Northwest Sailors Promote Environmental Stewardship

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Scott A. McCall, Navy Public Affairs Support Element, Det. Northwest

INDIAN ISLAND, Wash. (NNS) -- Sailors from Navy Region Northwest helped local Native American tribes seed 3 million manila clams along the beaches of Naval Magazine (NAVMAG) Indian Island Aug. 9-11.

The seeding project is part of a larger agreement between the Navy and the local Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest to recognize the tribes' rights and satisfy the Navy's mission requirements while sharing shorelines.

This particular project is a seeding mitigation effort related to the installation of a port protection security barrier for the ships and submarines, said Bill Kalina, NAVMAG Indian Island environmental site manager.

"We entered into a 10-year memorandum agreement to seed their tribal beaches, so the money they lose from crab and shrimp is recuperated down here with clam," said Kalina. "This is a beach that they would normally harvest from for manila clams."

The seeding process improves clam growth density, allowing the tribes to harvest heavier bags of clam.

"It's like stocking a fish lake," said Kalina. "You can go to fish a lake and you'll catch a few fish. You stock it and you can catch tons of fish."

Six beaches on Indian Island have been labeled as tribal harvest beaches, allowing the tribes to seed and harvest those particular beaches every year of the agreement. The tribes will "farm" more than an acre a year, checking on the clams every year until they're ready to be harvested, which usually takes about three years, said Kalina.

"It's like farming crops," said Kalina. "You rotate your crops. It's the same thing at the beach. This is actually shellfish aqua culture."

This year, the project started Aug. 1. For three days, tribal members and Navy personnel staked out predator nets along the beach. Then Aug. 9, they began seeding the protected areas.

"There are ducks and crab that like to come in and eat the baby clam, so these nets provide a higher rate of survival," said Kalina.

The opening of Indian Island's beaches allows tribes to harvest shellfish, such as the clams seeded this week, for the purpose of subsistence.

"It helps a lot because the tribal members harvest commercially for their existence and for ceremonies, so the more resources available for them is the extra income," said Viviane Barry, shellfish program manager Suquamish Fisheries Department.

"It's a tradition that's been going on for thousands of years," said Barry. "Tribes have been living off the tide lands in Washington State and it's a tradition that they want to continue."

Indian Island has had a long-standing relationship with the local tribes. The installation has partnered with the tribes for decades to mutually agree on policies and procedures to achieve both the Navy's mission as well as preserve the tribes' cultural traditions and harvesting rights even before any federal requirement or mitigation were discussed, Kalina said.

"They're water people and we're a water mission agency, so we have that in common," said Kalina. "We can keep the Navy running and supply the fleet with ordnance and weapon storage here, but we can also maintain the eco-system here and provide the tribes here harvest treaty rights."

In 2003, the Navy established the Northwest Navy-Tribal Council, which provides a means for ongoing collaboration between the Navy and 24 federally recognized tribes in Washington State, according to Kalina. The Navy and tribes share unique federal "usual and accustomed" shoreline rights in the Puget Sound area. Mitigation projects -- like clam-seeding at Indian Island -- help support these mutual interests within the Navy's third-largest fleet concentration area.

"We want to be good neighbors. We work well with the tribes and we always have," said Cmdr. Gary Martin, NAVMAG Indian Island commanding officer. "The Navy does a great job with all the tribes in Puget Sound. We just want to continue to have that good relationship."

Seeding and harvesting manila clams on Indian Island may also provide additional environmental benefits to the surrounding community.

"One of the main goals of the tribes is to maintain the water quality where the water quality is good enough where you can have open harvest areas," said Barry. "Second is to improve the water quality in areas where's there's pollution, or you can identify the pollution sources and correct them, so eventually you can open more beaches."

The local tribes participating in the project are the Suquamish from Poulsbo, Wash., the S'Klallam from Port Gamble, Wash., and Jamestown, Wash., along with the Lower Elwah Klallam from Port Angeles, Wash.