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Outlet mall expansion to open June 20

More than a dozen new stores to be added in Tulalip

M.L. Dehm / For The Herald Business JournalThe expansion to the Seattle Premium Outlets was designed to ensure a new promenade would meld with the original 2005 structures. — M.L. Dehm / For The Herald Business Journal
The expansion to the Seattle Premium Outlets was designed to ensure a new promenade would meld with the original 2005 structures.

By M.L. Dehm, The Herald Business Journal

TULALIP — Several retailers in the Seattle Premium Outlets‘ new promenade expansion are scheduled to open for business on June 20, with additional retailers following in the coming months.

The project is anticipated to bring more visitors to a complex that already draws more than 6.5 million annually.

“We are excited to welcome wonderful brands and stores that have proven to be so popular in other centers of ours,” said Mark Johnson, general manager of Seattle Premium Outlets.

Those stores include the Armani Outlet, Max Studio, The North Face, Clarins, Vince, Diane Von Furstenberg, American Eagle Outfitters and Forever 21. Existing stores that will be relocating from the original 2005 wings into the new promenade are Coach, Columbia Sportswear Co., DKNY, Hugo Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Bahama.

“Additional stores joining the center, in the suites of the relocating stores, include White House Black Market, Saucony, Sperry Top-Sider, Swarovski, Victorinox Swiss Army and Disney Outlet store,” Johnson said.

He anticipates that the addition of those stores will satisfy shoppers’ demands for greater selection, more brands and the chance to find more deals.

The expansion added more than 100,000 square feet of retail space to the approximately 400,000 existing square feet that opened near Quil Ceda Village and the Tulalip Resort Casino in 2005. A parking garage opened in 2012 on the east side of the mall.

“Being next to the Tulalip Resort and Casino is a great complement to our shopping options and a benefit to area visitors,” Johnson said.

Tourists spent about $876 million in Snohomish County last year, and being near other tourist destinations is a bonus for Seattle Premium Outlets as it tries to capture tourist dollars.

Simon Property Group, the S&P 100 company that owns the complex, stated that the property was producing sales in excess of $700 per square foot before the start of the expansion.

Last quarter, the company posted a 5.3 percent increase in tenant sales per square foot overall in its family of outlet malls.

Simon Property Group owns 77 outlet malls worldwide, including 63 of the fewer than 200 facilities in the United States. That makes the organization one of the largest outlet mall groups in the world. The company holds a long-term lease on the Seattle Premium Outlets’ land owned by the Tulalip Tribes.

There were always tentative plans for a possible expansion of the Seattle Premium Outlets that preceded the official opening in 2005. However, the current expansion wasn’t actually announced until August 2011 and work did not begin until 2012.

“Our growth began with the completion of the new parking garage in late 2012 and continues with the opening of the promenade,” Johnson said.

The parking garage compensates for the areas of parking that were lost with construction on the expansion. During the last holiday season when expansion construction was in full swing, the outlets made a point of letting shoppers know that the parking garage was available and that stores were open for business.

According to Johnson, the parking garage has been working out well since it opened. Some shoppers seek out the lower, sheltered level of the garage in inclement weather.

The soon-to-open expansion, which is the new face of the facility as seen from I-5, has been built to complement the original site both in appearance and convenience. Director of marketing Michele Osgood pointed out the way in which similar structures and materials were used to offer a seamless feel to shoppers coming to the Outlets.

A new visitor would probably not notice the subtle differences between the new promenade expansion and the original buildings. Both areas feature wood elements and rock facings. Colors and landscaping are similar and the hardscape under foot at the entrance is the same.

Benches have been added at intervals along the front of the structure and secure locker rentals are available outside the management office at the northwest corner of the facility so shoppers don’t have to go all the way back to their car to stow purchases.

Many of the shoppers who visit the outlets come from Canada. They stay at one of the hotels, such as the Tulalip Resort Casino, or make the visit a day trip from Vancouver, B.C.

“The center serves area residents, both locally and regionally, and area visitors from all over the world,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to meet the needs of a wide range of shoppers.”

The more than a dozen shops opening on June 20 should help to do that. There are no plans for further expansion of the property, Johnson said.

Native American Appointed to Prestigious National Travel Advisory Board

Indian Country Today Media Network

Sherry L. Rupert, Paiute and Washoe, has been appointed as one of six new members to the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank. She is the lone American Indian member of the board.

