Nisqually River Council

Volunteer at the Nisqually Watershed Festival on Saturday, September 28th! Festival volunteers welcome visitors and help make lasting memories of a fun day at the refuge. There are volunteer opportunities throughout the day, starting with set-up at 7AM, two-hour shifts at activity stations starting at 10AM, and clean-up at 4PM. Come for a few hours, get a free lunch at one of the festival vendors, and explore the festival after your shift.

This fun, free event couldn't happen without volunteers. If you would like to help out, contact Carole Holmson at [email protected] or (360) 753-9467

Tickets are going fast! Don't miss your opportunity to celebrate with the Nisqually Watershed community on Tuesday, September 10th as we honor Karen Fraser's career long dedication to the environment by presenting her with the Daniel J. Evans Nisqually Stewardship Award! There will be food, drinks, speeches, wonderful views, and even better company. So what are you waiting for - sign up today and join us as we toast to the work accomplished and plan for the stewardship we need tomorrow!

Learn more & buy your tickets today: https://nisquallyriver.org/evansaward/

“Queen Salmon” by Brynn W. (5th Grade) is Best of Show for the Nisqually Watershed Festival Poster Contest! Thank you to all the students who submitted their incredible Salmon of the Watershed artwork and make sure to check out each of the wonderfully creative entries at this year's Nisqually Watershed Festival on Saturday, September 28th @ 10am - 4pm at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge!

Join us this September 10th for a celebratory dinner as we honor Karen Fraser with the Daniel J. Evans Nisqually Stewardship Award! The Evans Award is presented every five years to an individual who has demonstrated tremendous leadership in the stewardship of the Nisqually Watershed. As a former Senator, Thurston County Commissioner, and Nisqually River Task Force Chair, Karen is a founding member of the Nisqually River Council and a lifelong advocate for environmental protections. We are delighted to honor her many years of work on behalf of the Nisqually Watershed and hope you can join us for this celebration, which includes dinner and an award presentation!

Learn More & Purchase Tickets: https://nisquallyriver.org/evansaward/

There is still time to join us on Saturday for a night of delicious food, drinks, and fun 🍽️🍻🍷🥂

BUY TICKETS HERE: https://nisquallyestuary.ejoinme.org/nisquallyreachfeastregistration

Support the Nisqually Reach Nature Center and help preserve our beautiful Nisqually Estuary. Enjoy a gourmet dinner, a silent auction, a raffle, and a dessert auction as well as incredible views!

Tickets are still available! Don't miss out on this amazing event ✨

When: Saturday, August 24th | 3PM - 8PM
Where: 4949 D'Milluhr Rd NE
Rain or shine! 🌧️☀️

1st Place Winners (K-4th) for the Nisqually Watershed Festival Poster Contest! Thank you to all the students who submitted their wonderful art illustrating the “Salmon of the Watershed”! Come see these pieces and more at the Nisqually Watershed Festival on Saturday, September 28th @ 10am - 4pm at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge!

🎨1: Artwork by Savannah S. (Kindergarten)
🎨2: "Rose" by Addilyn R. (1st Grade)
🎨3: “The Blue World" by Luna G. (2nd Grade)
🎨4: “Salmon" by Addy M. (3rd Grade)
🎨5: “Jumping Fish" by Haydon D. (4th Grade)

Nisqually River Council members joined for an eye opening tour of the community forest last week! Register for an upcoming tour today to see the incredible work being done here in Nisqually to manage our watershed more sustainably!

Celebrate with us! On Thursday August 15, we're hosting a party to recognize the refuge's 1st 50 years. There's a guided walk at 10 a.m., speeches at 11, an open house in the Education Center at noon, and another guided walk at 1:30. Carpool or use the Hawks Prairie Park-n-Ride and catch a shuttle.

In and around the Nisqually Watershed the northern lights put on a show last night with shooting stars from the Perseids meteor shower adding to the dancing display in spectacular fashion! What an incredible place to live and work here in Washington. We’re proud to be educating the next generation of environmental stewards while collaborating with partners to protect and conserve our beautiful backyard!

Want to know how we’re tackling sustainable forestry while focusing on our local Nisqually community? Then sign up for one of our three planned Nisqually Community Forest tours taking place this August through October! We’ll traverse the mountain roads with professional foresters learning about climate mitigation techniques and forest management practices all while taking in the incredible views.

Learn more and sign up today: https://nisquallycommunityforest.org/forest-tours/

We're so excited to be honoring Karen Fraser this fall for her career-long dedication to conservation and environmental protections in the Nisqually Watershed!

