Program

2025 Tribal Habitat Conference

November 4-6, 2025

Hosted by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

7 Cedars Resort
Sequim, Washington

8:00-9:00 am Registration. Breakfast available in Blyn-Bay.

8:55 am Adjourn to the main conference in Club 7 through breezeway.

Block #1 : Welcome & Context
9:00 am	Opening and Blessing	Councilmember Ricky Johnson, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe
9:20 am	Conference Purpose and Overview	Fran Wilshusen, NWIFC
9:40 am	History of the Salmon Recovery Plan Chapters	Dave Herrera, Skokomish Indian Tribe

10:00-10:15 am Morning break

Block #2: Effectiveness and Adaptive Management
10:15 am	Population responses of Chinook salmon to two decades of restoration of estuary nursery habitat	Correigh Greene, Skagit River System Cooperative
10:45 am	Effects of cumulative estuary restoration on salmon population survival	Mike LeMoine, Skagit River System Cooperative
11:05 am	Relative effectiveness of restoration types: a 24-year summary of juvenile Chinook Salmon response to different restoration designs in the Skagit estuary	Kathleen McKeegan, Skagit River System Cooperative
11:20 am	Evaluating the Effectiveness of WSDOT’s Meander Bar Design in Culverts for fish passage	Martin Fox, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe - Fisheries Division
11:50 am	Assisted Migration Best Management Practices for Habitat Restoration Projects	Brenda Clifton, Skagit River System Cooperative

12:30-1:30 pm Lunch available in Blyn-Bay.

1:25 pm Return to Club 7 for afternoon talks.

Block #3: Ongoing Challenges
1:30 pm	Salmon Habitat Restoration and FEMA Floodplain Compliance: Challenges and Solutions	Lindsie Fratus-Thomas, Nooksack Indian Tribe
2:15 pm	Habitat impacts of proposed hydrokinetic tidal turbines in the Salish Sea	Galen Priest and Heather Spore, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
3:00 pm	Impacts of pre-spawn mortality (PSM) events on population recovery of spring Chinook in the South Fork Nooksack River, WA	Don Kruse, Lummi Nation

3:20-3:35 pm Afternoon break

Block #4: Implementation Progress
3:35 pm	Restoring Floodplains in the Skokomish Valley	Joseph Pavel - Skokomish Indian Tribe
3:50 pm	Reach tailored designs - project comparison	Kelley Turner, Lummi Nation Natural Resources
4:20 pm	Effect of habitat connectivity on densities of juvenile Chinook Salmon fry rearing in the Skagit River delta	Matthew Nelson, Skagit River System Cooperative
4:35 pm	Elwha River Post Dam Removal Update (including habitat restoration, fish in/fish out monitoring, recovery by species, and Ceremonial and Subsistence Fishery	Jamie Michel, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

5:30-7:00 pm Poster Session in Blyn-Bay.

*Hors d’oeuvres and no-host bar available

Dinner on your own

8:00-9:00 am Registration. Breakfast available in Blyn-Bay.

8:55 am Adjourn to the main conference in Club 7 through breezeway.

Block #5: Jamestown Block
9:00 am	Opening remarks	Randy Lumper, NWIFC
9:10 am	Dungeness River restoration and salmon recovery	Randy Johnson, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Natural Resources
10:20 am	Screening John Gussman film, beneath quiet waters	Introduced by Randy Johnson, Jamestown S’Klallam
10:30 am	Population trends and status	Aaron Brooks, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Natural Resources

11:00-11:15 am Morning break

Block #6: Keynote
11:15 am	Co-Management of the Dungeness and Protection Island National Wildlife Refuges	Fawn Wagner, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

12:30-1:30 pm Lunch available in Blyn-Bay

Block #7: Long-term Monitoring & Data Gaps
1:30 pm	Beaver ecology in the Skagit and Snohomish deltas	Greg Hood, Skagit River System Cooperative
2:00 pm	Long-Term Stream Temperature Monitoring: Dynamics and Projections	Hanna Brush, Suquamish Tribe Department of Natural Resources
2:20 pm	Where is the boundary between stream and floodplain? Juvenile salmon in alluvial fans	Catherine Austin, Skagit River System Cooperative
2:50 pm	Coastal Watershed Assessment Project update and a call for a Tribal eDNA strategy	John Hagan, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

3:15-3:30 pm Afternoon break

Block #8: Tribal Habitat Strategy
3:30 pm	Update to the Tribal Habitat Strategy – Floodplains, Riparian, Nearshore, Water, Marine	NWIFC Topic Leads Eliza Ghitis, Marlene Wagner, Ash Roorbach, Randy Lumper, Marissa Paulling, and Nick Tealer
4:00 pm	Panel Q&A	Moderator Cecilia Gobin
4:45 pm	Closing	Dave Herrera

Dinner on your own

8:00-9:00 am Breakfast available in Blyn-Bay.
Please note: There will be no snacks or lunch provided on the field trip.

9:00 am-1:15 pm Reconnecting estuary and floodplain habitat field trip, to take place in three groups (Pink, Coho, Chinook)