Treaty Tribes of Western Washington and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC)
Sarah Kowalski
Squaxin Island Tribe
The State of Our Watershed Report (SOW) is a collaborative project conducted every five years by 20 treaty tribes in western Washington in order to identify the status of environmental health indicators of priority in each region.
Key indicators such as water quality, riparian habitat, shoreline modifications, forest cover, road density and many more are analyzed to determine whether habitat conditions are declining, concerning, or improving in each region.
Analyses are conducted by each tribe using data collected during the five-year period since the previous report, and numerous maps are utilized to both study and demonstrate the changes that are occurring to the landscape in each region.
The final report consists of a 350+ page discussion of the findings and is available online for free download.
A consistent trend identified in the 2020 report is the extensive loss and degradation of habitat, changing climate and ocean conditions threatening salmon, tribal cultures and tribal treaty-reserved rights, wildlife habitat, water quality and western Washington’s economy and quality of life.
Descriptions within each tribe’s watershed review provide an accurate description of the habitat issues each tribe faces.