Natural Resource Inventory for the Squaxin Island Tribe, Washington

In collaboration with Picea, Inc., the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) conducted a comprehensive natural resource inventory for the Squaxin Island Tribe, located in western Washington at the southern extent of Puget Sound. The inventory focused on local and regional forest resources, emphasizing forest composition and age structure within both tribal lands and the surrounding region.

Using the Data Basin platform, approximately 200 relevant spatial datasets were curated and organized within a secure, private group space accessible to tribal members. As part of the analysis, a land cover update was performed, and forest condition profiles were developed by ownership type—with special attention to tribal lands—and by subwatershed.

The assessment revealed a wide range of forest conditions across the landscape. The resulting inventory is intended to serve as a dynamic, “living” resource, enabling the tribe to make informed management decisions grounded in the best available map-based data and science.