Fraser Columbia 09-22-2011

8/3/2019 Fraser Columbia 09-22-2011

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Can Traditional Indigenous

Cultural Practices and Knowledge

Assist in Adaptation to Rapid Climate Disruption

andHelp Salmon Recovery

in the

Rivers of the Fraser-Columbia Plateau

and

Coastal Pacific Northwest?

Dennis MartinezIndigenous Peoples Restoration Network (IPRN)\Society for Ecological Restoration International (SERI)

Indigenous Peoples Biocultural Climate Change Assessment Initiative (IPCCA)

Takelma Intertribal Project

PNW Society of Wetland Scientists and Society for Ecological Restoration

May 2-4, 2006________________________Vancouver, Washington_________________________

Revised September 19, 2011

Traditional Ecological Knowledge Conference

Humboldt State University

September 22, 2011

Arcata, California


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Salmon without Rivers, Jim Lichatowich

Fraser and Columbia River Basins

(Source: Dorie Brownwell, Interrain Pacific)

, pg 171


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Salmon Nation, Ecotrust, ,pg 44


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Contrasting Restoration Efforts

on the

Fraser and Columbia Rivers The Fraser and Columbia are the two largest watersheds

in the PNW, together draining 343,000 sq. miles. TheFraser is noted for its sockeye runs; the Columbia was

noted for its chinook runs (historically producing morechinook, coho, and steelhead than any other river in theworld)

Restoration efforts on the Fraser emphasized scientificresearch on migration routes, etc. while refining counting

methods, but science was given low priority on theColumbia, where dams were built and money was putinto hatcheriesan example of American techno-optimism(Lichatowich, 1999)


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Results of Salmonid Restoration Efforts

on theFraser and Columbia Rivers

Fraser River sockeye runs increased (from 3.3 million in1949 to 22 million in 1990)

Columbia River chinook crashed from historical runs of 8to 10 million to 450,000 in 1993 Hatchery production on the Columbia was ineffective in

making up for changing ocean conditions (beginning in1976); hatchery fish are more vulnerable to unproductive

ocean conditions Performance of salmon in the ocean is not independent

of human manipulation of the fresh water phase of theirlives(Lichatowich, 1999)


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Changing Ocean Conditions

Changes in ocean currents can reduce abundance of phytoplanktonthat support fish species that salmon prey on

E.g., if springtime ocean currents change, the advantages of mixingof cold deeper waters with shallow warmer waters that provide coldwater nutrients to phytoplankton will be lost and salmon health will

deteriorate

Global warming/El Nio events can shift fish runs to the north, asmay have happened with the unusually high numbers of sockeye in2010 returning to the Fraser River (Canadian northern route) and

bypassing US southern route


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The Missing Sockeye of 1994

14 million sockeye returned to the Fraser River in 1988 and 22million in in 1990, but the 1994 run was nearly obliterated: 2 million

sockeye (of 3.3 million estimated salmon) were lost and fisheries

were closed down. Fishing quotas had been set at 80% and nearly

caused zero reproduction

Tribal poachers and logging were blamed. A complete ban ontribal fishing was proposed (although tribes accounted for < 5% of

salmon taken annually). Sockeye runs in the late 90s and 2000s

were well below the 1980s until 2010.

Lesson: While Canadian fisheries practices were better managedmore holistic with an ecosystem management approach and with

science guiding the processchanges in ocean conditions were not

well understood and still are not


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Just Fish, Ed. Coward, 2000, pg 84


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Salmon is an Eco-cultural Keystone Species

At least 12,000 (probably 10s of thousands) years of use byindigenous peoples of Pacific Northwest of thousands of salmonstocks

Salmon Homecoming Ceremony celebrates social harmonybetween humans and salmonand all our relatives in the naturalworldbetween Ocean and Forest, Upland Watershed and RiverineAquatic Habitat

Quexim (Lomatiumnudicaule), in Indian stories and SalmonHomecoming Ceremonieswhere smoke was original salmon foodsymbolized the connection between Forest and Ocean

Salmon was chosen as a focal speciesan indicator of ecosystemintegrity and healthby the 1993 Clinton Northwest Forest Plan