The board, established in 2003, serves as the advisory body to the Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to the travel and tourism industry in the United States. Its members represent a broad cross-section of the industry, including transportation services, financial services, and hotels and restaurants, as well as a mix of small and large firms from across the country.

Rupert is a vice president of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association and the excutive director of the Nevada Indian Commission.

“The travel and tourism industry is so important to our nation’s economy and important to many of our tribal communities,” Rupert said. “This opportunity is a huge step forward for Indian country. Indian country now has a seat at the table.”

With more than 20 years of tribal, public and private business experience, she possesses a strong background in accounting, finance, business administration, tribal tourism and Indian Affairs. Rupert is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and is currently the President of the Native American Chapter of the University of Nevada, Reno Alumni Association.

She has presented at numerous tribal, state, regional and national conferences and was elected to her second term as President of the Governors’ Interstate Indian Council, and was formerly the Treasurer for two terms. The Governors’ Interstate Indian Council is a national organization promoting and protecting the various interests, welfare and well-being of American Indian people of the United States and in particular those American Indian residents within the various participating states of the Governors’ Interstate Indian Council.

Sherry is the Chairwoman of the Nevada Indian Territory, a marketing arm of the Nevada Commission on Tourism, and was awarded the 2009 and 2007 Excellence in Tourism Award as well as the 2011 Statewide Excellence in Tourism Award from the Nevada Commission on Tourism for her success in promoting and advancing tourism in Indian country. She was also awarded the 2009 Human and Civil Rights Award from the Nevada State Education Association. Ms. Rupert distinguished herself in her term as Treasurer for the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) Board of Directors (Southwest Region Representative) and during her service on the AIANTA Executive Committee; as a consequence, she was elected Vice-President of the Board of Directors.

Soap Lake Powwow, June 7-9

East Beach Park, Soap Lake, Washington

Visit, www.soaplakepowwow.com or call (509) 855-5085

Signs of decline in health of Puget Sound organisms

By Associated Press

SEATTLE — Despite improvements in the most industrialized and populated areas of the Puget Sound, a new report issued Tuesday by the Washington Department of Ecology shows the overall health of the state’s broadest waterway is declining in at least one way.

Sediment health in the central sound — from just south of Whidbey Island to the Tacoma Narrows — has deteriorated over the past decade, according to the report, which has some scientists who closely monitor the watershed wondering what they’ve been missing.

The study of sediment pulled from the bottom of the sound in 2008 and 2009 found a decline in sediment-dwelling life — known as benthic invertebrates — in 28 percent of the region, compared with 7 percent of the region in results from 1998 and 1999.

The results were surprising in contrast with other recent health checkups for the Puget Sound, which have shown improvements such as a decrease in toxic chemicals. Scientists also have found a decrease in concentrations of lead, mercury, silver, tin and other toxics in the central sound sediment.

It is possible scientists have not been looking deep enough or broad enough for other environmental problems, said Rob Duff, manager of the Ecology Department’s environmental assessment program.

“We don’t measure everything. We measure dozens and dozens of chemicals we are concerned about,” Duff said, adding, “There are thousands and thousands of chemicals in commerce today.”

Emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products may be responsible for the decline in the number and variety of small creatures within the Puget Sound’s sediment, Duff said, but there are other possible causes.

The decline in the number and variety of small creatures in the sediment also result from natural influences, such as the normal population cycles of sediment-dwelling organisms, or sediment movement and changes in dissolved oxygen, pH and ammonia levels in the water above the sediments.

“One report only tells you a piece of the puzzle,” cautioned Jan Newton, an oceanographer from the University of Washington who was not involved in this Ecology Department study.

The health of Puget Sound is so multi-faceted — from toxics to habitat to climate change — it’s difficult to talk about its overall health, she said, adding, “definitely, there’s reason for concern.”

Meanwhile, the health of Elliott Bay in Seattle and Commencement Bay in Tacoma has been shown signs of improving health, with decreases in chemicals found and water chemistry overall.

That suggests years of port cleanup and storm water management seem to be working, said Maggie Dutch, lead scientist for the sediment monitoring program.

But the contrasting results also suggest the need for more research, she added.

“We’re thinking that there are other things happening,” Dutch said. “It could be things that we also have an influence on.”

