CCT Fish and Wildlife hosts First Salmon ceremony May 26

BRIDGEPORT – Following a two-year interruption due to the COVOD pandemic, Colville Confederated Tribes Fish and Wildlife Department (CTFW) will hold its First Salmon ceremony starting at 6 a.m., Thursday, May 26, at the Chief Joseph Hatchery (CHJ) administration building.

The ceremony will be divided into three parts:

6 a.m. First Salmon

• Catch the first salmon.

• Prayer and song by tribal elders.

• Tribal leaders will be invited to speak.

• Breakfast at the hatchery administration building.

7 a.m. Welcome

• Welcoming at CJH administration building by CCT Chairman Andy Joseph Jr.

• Presentation by hatchery staff of harvest expectations and anticipated salmon returns in 2022.

• Phase 2 salmon reintroduction efforts above and below Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams presented by Casey Baldwin, CTFW Senior Research Scientist and D.R. Michel Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT) Executive Director.

• Speaker William Gale, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Project Director for Mid-Columbia Fish and Wildlife.

• Hatchery tour conducted by hatchery staff.

11:30 a.m. Lunch

• Table song by tribal elders.

• Lunch sharing first salmon at CJH administration building.

• Closing prayer.