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Historical Eco-cultural Richness of the PNW

Recent research suggests that the social andcultural richness of Pacific Northwest tribes wasthe result in part of sophisticated political and

legal systems linked to sophisticated resourcemanagement and harvest technologies

A stable food supply was ensured by thedeliberate spread of salmon and enhancedcomplexity of habitats by First Nations peoples-increasing salmon abundance, diversity, anddistribution(Nigel Haggan, UBC fisheries Centre, 2004)


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Native People Cared for Salmonid Freshwater Habitat

Given the uncertainty of oceanic conditions, Nativepeople had to work hard at maintaining quality salmonstream habitat

Spawning beds were cleaned and log jams removed followinglarge storms

Sandspits blocking late summer/fall chinook runs were opened Trees were felled to divert stream water into side channels

creating backeddies for overwintering coho or to flush sedimentfrom spawning beds

Salmon spawn were transplanted in damp moss to streams withno or few salmon

Salmon were flumed or carried around landslides or iceblockages (this happened most recently in 1914 following thehuge slide on the Fraser River at Hells Gate canyonsavingsockeye runs)


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Other conservation measures included:

Complex stone fishtraps for a wide range of marinespecies (including herring, eulachon, and perch)which were species and size specific (Herring wasand still is farmed on submerged hemlock boughs)(Nigel Haggan, 2004)

Use of weirs at river mouths to count and thencontrol harvestable fish before allowing them upriverto their natal spawning streams and other tribes

Regulation of fishing times, places, and gear basedon a sophisticated understanding of salmonreproductive biology and genetics


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Celilo Falls

Photo Courtesy Ecotrust, USA


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Number: HP068625

Geographic Region: SQUAMISH-LILLOOET

Title: Native fisherman with dip net, fishing for Salmon.

Photographer/Artist: UNDETERMINED Date: 194-?


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Pre-contact fishing technology

Intertidal Fish Trapat Evans Inlet, KingIsland, BC.

Photo Anthony PomeroyDepartment of Archaeology SimonFraser University


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Intertidal Beach trap near Bella BellaPhoto: Elroy White


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Salmon

Hook

Royal British

Museum

British Columbia

Archives


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Seining at Namu CreekRoyal British Museum\British Columbia Archives


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Royal BritishMuseum

British ColumbiaArchives


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Royal British Museum

British ColumbiaArchives


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Local Control Over Local Resources

These and other conservation measures were sustainablymaintained by a land tenure system which divided fisheries andother marine resources (e.g. farmed clam beds) into units of localresponsibility and harvesting rights by individuals, families, andclans nested within a larger, collective tribal authority structurethrough which experienced knowledge specialists had the lastword on harvest regulation and rights during times of regional orseasonal shortages of particular runs

Fishing at the mouths of rivers and streams allowed accurate fishcounts, with quotas for use based on the relative abundance of

different fish runs

Trading between families of different salmon species ensured adiverse food supply and good nutrition (Nigel Haggan, 2004)


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Adaptation to Climate Change

Adaptation to climate change will depend in large part in

the futureas it did for millennia with aboriginal fisheries

on a wide range of practical aquatic and terrestrialrestoration and conservation measures which in sum

enhance the genetic diversity of salmon by maintaining

high enough population numbers of all 5 salmonid

species to ensure genetic adaptability to warming

oceans and rivers.

[Those practical activities will be discussed in detail in the 2nd half of this

presentation]


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Adapting the Indigenous ecosystem-based model to modern

conditions in complementarity with Western science

Adopt a holistic fisheries ecosystem managementstrategyinstead of single species population modeling

addressing restoration in both upland terrestrial(watershed) and riverine and estuarine-marine habitat

Work toward a site-specific local (community-based)regulatory structurelocal responsibility for localresourcesnested within larger tribal, regional, and state

\national structures, e.g. New England / Newfoundland

lobster harvesters


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Use fishing gear which is species and size specific Favor natural regeneration of wild salmon stocks over hatchery fish where possible Find a balanced number of transferable license quotas and buy-backs of licenses by

governments (e.g. Canada) to encourage local access and control of local resources and

achieve distributive social justice while reducing fishing pressure on salmon. No open

access, but some constraints on transferable quotas needed to reduce social disruption.

