Puyallup Tribe opposes expanded hunt on weak elk herd

The Puyallup Tribe of Indians is opposing a proposed expanded hunt on the fewer than 1,000-animal herd. To decrease the number of human and elk interactions, the State of Washington is proposing an expanded hunt on antlerless elk along state Route 12 between Packwood and Morton. An expanded harvest on the South Rainier elk herd could cause the weak elk population to crash. The herd’s target population is more than 2,100, according to the tribal and state co-managers.

Puget Sound Treaty Indian Tribes, Shellfish Growers Reach Pact

OLYMPIA (May 18, 2007) – Puget Sound treaty Indian tribes and commercial shellfish growers have finalized an agreement that will protect and enhance the resource while resolving legal issues from a federal court ruling that re-affirmed treaty-reserved tribal shellfish harvest rights.

The pact resolves lingering legal issues from a 1994 federal court ruling that upheld the tribes’ treaty-reserved shellfish harvest rights. The agreement preserves the health of the shellfish industry, recognizes the importance to the tribes of their shellfish harvest rights and provides greater shellfish harvest opportunities for everyone in the state.