The makah people have maintained a cultural and spiritual connection with the ocean since time immemorial, and the ocean and access to its resources continue to form the foundation of our culture…

The makah people have maintained a cultural and spiritual connection with the ocean since time immemorial, and the ocean and access to its resources continue to form the foundation of our culture and our economy today. In 1855, the makah tribe signed the treaty of neah BAY with the united states, retaining their right to whale, seal, fish, hunt, and gather. The makah usual and accustomed fishing area extends over an area of 1,550 square miles of marine territory. Because the makah tribe takes an ecosystem-based management approach to our resources, the makah area of interest extends to the full migratory extent of our treaty resources, encompassing the pacific rim region. For these reasons, the makah tribe is an active participant in the west coast ocean alliance (WCOA), which takes a regional perspective to ocean management and science. However, limited staffing capacity impacts the ability of the tribe to analyze the impacts of projects and programs that could impact treaty rights and resources. Because treaty rights are place-based and ocean use conflict is rising, IT is critical to expand the tribes capacity to engage in regional ocean planning and management. The overarching goal of this project is to continue the work begun by our ocean mapping specialist (OMS) in our first award under this program to enhance the makah tribes capacity to engage with regional ocean planning and management priorities. Building on the GAP assessment and project work started by the OMS, this project allows the OMS to continue to provide ongoing data and mapping support to makah staff and leadership and WCOA products, while also focusing in on a few priority topics identified by WCOA, the WCOA tribal caucus, and the makah tribe. These include a focus on tribal data sovereignty, outreach to and education for the next generation of makah resource managers, and a specific topic focus on ocean climate change and ocean energy data and research needs.