KUOW posted up a story this morning about the importance of shorelines in restoring Puget Sound. David Troutt, the natural resources director for the Nisqually Tribe, gave a perspective on how current restoration efforts relate to the tribes’ treaty reserved rights:
Tribal officials say whatever the political difficulties, restoring Puget Sound shorelines and the fish that depend on them isn’t a choice. It’s an obligation under treaties signed before Washington was a state. David Troutt with the Nisqually Tribe directed his remarks to government officials at the recent Puget Sound Partnership meeting.
Troutt: “Part of the deal is we wouldn’t shoot all of you, and we’d be able to fish. We haven’t shot a lot of you in a long time, and we’re not fishing, so our end of the deal isn’t being held up here. We need to have that deal recognized, that this really is something that you guaranteed us, and we need to see that guarantee fulfilled.”
