Yakama Nation Fisheries

Mission: To honor, protect, and restore the treaty trust natural resources of the Yakama Nation

From its humble beginnings in 1983, Yakama Nation Fisheries now boasts a staff of over 200. Employing scientific expertise in concert with traditional ecological knowledge, the program has developed innovative projects and partnerships credited with restoring culturally and economically important fish runs in the Columbia Basin. Headquartered on the Yakama Reservation, field offices are located throughout the ceded area to manage and restore natural resources across the region. Yakama Nation Fisheries focuses on restoring culturally important fishes such as Chinook, sockeye, steelhead, coho, Pacific lamprey, and white sturgeon, as well as their habitats.

Honor

The fish in Nch’í Wána (the Columbia River) and its tributaries are of paramount importance to our people, our diet, and our health.

Protect

Through our treaty-reserved rights, we advocate for resources that cannot speak for themselves, and provide outreach and education activities that empower others to do the same.

Restore

Our biologists and technicians are out in the field every day, actively restoring the river in accordance with our traditions and rigorous science.