This kind of report shows the importance of continuing to monitor the sound as a tool for figuring out what else needs to be done to clean up the water, Ken Dzinbal, who represents the Puget Sound Partnership on the monitoring program.

“We’ve done a pretty good job of addressing big issues like storm water,” he said. “There still might be something else out there that we haven’t addressed.”

— The Associated Press

Oklahoma Tornadoes: New Website Collects Aid for Native Victims

Brian Daffron, Indian Country Today Media Network

The lives of at least 50 Native families have been turned upside down, many of them literally, by the tornadoes that devastated Oklahoma in May. One of the many groups reaching out to help is coordinating and sending aid directly to Indian families affected by this disaster.

As another tornado tore through El Reno, Yukon and south Oklahoma City on Friday May 31—also touching down in Moore, still reeling from the devastating May 20 tornado that killed 24—Native people from throughout Indian country were already reaching out to help their fellows.

The El Reno Indian Clinic, which lies within the Cheyenne & Arapaho tribal jurisdiction, was also damaged in the storms. None of the 42 fatalities reported—18 people, including three well known storm chasers doing research, perished in Friday’s five tornadoes—were American Indian. More than 20 American Indian families lost their homes in the May 20 tornado alone, according to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., from tribes including Arapaho, Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, Delaware, Jicarilla Apache, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Pawnee, and Shawnee.

While several individual tribes are offering aid, a new group has sprung up to channel aid directly to Indian families themselves. At Trails of H.O.P.E. (Helping Our People Earnestly), people can donate directly to Native American families.

The website is the idea of Oklahoma City area social worker Cortney Yarholar, who is of the Sac & Fox, Creek, Pawnee and Otoe tribes. He was inspired, he said, by words he had been told while growing up.

“ ‘Don’t ask for permission,’ his family elders often told him. ” ‘If you see something that needs to be done, just go do it.’ ”

Yarholar’s wife is from Moore, so he had seen firsthand the aftermath of both the 1999 and 2003 tornadoes that had hit the area. Her family had lost their home both times. He also knew that although FEMA and the American Red Cross handled immediate relief needs, these types of government and non-profit organizations are not always there for the long term. To fill this gap, Yarholar collaborated with the website Last Real Indians to create Trails of H.O.P.E., which is collecting donations to go directly to the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference disaster response committee. The Oklahoma Indian Missionary is the governing body of the American Indian Methodist churches within Oklahoma and exists to assist American Indian disaster victims.

“They’re really in it for the long haul, the long term, in helping families rebuild their lives—not only their physical homes but also their lives,” Yarholar said.

As of Monday June 3 the site had raised $5,000, said David Wilson, Choctaw tribal member and the conference superintendent of the missionary. The funds are being used to obtain temporary housing and car rental assistance for storm victims. The missionary has also helped funnel grief-counseling referrals through the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic and assisted in cleanup.

“Because of our various connections with the tribes, we usually know what tribes are going to offer, what support we might get from different agencies that the general public might not have access to,” said Wilson.

The missionary has received pledges for more support from throughout the country, Wilson said, adding that the group will continue working with both the individuals and tribes affected for as long as is necessary.

“Families have gone in to recover as much as they can,” said Wilson. “What we’ve worked on for the last three or four days is helping folks with temporary assistance, with housing. We’ll continue to work with that. We’ll begin looking at the rebuilding stage.”

Trails of H.O.P.E.’s efforts will not stop with this spate of tornadoes, Wilson said, even when the Oklahoma Missionary moves on as it travels throughout the country to help with other disasters.

“Thinking realistically, there will be another disaster somewhere in Indian Country,” Yarholar said. “That way, it will give [the missionary] an opportunity to respond in a timely manner.”

Donations to Trails of H.O.P.E. can be made online through the group’s website, or by sending checks directly to the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, 3020 S. Harvey, OKC, OK 73109. ATTN: Disaster Relief.

More on the Oklahoma tornadoes and relief efforts:

Tornadoes Pummel Moore and Oklahoma City Anew; At Least Five Killed

Oklahoma Awakes to Grim New Reality as Recovery Efforts Begin

President Obama to Oklahoma: Every Resource Is at Your Disposal

More Than 50 Dead as Tornado Decimates Moore, Oklahoma, Hometown of Rep. Tom Cole, and Levels School

Local police departments introduce ‘Business Watch’

Kirk BoxleitnerMarysville Police Chief Rick Smith hopes the ‘Business Watch’ program, in partnership with the Tulalip Tribal Police Department, will help area merchants and retailers safeguard themselves from crime. — Kirk Boxleitner
Marysville Police Chief Rick Smith hopes the ‘Business Watch’ program, in partnership with the Tulalip Tribal Police Department, will help area merchants and retailers safeguard themselves from crime.

