U.s. Department of the Interior

Coast Salish and U.s. Geological Survey 2009 Tribal Journey Water-quality Project U.s. Department of the Interior

In July 2009, the Coast Salish People and U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a second water-quality study of the Salish Sea to investigate the Coast Salish ancestral waters and the response of coastal environments to climate change and land-use impacts. The ancestral waters of the Coast Salish People, the Salish Sea, constitute a large inland sea contained within the United States (Puget Sound) and British Columbia, Canada (Georgia Strait). The Salish Sea is home to more than 220 species of fish, 29 species of marine mammals, more than 40 species of commercially and recreationally harvested invertebrates, and numerous resident and migratory bird species (Washington Sea Grant Program, 2000). Unfortunately, at least 60 of these marine-based species are listed as threatened, endangered or of concern (Fraser and others, 2006). Many of these species sustained Coast Salish for millennia and are of essential cultural importance. Forecasts of climate change and urban population increase across the Pacific Northwest suggest that the Salish Sea may experience significant change in ways we do not fully understand and are not currently able to predict.