Fisheries Division

The Nvn-nvst-'aa~-ta Fisheries Program collects data and manages projects intended to inform trust resource management and identify trust resource concerns related to riverine fisheries and ecosystem health in the Smith River and its tributaries. The goals of this Program, most recently approved by Council in 2018 as part of the Tribal Five-Year Environmental Plan, include:

• gather baseline and trend monitoring data on priority species, related habitats, indicators, and uses;
• support restoration limiting factors for fish in the lower Smith River;
• and support Rowdy Creek Fish Hatchery improvements and operations.

Fisheries Program five-year goals are used each year to update priorities in the Program’s annual workplan. A main focus of the next five years is to gather baseline and trend monitoring data on priority Tribal trust species, related habitats, indicators, and human uses.

The Fisheries Program is currently building capacity to take a more active role monitoring and managing trust anadromous salmon species in the Smith River and regulating their subsistence harvest by Tribal citizens. TDN is the original steward of the Smith River Plain and surrounding marine environment, which is the primary provider of sustenance and wellbeing for Tolowa Dee-ni’ people and has been integral to the lifeways of the Tolowa Dee-ni' since time immemorial. TDN’s path to its current natural resources capacity has been long, however the Tribe is determined to secure resources necessary to assume our stewardship role, in the absence of adequate stewardship by the State agencies that assumed that role post-Contact.