Natural resources staff representing tribes from across western Washington gathered in the traditional lands of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in early November to share cutting edge research and construction methods to protect, preserve and restore salmon habitat.
The 2025 Tribal Habitat Conference, titled House of the Salmon: Laying the Foundation for Recovery, took place at 7 Cedars Hotel & Casino and several nearby restoration sites, giving attendees an opportunity to learn about the work and see it in action.
“To us, this is not a job. It’s a responsibility. We’re blessed when we can have workers like you that are interested in this field and can do the work hand-in-hand with us,” NWIFC Chairman Ed Johnstone said at the start of the three-day conference.
Attendees learned about a range of ongoing projects and studies. Topics included estuary restoration in the Skagit River delta, dam removal from the Elwha River, strategic logjam placement in the Dungeness River watershed, environmental DNA research in coastal rivers, and floodplain reconnections in the Nooksack River watershed.
Overall, speakers noted that salmon recovery signals are starting to emerge from places where habitat is being rebuilt. But progress is slow, and habitat destruction—from infrastructure development and the impacts of climate change—threatens to continue outpacing the momentum.
“We really haven’t stopped the bleeding,” said Dave Herrera, fisheries and wildlife representative for the Skokomish Indian Tribe and newly elected vice chair of NWIFC.
“Our work is not done,” echoed Correigh Greene, senior scientist at the Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC), a natural resource consortium of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes.
In the Skagit River delta specifically, tribes and partners have worked for years to restore tidally influenced estuary habitat, which is key for juvenile chinook salmon, a population listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. SRSC scientists shared that they are now seeing a delayed indicator of success through smolt-to-adult return ratios.
“Restoration is working to get us adult fish,” said Michael LeMoine, director of SRSC. “We are starting to see the initial positive trends, but not yet recovery.”
This glimmer of progress comes more than a quarter-century since ESA listings were inked for Skagit River chinook and other Puget Sound salmon species. It follows steep harvest reductions and the implementation of tribal hatcheries to bolster diminished fish populations.
“How are we supposed to get to recovery?” posited Donald Kruse, fisheries biologist for Lummi Nation. “We need more habitat.”
Throughout the conference, presentations were given on the effectiveness of various restoration designs, innovations such as assisted plant migration, and the array of challenges salmon face when it comes to water quantity and quality in their home streams.
The third and final day of the conference was dedicated to a restoration tour featuring five of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s project sites in the Dungeness River watershed.
Above: During the 2025 Tribal Habitat Conference tour, Hilton Turnbull, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Habitat Conservation and Restoration Manager, left, describes how salmon habitat within a section of the Dungeness River watershed has improved since logjams were installed. Story and photos by Kimberly Cauvel and Trevor Pyle.
