A NOVEL SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL CLAM GARDEN SITE SELECTION PROCESS

Clam gardens are intertidal features modified by Northwest Coastal Indigenous people to enhance clam habitat for optimal shellfish production. The  Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) recently initiated a clam garden project to address the suite of ecological and cultural concerns documented in SITC's Climate Adaptation Action Plan . This effort will promote the integration of traditional ecological knowledge in contemporary resource management and climate change adaptation strategies as well as encourage local food security, support tribal treaty rights, and provide ecological and cultural benefits to the community.  Because biophysical conditions and community engagement are both important to the success of a clam garden, SITC's  Fisheries  Department  and Community Environmental Health Program have co- designed  an ecological and socio-cultural site selection process.  Since  relic clam gardens  have not  been identified in Washington state waters, SITC staff are collaborating  with knowledge holders and researchers in  British Columbia to better understand this ancient practice and advise the Tribe's clam garden efforts .

Thus far,  information  gathered  from B.C. experts has helped build a SITC-specific spatial exclusion model in ArcGIS to map viable  clam garden locations on the Reservation (Fig. 1) . Biophysical intertidal d ata collected from  15 candidate sites  identified in the map were then used to  design  a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) model. The MCDA provided a ranking of the candidate sites which will  ultimately  be  presented to SITC community members for prioritization and final site selection.

Coinciding with the site selection process, Swinomish community members have been  visiting  B.C.  clam gardens and participating in restoration events. Visiting t hese  clam gardens has provided invaluable opportunities for transboundary and intergenerational knowledge exchange. As understanding and enthusiasm about clam gardens spreads throughout SITC ,  local support for the clam garden project grows . By a ddressing both  the socio-cultural and ecological aspects of clam gardens, SITC staff aim to promote the long-term success of  this adaptation strategy.