Skakhwǝl (Eel, Chinook Wawa) or Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) have been an important source of food and medicine for Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest, and a key component of healthy river ecosystems, for over 10,000 years. Tribal ties to lamprey are threatened by declining lamprey populations, which began with 19th century environmental shifts and disruption of Indigenous traditional ecological and cultural knowledge (ITECK). In the Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon, river channelization, dam construction, pollution, and landscape modification led to transformation of streamflow and sediment regimes, and destruction of lamprey habitat.   This new collaboration between PSU and USGS supports lamprey restoration efforts in the region by bringing hydrogeomorphic, archaeological, and historical data together with ITECK. 

We are investigating pre-colonial and historical data on lamprey presence, habitat, fishing, and use.  We are working to link past fishing locations with data on past hydrogeomorphic conditions. This research will result in new information on the suite of conditions beneficial to lamprey, provide deeper historical context for lamprey conservation, and train students in interdisciplinary approaches to environmental restoration. 

We are currently partnered with several Tribes and would like to work with additional Tribes with interest and connection to lamprey in the Willamette Valley.  

Please contact Shelby Anderson (ashelby@pdx.edu) for more information.