The North Fork Tolt River is a sparkling mountain stream flowing through Snoqualmie Tribe Ancestral Lands, including the newly reclaimed 12,000-acre Snoqualmie Tribe Ancestral Forest. Flowing west off the flanks of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, the North Fork Tolt River joins with the South Fork Tolt to form the Tolt River mainstem, which in turn joins the Snoqualmie River near the modern-day City of Carnation, formerly the site of a major Snoqualmie village called Toltxʷ. This area has been at the core of the Snoqualmie Tribe’s Ancestral Lands since time immemorial.
As part of bringing the Snoqualmie Tribe Ancestral Forest (STAF) back under the Tribe’s stewardship, the Tribe’s Environmental and Natural Resources (ENR) Department is undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the North Fork Tolt River and important tributaries within the STAF. Funded by a King County Parks Levy grant, along with a matching Cooperative Watershed Management grant from King County Flood Control District which is allocated through the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum, the North Fork Tolt River Assessment project will help to fill data gaps about the state of aquatic resources throughout the North Fork Tolt watershed. The Tribe will then use that information to create conceptual designs for 2 to 4 restoration projects within the Tribe’s Ancestral Lands.
Through its assessment, restoration design and other efforts, the Tribe is jump-starting work to restore and heal the land after centuries of the Tribe being excluded from management decisions. It’s all part of embodying the Native philosophy of reciprocity with the land, and we are most grateful to our project funders for helping to make this project happen. The North Fork Tolt Assessment work will occur over the next couple of years, and we’ll be sharing a series of posts to keep you updated. Stay tuned!