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Quinault Nation Restricts Lake Use Due to Habitat Degradation

By Richard Walker, Indian Country Today Media Network

Quinault Lake has been a place of nurture since glaciers carved the lake and river valley in their retreat some 15,000 years ago.

But these thousands of years of pristine tranquility have come undone. The Quinault Tribe has closed the lake to non-tribal fishing until further notice, concerned about pollution and low salmon return numbers.

The Quinault people have always found physical and spiritual sustenance in the majestic landscape and wealth of resources in the Quinault Lake area. The sockeye salmon, too, consider Quinault Lake to be a place of nurture; sockeye returning from their ocean odyssey spend three to 10 months in Quinault Lake prior to moving on to spawn in the Upper Quinault River. While in the lake, bluebacks subsist on their fat reserves.

“Culturally, this salmon run links Quinault people to their rich heritage as nothing else does,” according to Quinault Nation fisheries biologists, who documented salmon significance to the tribe in 1990. “The salmon was always the very lifeblood of Quinault society, and the blueback was the most sacred of the various fish runs.”

But in the years since the first non-Native residents arrived in the 1880s, this sacred lake has been troubled. Early residents described the Upper Quinault River as a large stream that flowed between two narrow, heavily wooded banks. But logging in the ensuing years has widened the river valley, and the stream now meanders erratically. Moreover, storm runoff has led to prolonged periods of lake turbidity.

Leachate from septic systems serving waterfront homes is believed to be the cause of degraded water quality. Bulkheads and docks have been built without permits, altering the shoreline habitat for salmon and other fish.

“We’re not willing to let our lake die,” Quinault Nation Treasurer Lawrence Ralston said.

The Quinault Indian Nation, which has jurisdiction over the lake, has closed it to all non-tribal fishing because of water quality and low sockeye salmon returns. This is in effect until further notice, Quinault Nation President Fawn Sharp said on April 16, adding that the decision had been unanimous.

“This action has been taken to protect the lake and is an emergency measure to protect the health and safety of all our communities,” Sharp said. “We are very concerned about water quality in the lake. We are concerned that non-tribal septic systems from the surrounding homes and businesses may have resulted in a severe problem with untreated sewage and caused serious health concerns.”

During the closure, the tribe will study the water quality and see if it complies with tribal regulations, Sharp said. Already, she said, the tribe has found “hot spots of pollution” and will need to monitor any fish taken by tribal members during the closure.

“We will not reopen the lake to non-Indian fishermen until we consider it safe and appropriate to do so,” Sharp said.

In addition the Nation has documented new, unpermitted docks and bulkheads on the lake’s north shore. Other illegal activities, including fish poaching and boats speeding on the lake, have also been documented, Sharp said.

“The Nation’s intention is to work closely with landowners on the lake to address these concerns,” Sharp said. “The goal is to [ensure] that any permitted structures on the lake are ‘fish friendly’ and will not contribute to degradation of habitat.”

Quinault Nation officials will also meet with the Grays Harbor Board of County Commissioners to request county inspection of septic systems along the north shore. The tribal officials want to determine whether corrective measures are needed to prevent the fouling of lake waters, particularly during storms. While Quinault has jurisdiction over the lake, Grays Harbor County has jurisdiction over non-Native residents and private homes.

The Lake Quinault Lodge, which is owned by the National Park Service, and the local homeowners association newsletter acknowledge that the lake is within the reservation and thus falls under the jurisdiction of the Quinault Indian Nation. But that authority and jurisdiction are apparently not always understood—let alone acknowledged and respected—by non-Native residents.

“The Nation must remind residents that use of the lake is a privilege and not a right,” the Quinault Nation said in its statement announcing the closure.

“When we choose to lease our lands to proprietors, or to allow non-Tribal members to share our resources, we do so with the expectation that they will abide by Quinault law, practice good stewardship and treat this beautiful lake with the respect it deserves,” Sharp added.

Closure of the lake to non-tribal fishing is the latest of many attempts to restore the body of water’s health as well as its salmon population. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the number of returning bluebacks dropped from as many as 500,000 in the early 1900s to about 39,000 in the 1990s. Since 2000, the Quinault Nation has invested more than $5 million in blueback habitat restoration, including restoration on the Upper Quinault River, and monitoring.

