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Welcome to the Point No Point Treaty Council’s
website.
The Treaty Council was created in 1974, shortly after the landmark
court decision, U.S. v. Washington, commonly called the "Boldt Decision," which restored harvest
rights to western Washington treaty Indian tribes.
The Treaty Council confirms the reserved rights established in the
1855 Treaty of Point No Point, and implements the goals set by member tribes for resource conservation,
fisheries management, and protection of natural resources treaty rights.
The Treaty Council serves three federally recognized treaty tribes –
the Port Gamble S’Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, and Lower Elwha Klallam. It is governed by a
Board of Directors, which is composed of two representatives from each member tribe. The Board elects a chairman
and vice-chairman each year.
The Treaty Council’s primary purpose is to assist member tribes in
exercising their treaty-reserved rights to harvest finfish and shellfish. Treaty Council staff, including finfish and
shellfish biologists, wildlife biologists, habitat biologists, fisheries planners, and fisheries enforcement officers, work together to
ensure that treaty rights are preserved and treaty fisheries and harvests occur in a biologically sound manner.
The Treaty Council employs more than two dozen professionals who work
together to provide member tribes with comprehensive natural resources management. Its office is in Kingston on
the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe’s reservation, centrally located
near the middle of the vast Point No Point Treaty Area, which stretches
from west of Port Angeles in the Strait of Juan de Fuca to encompass the
San Juan Islands, Admiralty Inlet, and Hood Canal.
This website is intended to give visitors a brief overview of the
natural resources management programs operated by the tribes along Hood
Canal and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We hope you find it informative,
and we urge you to contact us for more information.
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