SCJ staff donned their rubber boots and ventured out to explore the coastal rain forests and wild rivers of the Quinault Indian Reservation more than half a dozen times last year.

Through a series of six monthly wetland training lectures and field tours, SCJ assisted Quinault Indian Nation field staff with the management of forestry lands and wildlife and fisheries resources.

The training was part of a larger EPA-funded project, which also provided assistance with writing a Wetland Protection Plan and developing a higher quality wetland interpretation and mapping layer in their GIS system.

“What an amazing opportunity to train technical staff for the Quinault Nation while observing and studying their unique and rare ecosystems,” said SCJ’s certified professional soil/wetland scientist, Lisa Palazzi.

She specifically highlighted the mostly uncontrolled riverine floodplains and pristine estuaries of Washington’s coastal rain forests.

The knowledge gained through centuries on that extraordinary land allows the Quinault Nation to combine the old with the new. Their website reads, “We remember our past while employing modern principles in a marriage that will bring hope and promise to our people now and in the future.”

Jessica Helsley, Fisheries Scientist and Training Project Manager for the Quinault Indian Nation said about SCJ’s backing of that goal, “The contractor’s enthusiasm for the subject matter drew in and maintained employee attention, interest, and participation that has continued since the trainings concluded in June. This on-site training style facilitated collaborative interaction amongst staff from multiple departments and has fostered collaborative work on numerous additional projects as well.”