Quinault officials have requested $5.7 million from Congress for continued blueback restoration work, and the Washington State Senate is budgeting $2.8 million for restoration work on the Upper Quinault River. The federal money will help fund the building of up to 140 engineered logjams and 537 acres of forest restoration planting. The state funding will help pay for the installation of 14 logjams.

“It is our responsibility to manage this unique resource as part of our heritage, in a way that will benefit our people—today and in the future,” Sharp said. “We are working very hard to protect, preserve and restore this region, including the Upper Quinault and Lake Quinault, in a way that is true to our heritage and that will benefit the entire area.”

Quinault is also researching how low-oxygen events may be affecting Dungeness crab populations off the tribe’s ocean shores. Crab fishermen would use special instruments that measure dissolved oxygen from inside crab pots.

“Right now, all we know is that dead fish and crab have washed up on our shores in varying degrees in the summer for the past few years,” Quinault Nation marine scientist Joe Schumacker told the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. “We have no idea how far the low oxygen zones extend or how long they last. We see a result and we need to define the problem.”

The die-off could be unprecedented: There is no oral history among Quinault people for consecutive seasons of this sort of die-off, according to the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

President Barack Obama’s Budget Concerns Indian Country Leaders

By Rob Capriccioso, Indian Country Today Media Network

Concerned Indian country leaders are saying that President Barack Obama, in his proposed budget for 2014, is not doing as strong a job at upholding the nation’s trust responsibility to American Indians as he has promised.

The budget, released April 10, is the president’s first time while in office to dramatically shrink his support for Indian programs in some key areas, including reductions in contract support services, education and school construction cuts, and spending on low-income housing.

In total, the $3.78 trillion budget would cut copy trillion in spending and raise $800 billion in new revenue over the next 10 years.

Indian organizations and tribes are still analyzing much of the budget and what it will mean, but some have already released statements of concern.

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) offered a grave assessment on April 12, saying that the “organization is deeply concerned about proposed cuts that threaten recent progress in critical areas,” and noting the areas of reduction in an analysis that would harm tribes.

At the same time, NCAI saw some positive developments: “We see signs of hope in the President’s proposal to replace the sequester and expand investments to enhance tribal law enforcement and strengthen the Indian Health Service but now is not time to slow the progress we have seen in Indian country,” said Jefferson Keel, president of NCAI. “The federal government must live up to its obligations in critical trust responsibility areas like contract support costs, education, and housing. We’ve experienced decades of the federal government falling short, and while we understand the limitations of the federal government, the federal trust responsibility to tribal nations and our peoples, is not a line item.”

Despite that optimism, the White House has been hesitant to single out Indian programs for protection in its budget process and in the current budget sequester that went into effect March 1, reducing many federal programs that offer support to tribes.

Charlie Galbraith, the Associate Director for Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House, told tribal leaders of the United South and Eastern Tribes in February that tribes could not be exempted from the sequester, despite this seeming to conflict with the administration’s stance on supporting federal trust responsibility for tribes.

“That’s just not going to happen,” Galbraith said. “We have the entire military machine, every lobbyist, every contractor, trying to exempt the military provision—the president is not going to cut this off piecemeal. We need a comprehensive solution that is going to address the real problem here.”

Still, programs at the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Transportation, as well as Congress’ pay, were exempted from the sequester—so there were some sacred cows. Indian programs could have been protected as well, if the federal government could have agreed to support that outcome. The Obama administration has not pushed for such an action, despite often saying it supports strong federal trust responsibility toward tribes.

NCAI ended its statement on a positive note, saying that there were “promising signs” in the president’s budget request, including public safety monies for tribes, a small increase in the Indian Health Service budget and contract health services, an increase for the Environmental Protection Agency’s General Assistance Program, a $32 million in increases for natural resource programs at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and language that provides “a no-cost economic development and jobs creation solution for restoring land to tribal governments impacted by the Carcieri Supreme Court decision.”