Kirk Boxleitner, The Marysville Globe

TULALIP — Members of the Marysville and Tulalip Tribal police departments introduced their “Business Watch” program to the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce on Friday, May 31, but while they pledge to provide resources and consultation to the program, they made clear to the Chamber members that the “Business Watch” is the community’s program more than it is the police departments’ program.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world, between difficult fiscal times and manmade and natural disasters,” Marysville Police Chief Rick Smith said. “We hope this will bring some certainty back to your lives.”

“As the primary law enforcement for Quil Ceda Village, I understand the importance of business to the community as a whole,” Tulalip Tribal Police Deputy Chief Carlos Echevarria said.

Recently promoted Marysville Police Lt. Mark Thomas, whom Smith touted as a creative people-person, presented the bulk of the program, which he compared to the Marysville Volunteers Program of the Marysville Police Department.

“Perfection is unattainable, but in its pursuit, we find excellence,” Thomas said. “Every good police officer has the goal of driving crime down far enough to put himself out of a job. Realistically, that’s not attainable, but we do excellent work by pursuing that goal.”

To that end, the Business Watch program is designed to work by encouraging businesses to focus on ways they can safeguard themselves from being victimized by crime, with credit card fraud, forgery and shoplifting ranking along the primary illegal perils that they face.

“The Business Watch will never be made into a Hollywood action film,” Thomas laughed. “It’s a coalition of individuals who get together to take care of simple things that might make them vulnerable. Shoplifting alone costs retailers more than $13 billion a year.”

Not only will Business Watches run on the partnerships between businesses, and between businesses and their respective police departments, but Thomas also encouraged Business Watches to forge partnerships with the school district and community service organizations.

“It’s a platform to help teach merchants to crime-proof their own properties, watch over their neighbors’ property, and report and document any suspicious behavior,” Thomas said. “The Business Watch philosophy is straightforward; take control of what happens in your community, and lessen your chances of becoming a victim.”

Among the habits that Thomas identified as contributing to successful groups, Thomas advised Business Watch members to promote communication between law enforcement and business, encourage cooperation among merchants and offer training to their employees.

Thomas broke down the process of creating a Business Watch into five steps, starting with forming a committee to list potential problems in their area, followed by involving law enforcement.

“We can provide training and data on what kinds of crimes are common to your areas, so that you can focus your resources properly,” Thomas said. “From there, you should conduct a survey of your fellow businesses, to identify the issues that you face and establish your common interests.”

According to Thomas, every Business Watch should be launched with a kickoff event, lasting about 45 minutes at a place and time that’s convenient for everyone, after which the Business Watch’s first official meeting should include plenty of questions and answers, to ensure that all of its participants are getting what they want out of the group.

“The difference between a good idea and a great idea is follow-through,” Thomas said. “We can provide you with the tools, but it’s not our place to go out and impose a Business Watch on you. You guys have to pull that together yourselves.”

For more information, contact Thomas at 360-363-8321 or mthomas@marysvillewa.gov, Echevarria at 360-716-4608 or cechevarria@tulaliptribalpolice.org, or Business Watch Coordinator Bob Rise at 360-363-8325 or mvp@marysvillewa.gov.

Quinault Nation Pushes for Blueback Support

Two engineered logjams with fishermen in boat. The restoration plan for the Upper Quinault River is needed to protect and restore the famed Blueback Salmon population. Will the state do its part? The Quinault Tribal plan for the Upper Quinault River on the Olympic Peninsula applies engineered logjams and floodplain forest restoration methods modeled after natural floodplain forest developmental patterns and river channel habitat forming processes found in river valleys of the west side of the Olympic Mountains. Among other things, the logjams are designed to mimic old growth trees to create and protect river floodplain and side channel salmon habitat and foster the development of mature, self-sustaining conifer floodplain forests.

