Celebrate Waters 2022

Please join us for an evening of food, drink, and celebration—Thursday, September 15th—as we recognize CELP’s accomplishments over the past year, and honor those dedicated to protecting and restoring Washington waters.

Tickets are $55 ea, available for purchase here.

Reception

appetizers · drinks · mingling

Keynote Speakers

to discuss water, salmon, treaty rights, and more!

David Trout, Director
Nisqually Tribe Natural Resources

A graduate of the UW School of Fisheries, David has worked as the natural resources director for the Nisqually Indian Tribe since 1987. He also serves as the chair of the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council and is a member of Puget Sound Partnership’s Ecosystem Coordination Board. David also serves as chair of the Nisqually River Council and president of the Nisqually River Foundation.

In his role as the natural resources director for the Nisqually Indian Tribe, he heads a diverse department focused on salmon, shellfish, wildlife, and the ecosystems they rely on. Throughout his career, David worked closely with the late Billy Frank Jr. advocating for tribal treaty rights and environmental stewardship.

Willie Frank III, Chairman
Nisqually Indian Tribal Council

Willie Frank III is a Nisqually Tribal member who was elected to the Tribal Council at the age of 27, one of the youngest ever members. Today, he serves as chairman, as well as a member of CELP’s board.

A graduate of Evergreen State College with a B.A. in Native Studies, Willie loves working for his people and carrying on his father’s legacy and message. He says, “I believe we need to work toward moving our tribe forward while continuing to protect our treaty rights and tribal sovereignty. I believe that our salmon and natural resources are still the foundation for who we are today”.

Award Presentation

2022 Professor Ralph W. Johnson Water Hero

As a Tulalip Tribal Member, Daryl Williams has devoted his life’s work to protecting Washington waters and left an indelible impact on watersheds throughout the state.

Over his decades-long career working for the Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources Division, he has provided invaluable leadership as a board member for CELP and Adopt a Stream Foundation, as well as the current chair of Washington’s Conservation Commission. Daryl has also served as a member of the Puget Sound Action Team and National Tribal Environmental Council. His advocacy for the protection of Tribal water rights, preservation of instream flows, and innovative forms of renewable energy have, and will continue to, benefit all Washingtonians and the beautiful place we are fortunate to call home.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate Daryl and his commitment to our waterways by presenting him with the 2022 Ralph W. Johnson Water Hero Award!

PRESENTING SPONSOR

The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) consists of the Quinault and Queets tribes and descendants of five other coastal tribes: Quileute, Hoh, Chehalis, Chinook, and Cowlitz. Among the small number of Americans who can walk the same beaches, paddle the same waters, and hunt the same lands our ancestors did centuries ago, the QIN call the southwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula home.

Cradled between the Olympic Mountains and Pacific Ocean, the QIN is a land of magnificent forests, swift-flowing rivers, gleaming lakes, and 23 miles of unspoiled coastline. Its boundaries also enclose over 208,150 acres of some of the most productive conifer forest lands in the United States.

The QIN is a sovereign nation with the inherent right to govern itself and deal with other tribes and nations on a government-to-government basis. As a healthy, thriving, and sustainable community, the natural environment and its resources are deeply intertwined with the culture and economy of the QIN. The traditional tribal worldview is that the people are a part of nature, not apart from nature, with their physical, mental, social and spiritual health directly and uniquely related to the health of the ecosystems of the lands and waters they inhabit. Since time immemorial, the QIN have been responsible for the care and protection of their ancestral lands and waters.

CELP is honored to work in allyship with the Quinault Indian Nation, appreciative of the opportunity to continue to learn from their deep well of traditional ecological knowledge, and thankful for their continued support of our organization and mission.