National Wildlife Refuge Renamed to Honor Billy Frank Jr.
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is being renamed in honor of Native American civil rights leader Billy Frank Jr.
The Nisqually tribal fisherman, who died in 2014, led the “fish wars” of the 1960s and 70s that restored fishing rights and helped preserve a way of life for Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest.
He and others were repeatedly arrested for fishing in the Nisqually River as they staged “fish-ins” to demand the right to fish in their traditional waters. Their activism paved the way for the landmark “Boldt” court decision, which reaffirmed the rights of treaty tribes to half the salmon resources in the state.
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewel, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and U.S. Rep. Denny Heck are among those attending Tuesday’s celebration.
The 762-acre preserve north of Olympia will be renamed the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.