Towards Collaborative Ecological Governance of the Salish Sea: A Panel Dialogue

• Main Authors: Ned - Kwilosintun, Murray, Herrera, David, Donnelly, Honourable Fin, Blackmore, Laura, Oneil, Susan, Straker, Dan
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Western CEDAR 2022
• Subjects: Donnelly; Indian; Orca
• Online Access: https://cedar.wwu.edu/ssec/2022ssec/allsessions/518

Join us for a panel session and dialogue to explore and learn from people working at the center of governance, collaboration, and management in the Salish Sea about their experience and perspective on what is working, what is not, and where we need to be. With both Indigenous and settler representation on both sides of the border, dialogue will center on how panelists are navigating Indigenous and settler knowledge and governance systems and seeking better paths forward together. Panelists include: -Kwilosintun - Murray Ned, Executive Director, Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance -David Herrera, Skokomish Indian Tribe Fish and Wildlife Policy Advisor -Fin Donnelly, BC MLA and Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Aquaculture -Laura Blackmore, Executive Director of Puget Sound Partnership The session will be moderated by Susan O'Neil of Environmental Science Associates Context: While a lot of work and funding in recent decades has gone towards restoring parts of the lower Fraser floodplain and estuary, there has been a glaring absence of broader collaboration, governance, and management to understand and address cumulative effects of development and land use that are failing salmon ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. Meanwhile, the Puget Sound Partnership in Washington have led inter-agency collaboration and management for over a decade, though they too are not without challenges. The 2021 State of the Sound report showed that very few of the indicators met their 2020 targets. The Southern Resident orca population hovers at 74 animals, Chinook salmon populations show no signs of recovery, and marine water quality continues to decline. We hope this session opens imaginations to new ideas, opportunities to collaborate across artificial border and better ways of caring for the Salish Sea.