“NCAI will work to ensure that the federal programs that fulfill the trust responsibility to tribes receive bipartisan support in the appropriations process,” the organization concluded.

To date under the Obama administration, Congress has done a strong job at appropriating monies for Indian country-related programs, and Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) has noted that Congress has actually appropriated more in several tribal areas than the president has requested. Many in Indian country, no doubt, will be hoping that that happens again.

Nisqually Tribe is crossing the river to help salmon

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Eddy Villegas, a member of the Nisqually Tribe’s planting crew, unloads burlap sacks after a trip across the river.

The Nisqually Indian Tribe is taking a creative approach to help a new streamside forest thrive.

“We’re using thousands of donated burlap sacks and transporting them across the Nisqually River by boat to make sure thousands of newly planted trees don’t get overrun by grass,” said David Troutt, natural resources director for the tribe. The tribe’s restoration planting crew recently reforested 15-acres of off channel habitat owned by the Nisqually Land Trust.

“Usually, we’d drive in with weed whackers and selectively use some herbicide to make sure the grass doesn’t take back over,” Troutt said. “But, this parcel is wet and remote, which means we had to take extreme measures.”

Much of the Land Trust property on the mainstem Nisqually is covered with water, so the tribe decided against traditional herbicide, because it might have spread downriver. Placing burlap sacks around the young trees prevents grass from crowding them out. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in Sumner donated five pallets of used burlap sacks for the project.

After the initial work, the crew will return by boat every few weeks with weed whackers to take care of the plants they couldn’t put burlap around because they were too close to water. “We’ll have to maintain some plantings by hand because we’d probably see burlap sacks floating down the river if we tried to keep the grass down that way,” Troutt said.

The tribe employs a handful of tribal members on a planting crew that conducts and maintains salmon restoration planting projects across the watershed. Almost every habitat restoration project in the watershed has some element of planting and plant care. In just more than five years the crew has planted over 200,000 trees and shrubs.

Off-channel habitat is vital to the survival of young salmon, especially chinook, coho and steelhead. Those species can spend take more than a year before leaving for the ocean, so the quality of freshwater habitat is especially important. Both Nisqually chinook and steelhead are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

“Off channel areas give salmon a place to rest and feed during the winter when the mainstem of the river might be flooding, making it inhospitable for them,” Troutt said. “Hopefully, by restoring and protecting this spot on the river, we’ll see larger salmon runs for everyone in the future.”

Dispose of unwanted medicines on National Drug Take-back Day, April 27

Correct disposal helps prevent unintentional poisonings

Source: Snohomish County Health District

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. –Unintentional poisonings are at a record high in Snohomish County. The most recent information shows that in 2011 the number of such poisonings affected 150 county residents– more than triple the 46 reported in 2000. You can help reduce the chance of unintentional poisonings by disposing of your unwanted medicines on National Drug Take-back Day, April 27 at multiple locations in Snohomish County.

“Unintentional poisonings frequently involve prescription drugs,” said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, Health Officer and Director of the Snohomish Health District. He said they not only harm people, but improperly discarded drugs can also harm the environment when they enter septic systems and household trash.

To help protect the public’s safety and health, area law enforcement agencies and Bartell Drug will participate in National Drug Take-back Day, Saturday, April 27 at sites throughout the county. Find locations and hours on the Health District’s website, www.snohd.org, or call 425.388.3199. The sites accept unused, expired and unwanted prescription drugs, including narcotic painkillers and other medications.

All police departments in the county have drop-boxes available year-round, Monday through Friday, including the NCIS office at Naval Station Everett, the Washington State Patrol office in Marysville, and tribal police stations on the Tulalip and Stillaguamish reservations. Additionally, two Group Health locations and many Bartell Drugstores accept unwanted vitamins, pet medications, over-the-counter medications, inhalers and unopened EpiPens year-round.

Only law enforcement locations can accept controlled substances, such as Ativan and OxyContin. Leave all items in their original containers.

