When it comes to fish management policy in Washington State, fly anglers and Native American tribes often confront conservation challenges from different perspectives. That may be changing. Faced with the prospect of open coal trains, 1000-foot tankers and a massive marine terminal at Cherry Point near Bellingham, WA, leaders from the Lummi tribe, anglers and a broad contingent of concerned citizens are standing together to oppose what many consider to be a project with disastrous consequences for the Salish Sea in general and salmon stocks in particular. In Not For Sale: Standing Tall for Xwe’Chi’Exen, The Flyfish Journal Publisher Jeff Galbraith examines the conservation effort and reports that there might be good news in the future.

“For anyone who fishes the Puget Sound, it’s hard to not look at the armada of sporties, gill netters, ferries, barges, freighters and tankers and wonder how it used to be. Before the rivers were dammed, before the bulkheads were built, before the storm drains spewed, before the hatcheries were blowing out faux fish and before Captain Vancouver sailed about and began assigning names to places that already had names.”

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