Read all about the Daniel J. Evans Nisqually Stewardship Award and help us celebrate Karen this September: https://nisquallyriver.org/evansaward/

Nisqually River Foundation to honor former state Senator Karen Fraser - The JOLT News Organization, A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization Karen Fraser will receive the fourth Daniel J. Evans Nisqually Stewardship Award, the Nisqually River Foundation announced.

This Spring the NREP welcomed two interns from The Evergreen State College’s Center for Climate Action and Sustainability (CCAS)! Over the course of several months Colbi & Colton jumped into environmental education with enthusiasm and dedication leading hundreds of students in Salmon, Cedar, Canoe cultural field trips; marine & nearshore ecology investigations; and even habitat restoration projects! We’re so thankful for their hard work and can’t imagine our year without them both.

Check out our blog post and read all about how the NREP is working with CCAS to build engaging internships that benefit young students and young professionals alike: https://nisquallyriver.org/blog/2024/07/24/spring-interns-make-an-impact-with-the-nrep/

Nisqually Stream Stewards spent this past weekend learning all about water quality testing and the many ways we can tell if a stream is good habitat for our local salmon! From pH and nitrate tests to water temperature and macroinvertebrate investigations the summer water on the Nisqually River is looking good!

Thank you to all who joined to look at some really cool stream bugs and learn about community science! Sign up to join our next field trip at nisquallyriver.org/stream-stewards

Join us this Saturday, July 20th @ 10am for a free hands-on water quality testing trip! We’ll go on a nature walk to collect stream bugs, take a close up look at the Nisqually River’s riparian zone, and perform a variety of chemical tests while learning all about the importance of water quality in our watershed!

Learn more & sign up today: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/lzQ2Zu_ITFmqthg23viUwg

Another successful Summer Institute for Teachers is now in the books! Last week, 50 local educators joined us for a three-day workshop series focusing on salmon recovery. Teachers and district staff engaged in hands-on workshops, listened to insights from local biologists and restoration experts, and participated in inspiring discussions aimed at enhancing their skills and bringing locally relevant science into the classroom. This annual training event is proudly hosted by the Nisqually River Education Project in collaboration with our partners at South Sound GREEN and the Chehalis Basin Education Consortium. A huge shoutout to all our guest speakers and hosts for making this event a success: Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, The Salmon Center, Long Live the Kings, Nisqually Indian Tribe, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Pierce Conservation District, Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team, Thurston County Washington, Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, and Mason Conservation District.

NREP had a blast with CMMS students at their end of the year nearshore field trips last week! From beach seines and plankton investigations, to aquaculture tours and crab surveys it’s always so much fun to explore the natural world with young scientists! Stay curious everyone :)

While there’s plenty of fish in the sea, we love our Nisqually Chum, Chinook, Pink, Coho, & Steelhead and we’re inviting all K - 5th grade students to submit their scale-covered art to the Annual Nisqually Watershed Festival Poster Contest! This year’s theme is “Salmon of the Watershed” and the deadline for entries is this Friday, June 7th!

All submissions will be displayed at the festival and the top 5 drawings from each grade will receive a prize! Learn more and submit your art today: https://nrep.nisquallyriver.org/nisqually-watershed-festival/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0cWxJ5Zy8FIjnxWsPaaE1bixF-AIgt9fGH_iJ0TmkV_RFKRsthv7X07YI_aem_AQT399mpSHW_M4i5Qdi2cJPNq_0cjM7bigdViiRH6l8diLwoEoT2OEivgUIORNfXUSifvrLRjL_o1WSYkqoafyKo

We're so glad Columbia Crest students were able to come down to the Nisqually Reach and learn more about the marine and nearshore environments that form critical habitat in the Watershed! Let's continue getting our boots wet and hands dirty with outside education!

Nisqually Stream Stewards spent this past weekend learning all about the Nearshore & Marine Ecology of the Nisqually Reach! The day included talks about community science while stewards looked at live phytoplankton and zooplankton samples then everyone geared up in waders for a beach seine (full of fish) and a beach crab / benthic survey (over 90 crabs were counted and no European green crab were found).

Stewards walked away knowing more about the importance of this habitat not only for humans, but for the birds, fish, and other animals that hunt, rear, and live where the Nisqually River meets the Puget Sound! Thank you to our partners at the Nisqually Reach Nature Center for making this event possible!

