Introduction
This handbook describes a holistic approach to watershed restoration in the Columbia Basin. It is based on Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit, Spirit of the Salmon, the Columbia Basin treaty tribes' plan for salmon recovery. The fish and wildlife scientific staff of the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama tribal organizations and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) wrote Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit, blending up-to-date science with the wisdom and history of the tribes.
The approach is holistic in several ways: First, by emphasizing the importance of the entire watershed to well-functioning rivers and streams. Second, by combining the science of ecology and traditional Native American understanding and respect for the natural world. And third, by including healthy human communities as part of healthy landscapes.
"The land is part of us." "There is a deep connection between where we live and who we are." These are themes heard frequently when tribal elders speak about watershed restoration and bringing the salmon back to the rivers of the Columbia Basin. To them, salmon restoration is not just a matter of deciding the economic, political, and scientific issues and getting to work-it's also about cultural values, spiritual practices, and ultimately about what it means to be human.
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People Create Their Landscapes |
"The tribes always treated water as a medicine because it nourished the life of the earth, flushing poisons out of humans, other creatures and the land. We knew that to be productive, water must be kept pure. When water is kept cold and clean, it takes care of the salmon." Levi Holt-Nez Perce Former CRITFC Commissioner |
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People Create Their Landscapes Landscapes are not just places we see, the tribal elders tell us. They contain stories, memories, gifts from the creator. Landscapes also show, without words, how humans relate to the natural world. Almost everything we do affects our landscapes. The Columbia Basin landscapes Lewis and Clark saw were richly peopled. They were also managed by indigenous people, who took action to maintain the natural resources they relied on. Some of these actions were symbolic-returning the first salmon caught in the spring to the river so that more would follow-and some were pragmatic-setting fires to create clearings for huckleberries and other important food plants. |
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Woman picking huckleberries 5 |
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Huckleberries, cedar, willow, aspen, salmon and other fish, bear, deer, lamprey, eagle, lomatium, balsamroot-all these supported native populations in the tens of thousands in the Columbia Basin. In return, the people believed they must treat their fellow creatures and the gifts of the earth with respect. First harvest always included prayers of thanks, and parents taught their children not to waste what they hunted or gathered. Now the Columbia Basin landscapes tell us very different stories. They show the effects of decisions to harness water for electricity; to straighten rivers to make farmland; to drain marshes and build cities; to grow livestock to feed large populations. The rain falls on human settlements and runs off into the streams in ways never dreamed of when the salmon were so numerous they turned the rivers red. And the fish must live in the runoff. |
"Salmon was presented to me and my family through our religion as our brother. The same with the deer. And our sisters are the roots and berries. And you would treat them as such. Their life to you is just as valuable as another person would be." Margaret Saluskin, Yakama |
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"Rivers cannot be separated in theory or practice from the lands they drain." Consensus of biologists and river specialists(Stanford et al., 1996) |
The rivers are the distillate of the watershed. Without well-functioning uplands to catch the rain, absorb it, and pass it slowly along, there cannot be healthy rivers, and, ultimately, there cannot be flourishing salmon. |
Salmon-Both Strong and Vulnerable
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Click on the picture to the left to follow the salmon through its life cycle. |
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After 1 to 7 years in the ocean, the adult salmon that have survived countless hazards from predators, ocean conditions, and commercial harvest return to the Columbia River and head for their home streams. 4 |
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Pacific salmon are a genus-Oncorhyncus-that includes several species-chinook, sockeye, coho, chum, pink salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout. These species are anadromous (they spend part of their lives in freshwater and part in saltwater). Salmon life histories vary enormously, and that is part of their strength in adapting to varied conditions within a large region.
Some Northwest salmon begin their migration downstream soon after emerging from the gravel, while others stay near their natal streams up to two years. Some travel as far north as the Bering Sea, or as far south as northern Mexico. Others stay within 200 miles or so of the coast. At some point all head back toward their natal streams to spawn.
Although their ability to find their natal streams is impressive, a certain number of salmon will "stray" to spawn in nearby locations that have the right conditions. This flexibility allows salmon to recolonize previously blocked areas and contributes to their survival over millennia and changing environmental conditions.
Within the last century, however, Pacific salmon have faced challenges from human activities that exceed their strength and ability to adapt. A survey in 1991 found that 106 stocks of Pacific coast salmon were already extinct, and 214 stocks were at risk of extinction.
(Nehlsen, et al., 1991) In the Columbia Basin, many wild Snake River salmon stocks are listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened or endangered. Upper Columbia River steelhead are listed as endangered, lower Columbia steelhead as threatened, and most other Columbia River stocks are candidates for listing.The strength and flexibility of the salmon that return is prodigious, but dams, predators, pollutants, degraded habitat, and commercial, sport, and tribal fishers take their toll. If we don't reduce the human causes of salmon mortality, we may see the end of these species in our lifetime. Restoring freshwater habitat is a major part of the task.
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Salmon Corps crew helping Warm Springs Fish and Wildlife Department set up monitoring station for juvenile salmonids. 6 |
Can We Create Landscapes Healthy for All?
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"I was interested in watershed restoration because I wanted to be more efficient in managing the land and I wanted to improve my bottom line. The other part was that I love the land. And to see the progress you make out of the land, you'd have to be hard core not to get a thrill out of it." Dan Carver, Rancher, Shaniko, Oregon. |
Healthy watersheds in the Columbia Basin will benefit everyone-not just salmon, but other fish and wildlife and human populations, too. On the principle of planning for the seventh generation, tribal land managers hope to create sustainable economic returns within healthy watersheds, instead of maximizing profits and leaving behind scorched earth. This goal is shared by many other landowners within the "ceded lands"-the 40 million acres ceded by the Columbia Basin treaty tribes to the United States in the Treaties of 1855.
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While the Nez Perce and Confederated Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama nations or tribes gave up ownership of the ceded lands, they retained permanent rights to hunting, fishing, and gathering in all the "usual and accustomed places" outside the reservations but within their traditional territories. It is strongly in their interest to help other landowners-whether they are private individuals or federal or state agencies-to maintain the health and productivity of the ceded lands. The tribes contribute technical staff time and other resources to watershed restoration within the Columbia Basin.
"Good sense, good science, good partnerships, good results"-that is the prescription for successful watershed restoration coined by Donald Sampson, a Umatilla tribal member with an education in fisheries science and manager of the watershed department of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. This handbook follows that prescription, describing each component in some detail. We believe that by working together the people of the Columbia Basin can create a new landscape based on a shared vision of bounty for all-fish, wildlife, rivers, and people.
The following sections contain the basic information needed to start work in our watersheds to improve the waters and restore a bountiful and beautiful landscape.