TAHOLAH, WA (6/3/13)–Work being done on the Upper Quinault River is a powerful example of environmental stewardship benefiting the economy, and the state legislature needs to step up to support it, says Fawn Sharp, President of the Quinault Indian Nation. “There is interconnection between a healthy environment and a sustainable economy wherever you go, but on the Upper Quinault everything is lined up to truly make a difference,” she said.

In an email letter addressed to Governor Inslee and to all legislators today, Sharp reminded the state’s lawmakers to support a budget proviso for $2.8 million in the Senate Capital Budget which would support ongoing work on the Upper Quinault, and the Tribe has made one of its top priorities (Department of Natural Resources budget, PSSB 5035, New Section 3235).

“This proposal is important to the coastal region in many respects. The investment will be highly job intensive in a region in desperate need of employment opportunities—and those jobs will be sustainable and environmentally friendly,” said Sharp. One of the primary objectives of the effort is to restore habitat which is key to the survival and restoration of the famed Blueback Salmon population. To date, since the year 2000, the Quinault Tribe has invested more than $5 million in Blueback restoration which includes the upper Quinault River work, lake fertilization, monitoring and supplementation. The current federal ask is more than $5 million. Of the state request, $2.5 million would be used to install engineered logjams over a five mile stretch of the river and $300,000 would be used for the Lower Queets/Clearwater and Quinault Riparian Forest restoration and enhancement (improvement of riparian forest habitat through invasive species control, instream habitat enhancement, off channel habitat enhancement, and replanting native trees to aid forest regeneration).

“The work being done on this project is highly professional and well engineered. It is the result of government-to-government and tribal and non-tribal coordination. That is another great thing about this effort. We are demonstrating, once again, that things get done when we work together. Everybody stands to benefit and everyone is involved,” said Sharp.

“We have made this request of the legislature several times this session. It is a very reasonable request which will benefit the state and its citizens, economically and environmentally, many times over. Everyone has stepped up to the plate. We’re simply encouraging the state to do the same. Given the unstable nature of the state budget process, we want to impress the importance of this project on the Governor and legislators. This is one they cannot leave behind,” she said.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation published a report, paid for by the Quinault Tribe, in 2005, stating that “the upper Quinault River and its salmon habitats will not heal on their own. Restorative intervention is required.” In response to that conclusion, the great importance of the Blueback Salmon to the Tribe’s culture, heritage and economy, and the inherent risks to continued viability of that species, Quinault produced and published the Salmon Habitat Restoration Plan – Upper Quinault River. The plan is a comprehensive, science-based approach to restore the river, including its floodplains, floodplain forests, and salmon habitat. The plan, which the Tribe and others in the area are following, applies engineered logjams and floodplain forest restoration methods modeled after natural floodplain forest developmental patterns and river channel habitat forming processes found in river valleys of the west side of the Olympic Mountains. Among other things, the logjams are designed to mimic old growth trees to create and protect river floodplain and side channel salmon habitat and foster the development of mature, self-sustaining conifer floodplain forests.

The project areas proposed for use of the funding include approximately 3.6 miles of mainstem river channel and 520 acres of existing floodplain. The project, if funded and constructed in its entirety will yield approximately 7.7 miles of protected and/or restored mainstem river and side channel salmon habitat, approximately 860 acres of new floodplain, and reestablish approximately 537 acres of mixed conifer-deciduous floodplain forest.

“So much is at stake here. Dozens of jobs. Economic stability. Generations of critically important Blueback runs. We truly hope the Governor and legislators are listening,” said Sharp.

New NWIC building dedicated to tribal environmental research

The Salish Sea Research Center will be fully operational by July 1

– Northwest Indian College

This summer, Northwest Indian College (NWIC) will open a new $2.2 million building on its main Lummi Reservation campus that will take science research capabilities at the college to new heights. With the new building, students and faculty will be able to conduct environmental research that supports healthy, clean, and vibrant environments that sustain tribal people.

The new 4,200-square-foot building was aptly named the Salish Sea Research Center. The Salish Sea has sustained tribes along its coast for centuries, and now research at NWIC will help support the health of the Salish Sea’s waters and shorelines.

“While the name of the center contains ‘Salish Sea,’ we are by no means exclusively marine focused. We are also laying the groundwork for an outdoor teaching and research program for native plants on campus,” said Dr. Marco Hatch, Associate Director of the National Indian Center for Marine Environmental Research and Education (NICMERE), which is located on NWIC’s campus.

