The Kistap Sun reported recently that the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and Puget Sound Restoration Fund are working together to restore kelp and oyster beds in Port Gamble Bay. Shellfish are important to the tribe, both culturally and economically.
S’Klallam tribe chairman Jeromy Sullivan said putting resources back into the bay is a vital way to maintain the health of future tribal members.
“I want our home to be the cleanest place possible. I know it’s not going to happen in my lifetime, but in my child’s (life) and grandchildren,” Sullivan said.
Tribal members frequently rely on resources from the bay for uses beyond sustenance, he added. Tribal members use kelp from the bay to retain heat at clam bakes like Friday’s event, for example, though paper was used this time because a high tide prevented harvesting.
