CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
In the August issue of Siletz. News,
I made a very brief statement about the
fact that nearly 4.000 acres of land had
been turned over to the Siletz Tribe to
manage for the restoration of the
marbled murrelet population and habi
tat. The murrelet, which already had
been declared a threatened species,
were virtually wiped out by the oil
spilled by the New Carissa, a cargo
ship that ran aground off the Oregon
Coast in 1999.
An extensive account of the New
Carissa disaster and subsequent resto
ration plan was made public in a news
release on July 31 by Phil Carroll, a
member of the Public Affairs staff of
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Readers of Siletz News already may
have read the news items that were
immediately published by the media in
various local and national publications.
Stories of the ship disaster and plan
for restoring the murrelet also were re
ported to the Siletz General Council by
Mike Kennedy, Siletz Natural Re
sources Director, who also wrote an
excellent article on this subject in the
July issue of Nesika Illahee, the tribe’s
confidential newsletter.
The trustees responsible for over
seeing the restoration of the murrelet
decided that ownership and manage
ment of the 3,951 acres be turned over
to the Siletz Tribe because the tribe
“has a long history of forest manage
ment and community involvement, a
multi-disciplinary staff and a demon-
Delores Pigsley
strated ability in resource restoration
and species conservation.’’
The trustees that came to this con
clusion included the Bureau of Land
Management, the U.S. Fish and Wild
life Service and the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (all of which are agencies
within the U.S. Department of Interior);
the Oregon State Department of Fish
and Wildlife Service; the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians; and the Con
federated Tribes of the Coos, Lower
Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.
Among the multitude of functions
for which the tribe is responsible is the
preparation of a detailed management
plan every year, subject to review by
the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Manage
ment and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
And as long as the following ac
tivities don't adversely affect the
murrelet. the tribe will be responsible
for keeping selected areas of the land
open for public hunting, fishing and
other recreational uses, and also will
enable limited commercial timber har
vest in order to provide revenue for the
management of the property and pay
ment of county property taxes.
I am pleased that the trustees’ de
cision was based on the recognition that
the Siletz. Tribe has competence in for
est management and community involve
ment, has a capable multi-disciplinary
staff and proven ability in resource res
toration and species conservation.
We need to be reminded that the
Siletz Tribe has values beyond those
attributes. In fact, it’s the respect for
all living creatures that is, and has al
ways been, of deep cultural signifi
cance to the Siletz Tribe.
In fact, the marbled murrelet has
been a significant natural resource that
dates beyond the .New Carissa disas
ter. Five years before this disaster seri
ously threatened the existence of the
marbled murrelet, the Siletz Tribe’s
1994 Comprehensive Plan specifically
identified the protection, acquisition
and development of the spotted owl
and the marbled murrelet habitats as
major tribal priorities. The preservation
of part of the tribe's forest land as a
recreation area also was identified in
the 1994 comp plan as a natural re
source priority.
A most important step in the com
prehensive planning process is always
direct input by tribal members through
community meetings held in each of the
four federally recognized tribal areas
(Siletz. Portland. Salem and Eugene).
Tribal members are given the op
portunity to identify priorities and list
methods and activities to achieve those
priorities. So the fact that the tribe iden
tified the marbled murrelet and its habi
tat as items of high priority during the
1994 comprehensive planning process
has special significance.
The basis upon which the Siletz
Tribe has conducted its natural and
cultural resources is reflected in the
Natural Resources Mission Statement:
To care for. protect, enhance and
provide for the wise use of all of the
tribe’s natural resources in a manner
that ensures that all generations to
come will benefit from these resources.
This philosophy applies to all land to
which the tribe is historically tied, in
cluding its aboriginal ancestral lands,
its Coast Reservation, and its current
and future land holdings.
We enjoyed a great pow-wow and
parade this year. Thank you. Sister
Francella Griggs, for being our grand
marshal and to Hiroto Zakoji for ac
companying her.
Restoration Committee Working on
30th Anniversary Celebration
by Tina Retasket
The Tribal Council has appointed a
committee to work on this year's Resto
ration Celebration. As you may already
know, this year marks the 30lh anniver
sary of Restoration. The committee is
working on many events leading up to
the Restoration event in November.
If you have any photographs of
people or events that are significant to
pre- or post-restoration, we would like
to make a copy of them.
Please bring your photos to the
Public Information office in the admin
istration building in Siletz. Diane or
Laurel will scan your photo, ask you who
the people are in the picture and what
the event is, and return the photo to you.
They will forward the copies to the com
mittee and you will have the original.
We appreciate everyone’s assis
tance in this event and hope to use as
many pictures as possible to show the
recent history of the Siletz Tribe.
Most Often Requested Numbers
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Salem Area Office
Salem Finance Office
Portland Area Office
Eugene Area Office
Springfield Siletz Tribal Head Start
Contract Health Services (CHS)
Siletz Community Health Clinic
Siletz Alcohol and Drug
Chinook Winds Casino Resort
Chemawa Health Clinic
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Web Site
1-800-922-1399
503-390-9494
1-888-870-9051
503-238-1512
541-484-4234
541-747-0161
1-800-628-5720
1-800-648-0449
1-800-600-5599
1-888-244-6665
I-8OO-452-7823
1-8OO-323-85I7
www.ctsi.nsn.us
September 2007
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Siletz News
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