The facility will support research in all programs of study – particularly the college’s Bachelor of Science in Native Environmental Science program. It increases opportunities for hands-on research giving students the experience needed to succeed in the workplace and in graduate school. It also helps foster partnerships with federal, state and tribal organizations.

“The Salish Sea Research Center provides our students the opportunity to work with faculty to engage in research projects and develop their science and technical skills,” NWIC President Justin Guillory said. “Of course, the building itself is great, but the learning that will occur inside the building is where our mission as a tribal college comes alive. New buildings help us build more students.”

Research already planned for the facility includes an examination of Bellingham Bay nutrient and oxygen dynamics, which is going on its seventh field season this year – that project is being done in partnership with Western Washington University and Washington State University’s Whatcom County Extension. Also, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and Lummi Natural Resources, NWIC researchers have begun a project examining the dynamics of red tides.

“Because of the increased capacity of this center, we are able to work with Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Friday Harbor Laboratories to study the relationship between the loss of eelgrass and increased harmful algal blooms,” Hatch said. “The center has already resulted in a leading expert in eelgrass planning to come to the college and spend a quarter here co-teaching a course on eelgrass and working with the students.”

The building includes five main laboratories a biology room, a wet lab, a live lab, an ecology room, and an analytical chemistry room.

“We also have a dedicated room for microscopes to sort samples and count phytoplankton,” Hatch said. “And I know everyone is excited about the mud room, so now we don’t have to drag the muck and mire from the intertidal through our offices.”

In addition to environmental research, another focus of the center’s research will be on the history of human interaction with Salish Sea lands and waters.

“People have always been here, and in this center we ask what lessons can be learned about how they promoted sustainability, about how they interacted with this place in a respectful manner,” Hatch said. “One example of this work is the partnership with the Heiltsuk First Nation looking at the ecological impacts of a traditional form of aquaculture called clam gardens.”

The Salish Sea Research Center was funded by a generous grant from the National Science Foundation and by NWIC’s $44 million capital campaign. The campaign has led to significant growth at NWIC in recent years. Since it began in 2005, eight new buildings have been constructed on the college’s main campus alone and two more buildings will open within a year as a result of campaign contributions. All of that physical growth supports the college’s evolution as a bachelor degree granting institution.

“I want to acknowledge the Kwina Family for providing the land to grow the NWIC campus,” President Guillory said. “This new building would not be possible without the land to build upon.”

A grand opening was held for the Salish Sea Research Center April 30 and the facility should be fully operational – with all necessary equipment – by July 1, according to Hatch.

The new building will support all programs of study at NWIC, especially the college’s Bachelor of Science in Native Environment Science (BSNES) degree program. BSNES students, such as Aissa Yazzie, conduct research that explores issues of importance to the region’s and nation’s tribes. Photo courtesy of NWIC

In addition to projects already underway at the facility, the following research is planned for the building:

Eelgrass student research: project partners are Friday Harbor Laboratory, University of Washington, and Washington State University Extension San Juan County

Eelgrass and reduced harmful algal blooms: project partners areNorthwest Fisheries Science Center, Friday Harbor Laboratory, University of Washington, and Washington State University Extension San Juan County

NOAA / ESP remote harmful algal bloom monitoring: partners areLummi Natural Resources, and Northwest Fishery Science Center

Olympia Oyster larval study: project partners are Samish Indian Nation, University of Washington-Tacoma, Puget Sound Restoration Fund, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Telling the Story of the Land, Revitalizing Traditional Plant Knowledge and Harvest with a View toward Sustainability: project partner isWashington State University Extension

Northwest Indian College is an accredited, tribally chartered institution headquartered on the Lummi Reservation at 2522 Kwina Road in Bellingham Wash., 98226, and can be reached by phone at (866) 676-2772 or by email at info@nwic.edu. We have seven Pacific Northwest locations and offer a variety of bachelor’s and associate degrees.

Tribes monitor Puget Sound for toxins

Nisqually natural resources technician Jimsan Dunstan samples water at Johnson Point in Olympia.

– Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

The Jamestown S’Klallam, Nisqually and Stillaguamish tribes are participating in the SoundToxins monitoring program to provide early warning of harmful algal blooms (HAB) and outbreaks of bacteria that could sicken humans.

“We want to make sure shellfish are safe to consume, not just for tribal members, but for all seafood consumers,” said Sue Shotwell, shellfish farm manager for the Nisqually Tribe.