The Saturday drug-return hours support the US Drug Enforcement Agency’s “National Drug Take-back Day,” through participation by the Snohomish County Partnership for Secure Medicine Disposal. Partnership members include the Snohomish Health District, Snohomish County, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office, the Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force, the Washington State Patrol, and all local law enforcement agencies.

Established in 1959, the Snohomish Health District works for a safer and healthier Snohomish County through disease prevention, health promotion, and protection from environmental threats. Find more information about the Health Board and the Health District at http://www.snohd.org.

Drop-Off Locations and Hours

The Snohomish County Partnership for Secure Medicine Disposal provides residents with secure medicine drop-off locations year-round. The hours listed below are for the Saturday, April 27 National Drug Take-back Day.

City: Arlington

Time: 10 am – noon

Location: Arlington Police Department

110 East Third Street

Arlington, WA 98223

City: Edmonds

Time: 10 am – 2 pm

Location: Edmonds Police Department

250 Fifth Avenue North

Edmonds, WA 98020

City: Everett

Time: 8 am – Noon

Location: Everett Police Department – North Precinct

3002 Wetmore Avenue

Everett, WA 98201

City: Lake Stevens

Time: 10 am – 2 pm

Location: Bartell Drugs (hosted by Lake Stevens Police Department)

621 SR 9 NE

Lake Stevens, WA 98258

City: Lynnwood

Time: 8 am – noon

Location: Lynnwood Police Department

19321 44th Avenue West

Lynnwood, WA 98036

City: Lynnwood

Time: 10 am – 2 pm

Location: Home & About Home Care (hosted by Snohomish Regional Drug & Gang TF)

15121 Hwy 99

Lynnwood, WA 98087

City: Marysville

Time: 9 am – 1 pm

Location: Marysville Police Department

1635 Grove Street

Marysville, WA 98270

City: Mill Creek

Time: 9 am – 1 pm

Location: Snohomish County Sheriff – South Precinct

15928 Mill Creek Blvd

Mill Creek, WA 98012

City: Mountlake Terrace

Time: 10 am – 2 pm

Location: Mountlake Terrace Police Department

5906 232nd Street SW

Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

City: Snohomish

Time: 8 am – noon

Location: Snohomish Police Department

230 Maple Avenue

Snohomish, WA 98290

New coalition of regional leaders formed to oppose coal exports

Leadership Alliance Against Coal includes leaders from cities and tribes

Source: Office of Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn

SEATTLE – Leaders of city governments and tribal nations across the Pacific Northwest today announced the formation of a new coalition to oppose coal trains and coal exports. The Leadership Alliance Against Coal will work together to raise awareness about the damaging economic, cultural, and health impacts of coal trains and coal exports, as well as take action to protect their communities.

“These coal trains threaten the health of our communities, the strength of our economies, and the environmental and cultural heritage we share,” said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. “We will stand together to stop the coal trains.”

“For thousands of years Washington State tribes have fought to protect all that is important for those who call this great state home. We can no longer allow industry and business to pollute our water and land; we as leaders need to protect our treaty resources, our economies, and the human health of our citizens and neighbors,” said Brian Cladoosby, Chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

The Leadership Alliance Against Coal grew out of conversations between leaders from cities and tribal nations concerned about the impact of coal trains on their communities. Alliance members are calling for agencies to work together to explore the impacts on the health of people living near the rail tracks and the coal terminals. They urge state and federal agencies to deny permits for coal export proposals, as their proposed benefits do not outweigh the likely costs to local economies, health, natural environment, and cultural resources.

The City of Seattle conducted a study that found coal trains could add an additional two hours of gate downtime at major street crossings of the railway by 2025. Similar delays are likely in cities large and small along the proposed route of these trains

Tribes are concerned that coal trains and the proposed coal terminals would violate their treaty rights and damage their cultural heritage, as well as cause economic and health impacts.

“The economic, environmental and health issues raised by this 19th Century proposal are below us as a city and a state,” said State Representative Reuven Carlyle. “We need to focus on high quality, innovative, entrepreneurial markets and ideas that lift us up – not unhealthy, dangerous commodities that assault our global economy.”

