Food Systems, Conservation, and Climate Change Nicole Charley Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, Tribal Member & Traditional Food Gatherer Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Salmon Berries Water Game First Foods Roots
Tribal Perspectives on Climate Change: - History of Tribal Fisheries - Effects of Climate Change - Hatchery Intervention
the right of taking fish at all usual and accustomed places, in common with the citizens of the Territory, and of erecting temporary buildings for curing them: together with the privilege of hunting, gathering roots and berries... 1855 Treaty with the Yakima
CRITFC Mission & Vision: The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission coordinates management policy and provides fisheries technical services for the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce tribes. CRITFC s mission is to ensure a unified voice in the overall management of the fishery resources, and as managers, to protect reserved treaty rights through the exercise of the inherent sovereign powers of the tribes. www.critfc.org
http://www.critfc.org/fish-and- watersheds/climate-change/climate-change- strategies/
Grand Coulee Dworshak Hells Canyon US Corps of Engineers dam Other dam US Bureau of Reclamation dam
~17,000,000 millions of fish 1,754,334 Salmon decline Returning Columbia River salmon (chinook, steelhead, sockeye, coho)
Four Tribes Ceded Lands Combined 66,591 square miles More than 25% of the entire Columbia Basin 55% of the rivers and streams that are still accessible to salmon Yakama Nez Perce Includes almost all of the salmon habitat above Bonneville Dam Warm Springs Umatilla 13
4000 ft Nez Perce: 46% Umatilla: 84% Warm Springs: 69% Yakama: 86% Land elevations Percent of tribal ceded lands below the 4,000 ft threshold
Daytime air temperature change (1906-2006)
Nighttime air temperature change (1906-2006)
Precipitation change (1906-2006)
Change in spring/summer flow
7.9 days earlier 1.9 days earlier 6.4 days earlier 0-2.9 days earlier 3-6.9 days earlier 7-9.9 days earlier 10+ days earlier 9.5 days earlier 14.2 days earlier 12.6 days earlier 5.7 days earlier 8.4 days earlier 5 days earlier 10.7 days earlier 6.6 days earlier Change in median flow date
Current Issues Summer water temperatures often affect adult salmon migration Warmer winter water incubates redds earlier Invasive warm water species Weather patterns are becoming more extreme and variable Melting arctic permafrost is releasing methane, accelerating global warming effects Amount of climate change seems to be accelerating
Effects on the Northwest Summer temperatures: +0.8 to +3.8ºF (2020), +1.4 to +5.4 (2040). Precipitation: -4% to +7%. Snow packs continue to decline. Streams have less summer flow, more winter flow, and are warmer. More and longer droughts. Increased inundation and erosion of coasts. More forest fires and pest infestations. Ocean acidification.
Tribal Hatchery Supplementation Program Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery 18
Wild Hatchery Benefit of hatcheries egg-to-smolt survival 19
Draft Management Escapement Goal (39,100 Adults) First Adult Returns from Supplementation NOAA s Viability Abundance Threshold (3,000 Adults) Fall Chinook Estimated Escapement to Lower Granite Dam 38
Benefits of Supplementation By expanding the tribal objectives for upriver hatchery programs and maintaining the mitigation responsibility: We will make progress towards salmon recovery We will help maintain culturally and economically important salmon fisheries that benefit everyone in the region We will contribute to ecosystem health
River Level at The Dalles Lower Summer Flow Flow Pushed Earlier in the Year 22
Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit Spirit of the Salmon - 1995 Goal of 4 million salmon returning by 2020
Tribal Elders taught us: If we take care of the salmon, the salmon will take care of us.
Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Tribes & Climate Change program http://www4.nau.edu/tribalclimatechange/index.asp Earth's climate is changing as a result of human practices-that fact is no longer in dispute. Climate change is impacting people and ecosystems around the world. What does this mean for tribes and Native American communities who have for centuries relied on the bounty of the land and sea to sustain them? On this website we provide information and resources tailored to helping Native people gain a better understanding of climate change and its impacts on their communities. Here you'll find basic climate-change information; profiles of tribes in diverse regions of the U.S., including Alaska, who are coping with climate change impacts; audio files of elders discussing the issue from traditional perspectives; and resources and contacts you can use to develop climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Soon we'll also provide an open forum where you can share your ideas and views on climate change with others. As the science of climate change expands, we will continue to update and refine this website to provide the best, most-current information possible. We will also continue to gather and share tribal perspectives and strategies for dealing with climate change.
Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Project Pathways for collaboration and information sharing - research, resource development and policy engagement
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation: First Foods Root peeling. Source: Benjamin Drummond and Sara Steele - Facing Climate Change: Stories from the Pacific Northwest - http://bdsjs.com/facing-climate-change/
Tribal Engagement in Northwest Climate Initiatives: NW Climate Science Center and North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Considerations Tribal participation in climate research, policy and planning will contribute to solutions that fully consider tribal environmental and cultural values. Climate change won t adhere to jurisdictional boundaries between tribal, private, state and federal lands. Government-togovernment relationships and collaboration are vital to moving forward. Daniel Wildcat and Larry Merculieff 2012 UO Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples Conference
Questions? Kathy Lynn - PNW Tribal Climate Change Project http://tribalclimate.uoregon.edu kathy@uoregon.edu 541-346-5777
31