Quinault Indian Nation Lead Entity
The Quinault Indian Nation Lead Entity coordinates salmon habitat restoration in Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 21, which runs along the Pacific Coast of the Olympic Peninsula and encompasses 755,674 acres. The area includes the Copalis, Clearwater, Moclips, Queets, Quinault, and Raft river watersheds as well as a dozen smaller tributaries. The Lead Entity’s mission, led by the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) is to restore and protect physical and biological processes that benefit naturally spawning salmonids and their habitats. They have been diligently working to implement habitat restoration initiatives in the highest priority salmon watersheds in their WRIA. Three initiatives have led the way: the Coldwater Connection Campaign (in partnership with the Coast Salmon Partnership, Wild Salmon Center, and Trout Unlimited), the Queets/Clearwater Resiliency Plan (in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and Washington Department of Natural Resources), and the restoration of the floodplain of the Upper Quinault River between Quinault Lake and the Upper Quinault River bridge (an effort led by QIN and supported by local landowners as well as state and federal agencies).
The Lead Entity strategy intends to improve natural processes that create and maintain salmon habitat while protecting intact habitats in ways that are compatible with cultural and economic needs of local stakeholders and support continued use of natural resources including timber, salmon and wildlife.