“The risks not only to our tribe can be devastating, but also to the entire region,” said Chairman Melvin Sheldon, Jr., of the Tulalip Tribes. “We’ve made substantial retail investments that depend heavily on quality of life. Tulalip supports job creation. We are one of the largest employers in Snohomish County and contribute to economic solvency in the Northwest. However, we do not support an industry such as this one that we believe will damage our natural and cultural resources or diminish existing jobs in our region.”

“This increased rail traffic will have a significant impact on our local community by among other things increasing traffic congestion, creating a higher risk of accidents, decreasing our ability to provide effective emergency response times, impacting local commerce, and interfering with local truck freight delivery systems also affecting the local economy,” said Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring.

“The proposed coal trains pose a detriment to the health, economy, and quality of life of the people and communities I represent,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, Chair of the King County Council’s Transportation, Economy, and Environment Committee. “I stand united with neighborhood, business, environmental, tribal, and government leaders in protecting the prosperity and beauty of our state by opposing coal trains.”

“The City of Spokane cannot afford to have additional coal trains coming through that disrupt truck routes, emergency services and the health of our citizens,” said Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart. “In addition we must address climate change as elected leaders and must take action. I am proud to be part of the Leadership Alliance and look forward to working with Tribal and elected leaders across the state to represent our communities.”

“The citizens of Edmonds, like so many in our region, are committed to protecting our environment, improving our public health and safety, and building our economy. Coal trains run counter to every one of these important goals,” said Edmonds City Councilmember Strom Peterson.

“Washington State has been a national leader in creating clean-energy technologies and jobs that promote sustainable global economic development. Coal exports promote damaging and unsustainable energy programs. Shoreline stands in opposition to the proposed coal export terminals and the environmental, health and economic damage that will ultimately result,” said Shoreline Mayor Keith McGlashan.

“The City of Bainbridge Island supports economic growth that does not jeopardize Washington State’s commitment to fight the serious impacts of climate change,” said Bainbridge Island Mayor Steve Bonkowski, on behalf of the City Council. “The City urges the Governor and the Legislature to work on a comprehensive policy opposing coal export terminals in Washington State.”

“What is most concerning to me are the affects and impacts created by increased coal export put upon down-line communities like ours and we are just expected to take it,” said Sumner City Councilmember Nancy Dumas. “There is zero direct benefit for pass through communities like ours, yet our taxpayers are expected to bear the burden of expense, responsibility and liability that the increase in coal train traffic bisecting and disrupting our towns will bring.”

“On Earth Day, the city also introduced our Climate Action Plan, the city’s roadmap to be carbon neutral by 2050. Despite all our efforts to invest in energy efficient homes and an active transportation system, we will not achieve our climate goals if we allow a massive expansion of coal exports through our community,” said Seattle Councilmember Mike O’Brien. “I’m proud to stand united with cities and tribes to oppose coal exports and promote a climate friendly future.”

The following individuals are members of the Leadership Alliance Against Coal:

• Mayor Mike McGinn, Seattle

• Councilmember Mike O’Brien, Seattle

• Councilmember Larry Phillips, King County

• Mayor Jon Nehring, Marysville

• Mayor Keith McGlashan, Shoreline

• Deputy Mayor Chris Eggen, Shoreline

• State Representative Reuven Carlyle

• Council President Ben Stuckart, Spokane

• Mayor Dave Earling, Edmonds

• Councilmember Strom Peterson, Edmonds

• Councilmember Nancy M. Dumas, Sumner

• Mayor Steve Bonkowski, Bainbridge Island

• Chairman Melvin Sheldon, Jr., Tulalip Tribes

• Chairman Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

• Councilmember Jay Julius, Lummi Nation

Earth Day and Sex: Watch Director’s Cut of Documentary on Global Population and the Environment, Livestreamed

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

What is the true cost of overpopulation on the environment? In a world containing seven billion people needing food, energy and other means to survival, the question is ever more urgent as the effects of human-fueled climate change close in.

A 2011 documentary examines every facet of this question, from the point of view of those who serve as the gateway: women.

In honor of Earth Day the makers of the award-winning environmental documentary Mother: Caring for 7 Billion are livestreaming the hour-long film starting on Friday April 19. It will run continuously on the filmmakers’ website and on YouTube through the end of May.

