This year, WWNAEC is honored to host two distinguished guests at our conference: Bill Wilkerson, former director of the Washington State Department of Fisheries and author of the compelling new book In Common With, and Willie Frank III, former chairman of the Nisqually Tribal Council, longtime council member, and environmental advocate and activist. In addition, we are thrilled to present a special screening of the heralded documentary FISH WAR, followed by an engaging Q&A session with the filmmakers Jeff Ostenson and Charles Atkinson of North Forty Productions.
Bill Wilkerson devoted a forty-year career to working on public policies that impact natural resources in the Pacific Northwest. As director of the Washington State Department of Fisheries, he played an integral role in protecting and enhancing salmon, in negotiating a US-Canada salmon treaty, and in forging significant agreements related to Tribal treaty rights. Bill is the author of the new book In Common With: The Fish Wars, the Boldt Decision, and the Fight to Save Salmon in the Pacific Northwest, which will be available for purchase and to have signed at our event.
Willie Frank III is former Nisqually Tribal Council Chairman and served for 15 years as an elected tribal leader. He is the son of the late Billy Frank Jr., . As a tribal leader, fisher and member of the Billie Frank Jr. Salmon Coalition, Willie carries on his father’s legacy, bringing together diverse experts to advocate for salmon and the environment. As founder of Medicine Creek Tribal Strategies, he continues to move his tribe forward while protecting treaty rights and tribal sovereignty.