(Coward et al, 2000; Berrill, 1997)

Utilize both Western science and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). Local knowledgeprovides important information on stock structure, spawning grounds, juvenile habitat,

and seasonal and directional fish movements.

Scrap maximum sustainable yield model in favor of whole ecosystem\multispeciesmanagement (Iceland and Norway are already doing so)feasible in relatively simplecold ocean systems

No to No Net Loss salmon recoveryuse historically reconstructed baseline modelsinstead of just going with current population numbers as a baseline, e.g. target salmon

numbers lost to habitat destruction and dams instead of comparing cost of hatcheries vs.

income from fishing as a metric of sustainability


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Ecosystem Management at the Watershed

Level and Climate Change Adaptation

Broad Goals

1. Maintain or restore key aquatic and riparian habitatstructure, composition, and processes (e.g. hydrologicfunction) affecting all organismsnot just fish (e.g.

invertebrate species richness: 196 terrestrial vertebratespecies, besides fish, utilize streamside macro-invertebrates)

2. Maintain or restore key upland forest structure,composition, and function with a broad range of light-shade conditions where possible by approachinghistorical tree stocking rates, landscape configuration,and composition to the extent possible given changedlandscape scale environmental conditions


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Ecocultural Restoration

The process of recovering as much as is recoverable of the key

historic precontact ecosystem structure, composition, processes,

and function, along with traditional, time-tested, ecologically

appropriate and sustainable Indigenous cultural practices that

helped shape ecosystems, while simultaneously building-in

resilience to future rapid climate disruptions and other

environmental changes in order to maintain ecological integrity in

a way that ensures the survival of both Indigenous ecosystems

and cultures


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Mimicking Native American Fire Regimes in their

Intensity, Frequency, Seasonality, Selectivity, and

Landscape Scale Pattern

The 100s of plant species utilized by First Nations

required a watershed level fire regime based on

periodic, low-intensity burns done rotationally at afrequency of from one to 10 or 15 years depending

on the resource targeted and its phenologyapplied

to a wide variety of plant communities rich in cultural

resources, including forest herbaceous understories,

montane meadows, prairie-savanna, wetlands,shrub-steppe, and riparian zones

(Turner, 2005)


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Forgotten Fires, Omer C. Stewart, edited by Henry T. Lewis and M. Kat Anderson, 2002


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Burning Beargrass Patch


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Erosion Mitigation Measures

Minimize erosion by substituting mechanical thinning forfire in erodible soils (e.g. granitic soils) near streams

Dont thin or burn on steep (over 60%) slopes nearstreamsbalance those kinds of closed areas withadjoining opens and gaps on less steep and erodibleslopes for overall watershed structural heterogeneity

Phase out roads and recontour slopes\restore naturaldrainage patterns by using outsloped roads instead of

inboard ditches and culverts to restore historic hydrology


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Aim High

Avoid shifting baselines by referring climate

adaptation and mitigation goals to historical

conditions (Hardison and Williams, Tulalip Tribe, 2005; Haggan, 2004)

as an initial guide for restorationthat will be

modified by todays changed conditions but will alsoset a restoration trajectory that recovers the

historical range of variability of forest landscape

heterogeneity for sufficient microsite variability to

ensure genetic variability (a diverse gene pool) for

adaptation of populations and subspecies to rapidclimate destabilization and change

For Tribes: Assisted regeneration instead of assisted

migration


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Global Warming Induced Changed Weather and Oceanic

Conditions in the Pacific Northwest

Current Ecohydrologic Conditions

Winter season reduced by roughly 2 months Longer warm fall rains and shorter spring snowmelt More precipitation falls as rain than snow, reducing snowpack Snow melts more rapidly and earlier in spring, resulting in higher peak

flows

Increased flows increase erosion and floods that deliver higher sedimentloads, nutrient loads, and contaminants in downstream receiving waters,

causing scouring and sedimentation; reduces infiltration and capacity of

wetlands and riparian vegetation to filter nutrients and toxins in runoff(Hardison and Williams, 2004)

