On May 17, the agency with what is arguably the most awkward name in State Government – the Lead Entity – will sponsor a Salmon Recovery/Lead Entity Day celebration at the Deer Harbor Community Club on Orcas Island. The celebration begins at 10:30 a.m. with live music, a kids’ camp, field trips, a few speeches, and lunch.

Billy Frank Jr. of the Nisqually Indian Tribe will deliver the keynote speech. As Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for 22 years, he “speaks for the salmon” on behalf of 19 Treaty Indian Tribes in Western Washington. Frank has been described as a visionary, fishing rights activist, institution builder and bearer of traditional wisdom. He is a recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism.

The Kids’ Camp, presented by the San Juan Nature Institute, will include activities for kids ages 5-12.

Orcas Island musicians Sharon Abreu and Michael Hurwicz will perform their song “Calling the Salmon Home.”

Afternoon field trips will include walking and boat tours of the Deer Harbor Estuary, led by staff members of the San Juan County Lead Entity, People for Puget Sound and KWIAHT.

Lunch will be catered by the Orcas Village Store, and free shuttles from, and back to, the Orcas Ferry Landing and the Deer Harbor Marina will be available.

The serious purpose behind the celebration is to call attention to the need to protect the islands’ waters that host an abundance of the fish that spawn in rivers up and down the west coast of Canada and the United States at critical times in their lifecycle.

The Legislature established the Lead Entity program in 1998 in response to the decline of Pacific Coast Salmon. The 28 Lead Entities around the state were charged with coordinating a hodgepodge of local and regional salmon recovery projects and gathering the scientific knowledge to identify the most pressing needs. The San Juan County Lead Entity for Salmon Recovery has been in operation since 2000.

Jeff Hanson, County Ecosystems Education Coordinator, recently said that San Juan County’s Lead Entity has helped win more than five million dollars in federal, state and private grants to finance salmon recovery projects. It has established strategies for protecting and rebuilding habitat and set priorities for implementing them in San Juan County’s watersheds, shorelines and marine environment.

“The May 17 Lead Entity observance will be the first such celebration – a time not only to call attention to the work of the Lead Entities, but to the importance of San Juan County’s waters in ensuring the survival of the creature that in life and art, symbolizes the Northwest,” said Hanson.

Hanson adds that in San Juan County, as in almost every corner of Washington State, citizens are guiding salmon recovery though one of the local groups called Lead Entities.  Local governments and citizens work through Lead Entities to plan salmon recovery efforts and guide high priority habitat restoration projects.  They develop strategies, rank projects and apply for grants together.  “Come learn about local salmon recovery work here in the San Juans.  This will be a fun event with interesting presentations, games for kids, and tours by boat and on foot of the Deer Harbor estuary.  And it’s all free!” said Hanson.

The schedule for May 17 activities at the Deer Harbor Community Club is:

• 10:30 – 11:00: Displays and Refreshments

•  10:30 – 12:00: Kids Camp for ages 5-12.  Kids’ Camp is being put on by the San Juan Nature Institute with guest instructors. There will be activities like “Animal Detectives,” the “Web of Life” and a “Salmon Scent Trail,” with different age appropriate activities for kids 5-12.

• 11:00 – 12:00: Keynote Speaker Billy Frank, Jr. of the Nisqually Indian Tribe. Under his leadership, the tribal role over the past 30 years has evolved from that of activists, fighting the state to secure fishing rights reserved in treaties with the United States government, to managers of the resource. Celebrated regionally, nationally and internationally as an outstanding Native American leader, Frank has been the recipient of numerous recognition awards, including the 1991 Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism and the 1990 Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award for Humanitarian Achievement.

• 12:00 – 12:45: Light Lunch (Catered by the Orcas Village Store).

• 12:45-2:30: Field Trips – walking tour of estuary, boat tour of estuary with underwater video camera, and more Fun and Educational Activities.

 Contact Barbara Rosenkotter @ skyecrest@centurytel.net or 360-370-7593 or Jeff Hanson at 370-7594.

More information on the Salmon Recovery/Lead Entity Day celebration is on the web at www.sjcmrc.org/salmon