“We want Mother to be viewed by as many people as possible for Earth Day because Mother holds up a mirror and shows people a very different way to look at their role on this planet,” said director and co-producer Christophe Fauchere in a statement.

“This is not your father’s population documentary,” wrote Grist senior editor Lisa Hymas upon the film’s release. “Mother takes a feminist/humanist view as it explores the issues of our exploding numbers.”

The opening sequence is stark, a black-and-white pile of squalling infants being powdered and diapered en masse by hands as big as they are. Between this sight and the camera, a row of bellowing babies files by on a conveyor belt. American Beth Osnes, the youngest of 10 children, serves as a protagonist of sorts, discovering along with the viewer her role in the population crisis. It makes her rethink her entire family-planning philosophy.

Simply put, “Our demand for resources is increasing, but the size of the planet is not,” says Mathis Wackernagel, executive director of the Global Footprint Network, an organization devoted to creating sustainability.

“We have reached a real important threshold in our relationship with the planet,” intones a voiceover. “We are the major agent of change.”

View the full film below as it is livestreamed, through the end of May.

Earth Day celebration at the Qwuloolt Estuary

Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration Project and earth Day Celebration

Article by Monica Brown

Ecologist Walter Rung demonstrates how to plant a native tree.
Photo by Monica Brown

TULALIP, Wash. – Community members chose to celebrate Earth Day on April 20th, by helping plant native trees and shrubs in the Qwuloolt Estuary located on the South end of Marysville. The Adopt a Stream Foundation (AASF) is guiding this portion of the project by planting the native trees and shrubs which have been made possible by a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology through a $250,000 Allen Creek Grant. The main focus of the grant is to work with and inform nearby homeowners that live near the Allen Creek watershed about the restoration project. Walter Rung, Ecologist from the AASF says “We are going to door to door and talking to them about ways to help improve water quality in the creeks.”

A plastic shield is placed around the tree in order to help it thrive and prevent it from being cut down when the invasive species are removed from the area.
Photo by Monica Brown

A peek iside that the freshly planted tree.
Photo by Monica Brown

The expected outcome of the restoration project is to raise the population of salmon, and migratory birds that inhabit the Qwuloolt Estuary and it’s tributaries. Planting native vegetation is one way of helping to improve water quality. CK Eidem from the AASF informs, “Today we’re putting in about 100 potted stalk and 100 live stakes; potted stalk are potted plants and live stakes are a cutting from a tree which will grow into a shrub if planted at the right time of year,”

Other environmental changes are being made such as improving natural channel formation and eventually removing the tide gate. The tide gate is located just south of the storm water Treatment Facility and should be taken down within a year.

“We’re expecting once they remove the tide gate that there will be a lot more salmon in the creek,” said Walter Rung.

At the estuary project, informational booths and speakers informed people about how to protect the estuary and streams in the area by simple methods of not using toxic chemicals in their yards for weed control, disposing of pet droppings properly and regular maintenance their septic systems. Staff from Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources Department explained the stages and reason of the restoration project and provided delicious samples of Sitka Spruce tea and Nettle Tea.

Josh Meidav and Kelly Finley hosted The Tulalip Tribes booth.
Photo by Monica Brown

This project has been made possible through a large partnership between The Tulalip Tribes, City of Marysville, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Sound Transit, Wash. Dept of Fish and Wildlife, Wash. State Recreation and Conservation Office, Natural Resources Conservation Services, Snohomish Basin Salmon Recovery Forum, Sound Salmon Solutions and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Outlet mall on Tulalip Reservation expands

Seattle Premium Outlets, located off Interstate 5 on the Tulalip Tribes Reservation, is opening more than a dozen new stores to attract a growing number of bargain hunters.

By Amy Martinez

The recession brought to a near-standstill all but one segment of shopping-center development in the past few years: the outlet mall.

While developers shelved plans for new full-price shopping centers amid a sharp downturn in U.S. discretionary spending, some stepped up the pace of construction of stores catering to bargain hunters.