Earlier snow melts are causing water to be available up to ~ 2 months before thenormal times of salmon arrival

Ocean acidification is reducing available calcium for shellfish and juvenile bonedevelopment of some fish species


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Temperature Alterations

Loss of forest cover from clearcut logging has resulted inless stream shading and faster spring runoff; removal of

large logs has resulted in poor stream structurewithfew or no deep pools for summer cooling

Warm water induces whirly disease in salmon andincreases their susceptibility to other aquatic diseases(Hardison and Williams, 2004)

Loss of groupings of tall old-growth trees has reducedhumidity in forests with increased drying of forestunderstories, overstocked smaller trees and ladder fuels

resulting in increased fire hazard


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Species Range Shifts

As oceans warm, salmon have no place to go but north,e.g. sockeye salmon may move to the Bering Sea.(Haggan, 2004)

The extremely rapid rate of climate change could trapterrestrial species which may have a wide ecologicalamplitude but have genetically fixed times forreproduction and feeding resulting in population declinesand loss of tribal resources. (Hardison and Williams, 2004)

Evolutionary opportunities will increase for invasivegeneralist species and decrease for more conservativespecies


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Balancing Carbon Sequestration with Restoration of

Biodiversity and Fire Hazard Reduction

Use variable density thinning model (Lindenmayer and Franklin, 2002)to create structural and compositional heterogeneity

Thin to release permanent old-growth softwoods and hardwoodsforreducing fire hazard and for future understory moisture retention andcarbon sequestration both in trees and in soil organic matter/legacy

charcoal, enhanced by forest openings which support rich perennial

herbaceous and fern understories

Structure longterm timber harvest rotations (120 years or longer) andfuture permanent old-growth trees in groupings which provide a widerange of light-shade conditions appropriate to the forest typefor

biodiversity, species composition, and gene pool restoration (facilitated

by enough spacing between tree groupings to allow good gene flow)


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Restoring Forest Hydrologic Function to Benefit

Salmonid Aquatic Habitat

Remove sufficient number of smaller treesespecially invasive shadetolerant conifers in interior coastal mountainsto reduce

evapotranspiration and increase groundwater quantity

Restore beavers for groundwater recharge and increased fish diversity,abundance, health and juvenile survival

Increase soil infiltration capacity by creating openings and gapsandmaintaining montane meadowswhich support long-lived herbaceous

perennials such as native bunchgrasses with extensive root systems

which can loosen compacted soils in the appropriate plant

communities. Native grasslands are a good underground carbon sink.

Greater water quantity translates into greater water quality forsalmonids


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Stem-exclusion stand with stocking rate of > 3700\ ha (1500\ac). Virtually no

understory herbaceous vegetation. Douglas-fir still dominant but grand firfuture potential dominant. Thinning prescription favored Douglas-fir

\hardwood over grand fir.


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Thinning prescription integrated restoration of forest health with fuels reduction to lowerfire hazard. To prepare for later broadcast burning:

Ladder fuels removed Lower branches removed > 50% light achieved by favoring tree group spacing of varying sizes Slash piling to be burned later or left for wildlife Duff raked away from sensitive leave trees like pine to avoid killing feeder roots Thinnings from 3.5 to 10 (top-end) salvaged with portable Economizer Mill


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Flame lengths under one meter


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Native grass seeds

Sitka brome, Columbia brome, and California brome (Bromuscarianatus) sowed in ashes of burn piles and broadcast burns.Heavy seeding rate of 40lbs/acre (16 lbs/ha)


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Early spring native grass growth from fall-sowed seed in broadcast

burn areas.


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Early fall native grass growth in same location.

Merging over 6 years of original patches.


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Before Thinning


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After thinning in same location


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Nearly 1-meter high native grasses adjacent to area in previous photo


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Traditional Salmon Roast Makes Happy PeoplePhoto courtesy of Craig Jacobson\Ecotrust USA


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Will we see this size

of salmon again?

Photo courtesy of

Nigel Haggan

Fraser Columbia 09-22-2011

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