Restoring the Salish Sea: Food Sovereignty and Clean Water in the Pacific Northwest

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the intellectual leadership of TCUP institutions so that they can address scientific or engineering needs or interests, specifically for their tribes or communities, or broadly for the Nation. The TCU Enterprise Advancement Centers (TEA Centers) strand allows TCUP institutions to capitalize on their investments in STEM instructional and research capacity. This project titled "Restoring the Salish Sea: Food Sovereignty and Clean Water in the Pacific Northwest" aligns directly with that goal through the establishment of the Tribal Enterprise Advancement Center for Community Marine Research at Northwest Indian College. The center is affiliated with the existing Salish Sea Research Center, housed at the college, and partners with the Lummi Natural Resources Department (LNR) of the Lummi Nation. The focus of the center's work is research and educational outreach regarding marine matters of the waters of the Salish Sea off the Pacific northwest coast of the United States. Knowledge gained through this work contributes to our understanding of the marine ecosystem and is used by the LNR in managing their aquatic resources to protect water quality and to ensure a safe and sustainable shellfish harvest.<br/><br/>The Tribal Enterprise Advancement Center for Community Marine Research will pursue its intent through pursuit of two goals: focus on community-identified research projects using molecular and analytic approaches that increase current capacity of water quality monitoring and the safety and sustainability of seafood; and provide analysis of biotoxins in seafood and Salish Sea waters for Lummi Nation and Northwest Indian College.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.