Locally, Seattle Premium Outlets on the Tulalip Tribes Reservation soon will unveil a 100,000-square-foot expansion with more than a dozen new stores, including American Eagle Outfitters, Armani Exchange, Clarins, Diane von Furstenberg, Forever 21, MaxStudio and The North Face.

The expansion will give the 8-year-old shopping center half a million square feet and up to 125 stores starting in June. Current tenants Coach, Columbia Sportswear, DKNY, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Bahama also will move to larger space in the new buildings off Interstate 5, near Marysville.

“People are looking for value, and this is what we offer,” said Michele Osgood, the outlet mall’s marketing manager.

Owner Simon Property Group, whose local portfolio also includes Northgate Mall, says its focus for new development is on premium outlets. Indianapolis-based Simon plans to open five outlet malls this year, up from two last year. In total, it has nearly 80 outlet malls in North America and Asia.

Outlet malls originated in the early 1980s as a way for brands to sell surplus stock at lower prices. Today, much of their merchandise is outlet-only, meaning the goods never appear at full-price stores. The change enables retailers to keep a growing number of outlets fully stocked, especially as they use technology to better manage inventory and avoid surpluses.

Analysts say the new frugality, born of the Great Recession, has turned outlet malls into shopping magnets for people who want name-brand merchandise but not at full price.

Sales at outlet stores rose 10 percent for the 12 months that ended in February, according to market-research firm The NPD Group. Meanwhile, non-outlet sales of apparel, shoes and accessories increased only 3 percent.

“The outlet mall continues to grow faster than the traditional retail market,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD. “Consumers, because they’re shopping less often, are willing to spend the day at an outlet mall and make it a longer endeavor.”

Seattle Premium Outlets, located about 100 miles from the Canadian border, is popular with shoppers from British Columbia and Alberta, many of whom stay overnight at the nearby Tulalip Resort Casino or Holiday Inn Express, said Osgood.

“The longer they stay here and shop, the more they can take across the border duty-free,” she said. “So there’s kind of an incentive for them to stay longer.”

But some wonder if a recovering U.S. economy might eventually put a damper on outlet sales.

“In the early 2000s, when the economy got better, outlet shopping plateaued,” said retail analyst Jeff Green. “The question becomes, when the economy gets better, will it plateau again? And I’ve got to believe it might. That’s because it’s the only segment of retail where you’re seeing new development.”

Shopper Evonne Noble, 35, of Seattle, held up a green sleeveless dress Friday during an outing with friends at the Tulalip outlet mall. The dress originally cost $80, but Noble paid $20 at the Banana Republic outlet store.

“I would not come up here without a plan,” she said over lunch at the mall’s food court. “There was this Kate Spade purse I was watching for a year and then I got it here for a few hundred dollars off.

“I hate shopping,” she added. “So I try to do it only a few times a year and be savvy about it.”

2013 Allen/Quilceda Watershed Earth Day Celebration

Saturday, April 20 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration Project Site,
Harborview Park, 4700 60th Ave. NE, Marysville, WA 98270

The first 200 participants get a free Earth Day T-shirt. Visit informational booths and stamp your shirt with all the parts of a healthy watershed. Informational booth topics include water pollution, salmon, the water cycle, native plants, controlling invasive plants and restoration projects.

Plant a native tree or shrub to help restore the Qwuloolt Estuary, then spread mulch to nourish new plants and suppress weeds.

Come prepared for all weather conditions; wear sturdy shoes or boots. Plants, tools, gloves, water and snacks will be provided for volunteers.

Drop in or stay for the whole event. Registration is not required but preferred for groups, to register please CLICK HERE

For more information contact Erin Martin at:

Email: Erin.Martin@snoco.org
Phone: (425) 388-3464, Ext. 4661

Directions from I-5:
Take exit 199 east into Marysville, travel east on 4th St NE
Turn Right (south) onto State Ave
Turn Left (east) onto 3rd St for approximately 1.7 miles
Turn Right (west) onto 52nd St NE,
52nd St NE turns south and becomes 60th Ave NE, Harborview Park is on the right (west) side of the street. Find parking in the Harborview neighborhood.

