Relationships

First Nations and Tribal History: A Long Established Sense of Place

The Tribal and First Nations peoples have lived on and been stewards of the lands and resources of the Salish Sea and along its rivers since time immemorial. The EPA and Environment Canada, among other federal agencies, have agreed to work closely with the Tribes and First Nations so that their participation, knowledge, talents and commitment can contribute to our common interests to preserve and protect this place that was once called the Salish Sea and is now known as the Puget Sound and Georgia Basin. To this end, EPA and Environment Canada are committed to faciltating the participation of First Nations and U.S. Tribes in setting priorities for action to protect this ecosystem that together we know as home.

Building Relationships First

This indicator story starts with people and their passions. Since 1999, a group of scientists, economists, policy folks, researchers and others you might imagine in white lab coats, started meeting to see if they could tell one story across the Puget Sound Georgia Basin. How could we combine much of the data collected with monitoring equipment, muddy boots and hip waders, to tell a story of collective resolve-resolve to make our home safer, cleaner, beautiful, diverse and productive? By 2002, this group of quirky people and their colleagues published the first transboundary ecosystem report: the Georgia Basin-Puget Sound Ecosystem Indicator Report.

Things didn't always go smoothly. We argued, we couldn't decide on harbor or harbour, pound or kilogram . Our laws were different, the thresholds at which we regulated were different. But our seals weren't different, nor were our salmon, Orcas or how we feel about them.

Much work has gone into dividing the world between "environmentalists" and everyone else on the planet when the fact remains that all of us want roughly the same things but envision the road there differently. As Joe Gaydos, one of our local marine biologists, said, "The people moving here want to see clear water and know that when their little daughters go for a swim, they can see through the water and that water is clean and safe to swim in.Isn't it funny how we always want the things we don't have, but often when we do have them, even things that other people want, we take them for granted?"
[Keynote address. 2005 Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference].

Let's walk this road together. Or maybe we'll just paddle through our water instead and not take things for granted.

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