During the shellfish growing season from March to October, tribal natural resources staff sample seawater weekly at designated sites. Additional sites across Puget Sound are monitored for toxin-producing algae by various citizen beach watchers, shellfish farmers, educational institutions and state government agencies. The monitoring results are posted in an online database.

The SoundToxins program helps narrow down the places where shellfish should be sampled for toxins, which is more expensive and time-consuming than testing the water.

“Just because we find algae that produce toxins doesn’t necessarily mean there are toxins in the seafood, but it could mean there will be soon,” said Stillaguamish marine and shellfish biologist Franchesca Perez. “If high numbers of an HAB species are found, then a sample of the water is sent to SoundToxins for further analysis, and appropriate parties are contacted to protect consumers and growers. We also look for Heterosigma, a flagellated plankton that causes fish kills.”

The Stillaguamish Tribe is sampling Kayak Point in Port Susan. Nisqually is monitoring the water at Johnson Point in Olympia, and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is taking its samples from the dock at Sequim Bay State Park, a popular shellfish harvesting site.

“Sequim Bay has had a number of harmful algal blooms historically,” said Neil Harrington, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe environmental biologist. “When we see the phytoplankton cells increase in the water column, we know to start increasing shellfish sampling for toxins.”

All three types of plankton that cause HABs in Puget Sound have been measured at toxic levels in Sequim Bay.

“The SoundToxins program aims to provide sufficient warning of HAB and Vibrio events to enable early or selective harvesting of seafood, thereby minimizing risks to human health and reducing economic losses to Puget Sound fisheries,” said Sound Toxins program director Vera Trainer of NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

SoundToxins is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Science Center, Washington Sea Grant and the Washington Department of Health.

Tests show no signs of ISA virus in Washington’s salmon

The Issaquah Press

Recent tests of salmon from Washington’s waters show no signs of a fish virus that can be deadly to farm-raised Atlantic salmon.

Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus was not detected in tissue samples taken from more than 900 wild and hatchery-produced Pacific chinook, coho, sockeye, chum and steelhead, as well as farm-raised Atlantic salmon, according to a press release from state, tribal and federal resource managers.

The virus is not harmful to people.

Specific strains of the virus have caused a deadly disease in farm-raised Atlantic salmon. Outbreaks with significant losses have occurred in farmed Atlantic salmon in Maine, Eastern Canada, Chile and several European countries.

The virus has not been documented in farmed, wild or hatchery salmon in Washington.

John Kerwin, Fish Health Program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said concerns about the possibility of the virus occurring in Washington’s salmon prompted the recent tests, which are part of a two-year monitoring program specifically designed to detect the virus.

“Our traditional testing protocols would have detected most — but not all — of the disease-causing strains of ISA virus,” Kerwin said. “So, we expanded our program to better detect whether any strain is present in a variety of fish species in Washington. The good news is all the samples came back negative for the virus.”

Elsewhere on the West Coast, there have been no confirmed reports of the virus in wild, hatchery or farmed salmon. In 2011, a Canadian researcher reported detecting the virus in some British Columbia Pacific salmon. However, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the federal agency with authority for fish health in Canada, tested fish tissue samples and found no ISAV present.

Bruce Stewart, Fish Health Program manager for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, said the sampling and monitoring program is a great example of tribal, state and federal managers working together to address concerns about the health of salmon and steelhead stocks in Washington.

“While this first year’s results are encouraging, we hope to increase our level of confidence that the virus is not present in Washington by continuing our efforts and including testing of pink salmon,” said Stewart, who noted that most pink salmon return to Washington’s waters only in odd-numbered years.

Andy Goodwin, Fish Health Program manager for Region 1 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the ISAV surveillance program is an important addition to an already comprehensive fish health monitoring effort by the agencies.

“Protecting the health of Pacific salmon populations is a high priority for us,” Goodwin said. “This ISAV surveillance collaboration has really complemented the regular testing that we do on many thousands of fish every year.”

The tissue samples taken for the ISAV monitoring program were analyzed at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Pullman, and at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service laboratory in Idaho.

More information on the species and stock of salmon sampled is available on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/research/projects/salmon_anemia/.

The monitoring program — funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — is expected to continue for at least one more year. Participants include the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Additional monitoring programs are under way in Alaska and Canada.