Financial Transparency Legislation Renews Controversy Over First Nation Chiefs’ Salaries

MIKE DEAL/WINNIPEG FREE PRESSAboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt addresses reporters.Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/04/18/financial-transparency-legislation-renews-controversy-over-chiefs-salaries-148898 — MIKE DEAL/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt addresses reporters.
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/04/18/financial-transparency-legislation-renews-controversy-over-chiefs-salaries-148898

By David P. Ball, Indian Country Today Media Network

Newly enacted federal legislation forcing First Nations to disclose their leaders’ salaries and spending online has been decried by critics who say the public is being misled by “myth” and stereotypes.

On Wednesday March 27 in Winnipeg, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt attempted to announce that the First Nations Financial Accountability Act, known as Bill C-27, had received royal assent and become law. But advocates say that accountability already exists, and the Conservatives’ real purpose is to demonize Natives as corrupt and incapable of managing themselves.

Demonstrators cut short Valcourt’s press conference, one of them drowning out a speech by aboriginal advocate Phyllis Sutherland by beating a hand drum while shouting “Oppressors!” as she and the minister were ushered into a back room. Sutherland, an outspoken critic of her Manitoba band’s leadership—her chief reportedly earned $206,381 in 2009—brought the salaries of some First Nation chiefs to national media attention three years ago when she leaked the information to the right-leaning Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). The federation launched an ardent campaign for transparency legislation by releasing data suggesting that dozens of chiefs earned more than the country’s Prime Minister and provincial premiers. Highest paid was the chief of Glooscap First Nation in Nova Scotia, population 304, who reportedly earned $978,468.

But aboriginal critics tore apart the federation’s method of comparing First Nations and Canadian politicians’ salaries. The organization included travel reimbursements for Natives but not Members of Parliament, for instance, and also inflated aboriginal incomes—which, under treaties, are not taxed on reserves—in order to compare them with Canadian politicians’ taxed salaries, a tactic that nearly doubled the leaders’ salaries in some cases.

“As far as I’m concerned, people have a right to know what their chief and councils are making and what their band finances are being spent on,” Sutherland, of Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, told Indian Country Today Media Network. “Where is all this money? Why didn’t they do anything for the people? There’s certainly no benefit to the people out there.”

Sutherland said her goal was to end alleged mismanagement and secrecy, especially as many Natives suffer from substandard housing and education.

“In every First Nations reserve I talk with, it’s always the same story: widespread corruption among leaders,” she said. “Not all of them. There are some First Nations doing wonderful things for their people. But I can’t see the problem with them having to post their salaries, honorariums and remuneration. It should be automatic.”

Pam Palmater, chair of Ryerson University’s Indigenous Governance program and runner-up in last year’s election for National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), says information on band finances already is provided to Aboriginal Affairs. Reserves must fill out 163 spending reports a year, she said, quoting AFN reports. On average, she added, chiefs actually make about $36,000—less than 80 percent of average per capita earnings in Canada.

“The financial information already is transparent,” Palmater told reporters. “That’s the myth that’s being perpetuated by this legislation. First Nations don’t get a single cent unless they submit audited financial statements. More than audited financial statements: On average they have to submit one report every three days.”

The AFN also opposed the legislation, saying that there are other ways to improve accountability on reserves without extending federal control over bands.

“First Nations have been clear in their commitment to accountability and transparency to all of our citizens,” said AFN National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo. “Bill C-27 would not support this accountability, but instead gives more power to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. We do not support unilateralism that further entrenches us in a system that doesn’t work for our people or Canada. The answers lie in our communities and with our citizens, not with more control from Ottawa.”

Valcourt told reporters on March 27 that C-27 represents “an important step” toward First Nations’ self-sufficiency, and would help assure outside investors their money is well managed.

“In our quest for self-sufficiency and economic development, we have a whole youth there that is waiting [for] training and getting the skills they need to get the jobs that are available and can be available for them,” he said. “Investors need the assurance there is accountability and transparency. That’s why I believe this is an important step for First Nations all across Canada.”