Learn More & Join Our Next Event Here: https://nisquallyriver.org/stream-stewards/

New Edition of Yil-Me-Hu is out now and the NRF staff just can’t get enough! The Spring 2024 Nisqually Watershed Salmon Recovery Newsletter covers everything from the 50th Anniversary of the Boldt Decision & Wildlife Refuge to Ohop Creek Restoration & the Nisqually River Foundation turning 20!

Pick up a copy at our office or read it online today here: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/yil-me-hu-spring-2024-nisqually-salmon-recovery-newsletter/267974695

NREP staff got to take a tour of the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s newly renovated Kalama Creek Hatchery facilities this week and we can’t wait until construction is finished and we can bring hatchery learning experiences to students and community members alike! Stay tuned for more updates 🙂

Prairie Appreciation Day! Thank you to everyone who came out this past weekend and stopped by our table to talk about Nisqually Stream Stewards and ways to get involved in the Watershed! While the event only lasted one day, we’re really taking the entire season to appreciate our prairies, camas, and all that Spring has to offer 🙂

Learn more and get involved at nisquallyriver.org/stream-stewards

Nisqually Stream Stewards joined the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s 26th Annual Leschi-Quiemuth Honor Walk this past weekend to learn more about the ancestral lands of the Nisqually people while viewing the camas and other natural beauties of our Washington prairies. While the Nisqually were removed from this land in 1917, it still holds an important place in the culture and lives of many Tribal and community members who are able to return each year for this experience.

Today the Tribe works cooperatively with Joint Base Lewis-McChord to hold this walk as a form of education and remembrance.

Rain or shine the NREP is ready to take on any nearshore field trip! From crab and plankton surveys to beach seines and benthic investigations we’re working hard to connect the concepts students are learning in the classroom with hands-on community science experiences. Plus there’s nothing better than throwing on some waders and hopping in the Puget Sound!

Big thank you to our partners at the Nisqually Reach Nature Center for helping to make these trips a reality!

Salmon, Cedar, Canoe Cultural Field Trips have begun! Evergreen Forest 4th graders had a wonderful time today learning all about Nisqually with activities focused on Cedar Weaving, Salmon Dissections, Canoe Journey, and so much more! We can’t wait for all the trips coming up this Spring with even more incredible students. A huge thank you to our volunteers and the Nisqually Indian Tribe for their partnership and willingness to share their culture and space with our community!

The Nisqually River Education Project (NREP) is proud to be funded by Washington State's Outdoor Learning Grant which aims to increase the accessibility of outdoor experiences in schools throughout the State. This funding helps NREP connect what children are learning in the classroom regarding ecosystems with hands-on outdoor experiences such as water quality testing, nearshore ecology surveys, riparian restoration work, and so much more! Read the article to learn how this unique program is making an impact today!

Nature’s Classroom: Washington Students Learn Environmental Stewardship Through Outdoor Education Program In the heart of the Nisqually River Basin, a school program is opening the floodgates of knowledge for local students. Davy Clark, Program Director for the Nisqually River Education Project, helps students learn about salmon ecology and water testing for the Nisqually River. Students learn how to ta...

The FISH WAR film premieres in less than two weeks at SIFF! We are thrilled to bring this production to moviegoers.
🎟️ 🍿 Get tickets: siff.net/festival/fish-war.

Nisqually Stream Stewards geared up for the rain and water this afternoon and headed out to the Nisqually Reach with Washington State Department of Natural Resources ANeMoNe program staff to learn all about nearshore monitoring of ocean acidification and eelgrass populations! This program engages volunteers to help monitor our waters in the hope that this information can help inform decisions that reduce the negative impacts of changing ocean conditions. The field training involved bird surveys, sensor cleaning, eelgrass surveys, and even discussing the uses of shellfish spats!

Thank you to our partners at Washington State Department of Natural Resources for putting on this training and for promoting community science throughout our watershed and beyond. Learn more and join our next event at nisquallyriver.org/stream-stewards

Nisqually River Council Annual Retreat! Thank you for everyone who came out last Friday to our NRC retreat - it was a wonderful day at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s Cultural Center full of good conversations and delicious barbecue. Members talked about the Nisqually Watershed Stewardship Plan, heard about the history of the Nisqually Tribe and cedar weaving from Hanford McCloud, talked about Chinook Salmon Recovery, and so much more! There is plenty of work ahead, but the NRC is ready to help keep Nisqually healthy, sustainable, and thriving!

Learn more & join the NRC today: [email protected]