamic relationship that blends traditional knowledge of the Coast Salish Nation and USGS science to help manage environmental resources and protect mother earth.

In an exciting new partnership between the Coast Salish (indigenous peoples of the Salish Sea ecoregion) and the USGS, members of western Washington Tribes and British Columbia First Nations will measure water quality in Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia during the Tribal Journey, the annual summer canoe voyage. The project will provide a snapshot of current water quality conditions and data that can be compared with future measurements along successive journeys. This information is important to improve management of ancestral waters that are experiencing environmental decline.

Note: Visit this site often to follow the Tribal Journey's progress through updated press releases, videos, podcasts and photos!

Articles

• Coast Salish and USGS Commit to Restoring Sea Water Quality
• USGS Will Collaborate with Coast Salish Indigenous Peoples to Measure Water Quality in the Salish Sea

Maps—Follow the Journey

• Daily Updates of the Journey (Google Maps)
• Water Monitoring Routes ( - 634 k)

Podcasts (Audio/Video)

• Tribal Canoe Journey for Troubled Sea: Part 2 ()
  • Traveling through the San Juan Islands ()
  • Traveling through British Columbia ()
• Tribal Canoe Journey for Troubled Sea: Part 1 ()
• Listen to the Tribal Canoe Journey to Help Restore Salish Sea Resources Corecast with Jennifer Lavista and Eric Grossman

Related Links

This information will help familiarize you with the near shore environmental issues, what USGS does to examine them, and how the Canoe Journey will address them this year and in future years through repeat studies.

• Coastal Habitats In Puget Sound (CHIPS)
• Deltaic Habitats in Puget Sound—Natural Versus Human-Related Change
• Bathymetry, Substrate and Circulation in Westcott Bay, San Juan Islands, Washington
• Nearshore Circulation and Water-Column Properties in the Skagit River Delta, Northern Puget Sound, Washington— Juvenile Chinook Salmon Habitat Availability in the Swinomish Channel
• Nearshore Habitat Eelgrass Stressor-Response Project

Additional Resources

• Visit the Coast Salish Project to learn more about the history, peoples, and mission of the Coast Salish.
• Tribal Journeys Homepage
• Executive Summary: 3rd Annual Coast Salish Gathering Tulalip Washington ( - 291 k)
• 2008 Tribal Journey Water Quality Project ( - 189 k)
• Tribal Journey Poster ( - 887 k)

Funding

• Northwest Straits Commission
  The Northwest Straits Commission provides guidance and offers resources to the marine resources committees (MRCs), with the goal of mobilizing science to focus on key priorities and coordinating regional priorities for the ecosystem.
• Potlatch Fund
  The Potlatch Fund’s mission is to inspire the Native tradition of giving in Northwest Indian Country to promote economic development, natural resource protection, education, cultural preservation, civic participation, and the overall health of Native people and their communities.
• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and the environment. Since 1970, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.