TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
December USDA Distribution Dates
Siletz
Monday, Dec. 1
Tuesday, Dec. 2
Wednesday, Dec. 3
Thursday, Dec. 4
Friday, Dec. 5
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Salem
Monday, Dec. 15
2 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 16
9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 17 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
I would like to
extend a happy wel
come to my new
USDA clerk, Joyce
Retherford,
who
began working here
Nov. 3. She joins our
team that includes
Verne Belgarde, Elders
Work Experience warehouseman;
Daniel Brown, Tribal Work Experience
warehouseman, both in Siletz; Earl
Littleton, warehouseman in Salem;
and also myself, Kitti Hostler, USDA
FDP director.
I want to say it’s a joy to work with
all of the team and I want to thank
Angela Ramirez, Elders Program
coordinator, for thinking of our
program for worker placement and
many thanks to the ESP
team for placing workers
with USDA. Thank
you to all the staff here
and in the area offices
for their efforts to
inform people that our
food program is here
as a resource. You’re
all appreciated.
Joyce
Retherford
operates the
forklife in
the Siletz
warehouse.
Don’t forget we’ll have bonus
three-pound frozen ham for your
Christmas dinner. Happy meals to you
and yours this holiday season.
Hatchery Open for Visits, Tours
The Lhuuke Illahee Fish Hatchery
has steadily made improvements over
the last year and how has several new
things for people to see. It’s open from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and is located near
milepost 13 on Logsden Road.
The hatchery has three rearing
ponds where the 50,000 fry (newborn
fish) live for one year. Tribal fish and
wildlife personnel decided to make the
ponds as natural as possible by filling
them with tree branches, which
accomplished two things.
The branches attract bugs, which
eat the algae that builds up on the
branches. The bugs reproduce and the
fish feed on the bugs. This, in turn, means
that it isn't necessary for staff to feed
the fish, which cuts down on costs for the
tribe while providing a better feeding
situation for the fry. The brush also creates
a visual barrier for the fish, which
enhances their less-crowded conditions
than that of most fish hatcheries.
To help the fish complete their
cycle of reproduction, tribal personnel
built two spawning channels. The fry
usually spend their first year in the
rearing ponds. Then as smolts, they
spend about 18 months in the ocean.
They come back to the spawning
channel to lay their eggs, averaging
3,000 eggs at a time. Once the eggs
incubate, the fry are captured as they
6
□
Siletz News
□
swim out of the channel and are taken
to the rearing ponds.
A tribal goal, says Stan van de
Wetering, tribal fisheries biologist, is to
eventually not use any hatchery fish so
that all fish in the Lhuuke Illahee Fish
Hatchery are wild salmon.
The spawning channels adjacent to
Little Rock Creek and the rearing ponds
are open to the public to observe the
fish’s lifecycle. An awning with a wood
stove and picnic table, and a port-a-
potty, are available. Safe and accessible
December 2003
walking areas are marked with a
roped path.
Fishing by tribal members only is
allowed at the hatchery during the
regular fishing season(s). Tribal and
non-tribal individuals, families, and
groups can visit the rearing ponds and
spawning channels. Larger groups
should call Stan at 541-444-8294 or
1-800-922-1399, ext. 294, or Frank
Simmons, Natural Resources technician,
at 541-444-8288 or 1-800-922-1399,
ext. 288, to schedule a tour.
Walt’s Words of
Wit and Wisdom
Well by golly, how time does fly.
Elk season is upon me. I had to go to
Ukia starting out Nov. 6. Camped at the
5,574-foot level. In the meantime, I’m
going to pass on some pertinent informa
tion that one cannot live without knowing.
We often put a gender on the
objects we’re talking about, for instance
a ship. We refer to a ship as she.
But what about other objects, aren’t
they being slighted? A hammer? It’s a
he. It hasn’t evolved much over the last
5,000 years, but it’s handy to have around.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ziplock bags, he: It holds every
thing in, but one can see right
through them.
Copy machine, she: Once it’s turned
off, it takes a while to warm up.
Tire, he: Often goes bald and many
times is overinflated.
Hot air balloon, he: In order to get
anywhere, a fire has to be lit under it.
Sponges, she: They're soft and
squeezable and retain water.
Subway, he: They use the same old
lines to pick people up.
Remote control, she: One would
think this is male, but consider this.
It gives men pleasure, he’d be lost
without it, and while he doesn’t
know the right buttons to push, he
keeps trying.
Now good people, you can rest
tonight having gained this knowledge.
I don't remember where I got this
valuable information from, though.