OLYMPIA–Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians councilmember, fisheries director and Northwest Indian Fisheries commissioner, Kadi Bizyayeva, to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board.
“Kadi has been a strong advocate for protecting and restoring salmon and their habitat throughout the Salish Sea,” Inslee said. “Serving on this board will allow her to continue that work while also bringing a Tribal perspective and traditional ecological knowledge into the board’s decision-making.”
Bizyayeva is the fisheries director for the Tribe’s Natural Resources Department, where she has worked since 2013. She co-manages treaty resources with state, federal and Tribal governments, working with them to recover species of concern in the Stillaguamish River watershed, which includes two of Puget Sound’s 22 threatened populations of Chinook salmon.
“We are excited for Ms. Bizyayeva to join the Salmon Recovery Funding Board,” said Megan Duffy, director of the Recreation and Conservation Office, which administers the funding board’s grants. “She has more than a decade of experience working on salmon recovery and understands the issues, the people and the fish. That knowledge will be invaluable in our work across the state.
The Salmon Recovery Funding Board awards more than $206 million biennially in grants to cities, counties, tribes, nonprofits, private landowners and regional salmon enhancement groups to do on-the-ground projects to restore salmon habitat.
Bizyayeva lives in Stanwood and her term ends July 15, 2027.