Gathering along the bluffs of the Nisqually River Delta for their 2026 Annual Meeting and Salmon Bake, held the first weekend in October, members of the Nisqually Land Trust and the Nisqually Indian Tribe celebrated major milestones in regional salmon recovery and habitat conservation.
Held at the tribe’s Culture Center and Longhouse, the event highlighted that over 10,800 acres across the watershed have been permanently protected since the Land Trust was founded in 1989.
The Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to protect and steward lands in a way that permanently benefits the water, fish, wildlife, and people of the Nisqually River Watershed.
Organization leaders revealed Sunday, Oct. 4, that 78% of salmon-producing shorelines on the main stem of the Nisqually River are now under protected ownership, up from just 3% nearly four decades ago.
Hanford McCloud, a Nisqually tribal leader and Land Trust board member, welcomed attendees to the grounds, describing the location overlooking the delta as a historic place to gather spiritual strength.
Standing beside newly carved house posts and watcher figures, McCloud recalled how his grandfather, Don McCloud Sr., historically hosted salmon bakes for educational gatherings. He emphasized the central cultural role of local fish species, comparing rich King salmon to a bone-in ribeye steak.
"This is what I do to my kids, because kids are like, 'Well, what does salmon taste like?'" McCloud told the audience, explaining how different salmon species compare to distinct cuts of meat.
He added that gathering to share fish caught by tribal members continues an enduring legacy of resource rights and community connection.
Presenting the year’s conservation progress, Land Trust Executive Director Jeanette detailed innovative habitat projects across key tributaries.
Highlighted among recent efforts was an August 2026 project on Ohop Creek, where heavy timber could not be hauled in by ground vehicles without destroying decades of replanted forest.
To solve the challenge, restoration partners deployed a helicopter to fly giant logs across the valley and drop them directly into the stream.
"We're going to fly giant pieces of wood across the valley and we're going to drop them in the creek," Jeanette recalled telling supporters.
The engineered log drops create complex pool structures needed by threatened Chinook salmon and steelhead until mature trees naturally replenish the creek.
Beyond Ohop Creek, land acquisitions expanded protection into other critical waterways.
In January 2026, the Land Trust closed on its first major acquisition along the North Fork of Muck Creek, securing vital wetland habitat that sustains essential stream flow for migrating salmon while conserving rare historic prairie and oak savannah ecosystems.
Additionally, the trust acquired a strategic 3-acre parcel on the Mashel River to enable equipment access for future log jam projects.
Stewardship efforts also achieved immediate ecological wins at Peterson Farm, where restored prairie habitat attracted a pair of Western bluebirds that successfully fledged two broods of chicks in newly placed nest boxes.
To deepen personal connections to protected landscapes, the Land Trust introduced a poetry initiative featuring local writers who spent months observing land trust properties.
Poet Kathleen Byrd, a writing instructor at South Puget Sound Community College and former Olympia Poet Laureate, read from her work inspired by Ohop Creek, calling for "muscular hope" through active environmental stewardship.
"The salmon swim upriver upstream," Byrd recited. “They do not go with the flow but give longer cellular and muscular energy to the end.”
Fellow poet Suzanne Simons shared verses written at Lackamas Flats, describing how “the Nisqually swells with salmon” as people sing blessings to the returning fish.
Closing the meeting, leaders announced a surprise bequest of over $100,000 from the estate of late supporter Karen Lewis to support long-term land stewardship.
Grounding the gathering in Nisqually cultural tradition, Hanford McCloud and his family graciously sang two traditional Nisqually songs for the gathered community.
Their musical performance featured an entry song to welcome guests into the longhouse, followed by a song honoring Tahoma, also known as Mt. Rainier, and the sacred headwaters of the Nisqually watershed.
