Senior Project Advisor

Boxberger, Daniel L., 1950-

Document Type

Project

Publication Date

Spring 2009

Keywords

Environmental baselines, Lummi Nation, Native American fishery

Abstract

Shifting environmental baselines are inter-generational changes in perception of the state of the environment. As one generation replaces another, people's perceptions of what is natural change even to the extent that they no longer believe historical anecdotes of past abundance or size of species. I present the first quantified evidence of shifting environmental baselines from a Pacific Northwest Native American fishery (Lummi Nation in Puget Sound, Washington). As depletion of commercial fish species spreads out from the coast, younger fishers share few of their elders' memories of former abundances. Of three generations, the oldest reported more fish species depleted, and they also recalled larger catches. Generations also differed in their perceptions of environmental change. Such rapid shifts in perception of what is natural help explain why society is tolerant of the creeping loss of biodiversity. They imply a large educational hurdle in efforts to reset expectations and targets for conservation.

Department

Anthropology

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Lummi Indians--Fishing; Indians of North America--Fishing--Washington (State)

Geographic Coverage

Washington (State)

Genre/Form

student projects; term papers

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Rights Statement

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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Anthropology Commons

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