Yakama Nation leader Patrick Luke will head fish commission

Yakama tribal Councilman Patrick Luke was sworn in Thursday as the new chairman for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

He was selected by peers from the Warm Springs, Yakama, Nez Perce and Umatilla tribes, according to the commission, which manages tribal fisheries.

“My vision for the future of Columbia River fisheries is to work towards the restoration of salmon, steelhead, lamprey, suckers and sturgeon using a well-rounded approach,” Luke said in a statement released by the commission.

Luke enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school, and moved to Alaska after his service and worked as a fisherman for more than a decade. He graduated Blue Mountain Community College, then went on to graduated Oregon State University’s Fisheries and Wildlife Program, graduating in 2007.

He returned to the Yakama Nation, and worked at the Klickitat Salmon Hatchery, developing the Pacific Lamprey Restoration Project for the Yakama Nation Fisheries Program. Luke was elected to the Yakama Nation Tribal Council in 2014.

Luke will assume the position from Jeremy Red Star Wolf of Umatilla.

Other commission officers elected were Dan Kane of Nez Perce as vice-chair, Ryan Smith of Warm Springs as secretary and Jeremy Red Star Wolf as treasurer. The election of commission officers takes place every June with the seats rotating among the four member tribes, according to the commission.