Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1978)
OCTOBER 6, 1878 PAGE 9 E n gelb retson : A Low K e y F orest M anager by Cynthia Stowell When B.I.A. forester Bill Apgar warned the community that the new forest manager would not be “another Gunther,” we all guessed his meaning. With the arrival of Ken Engelbretson September 8, the accuracy of his rem ark has been borne out. In the chair vacated by booming, pipe-smoking Gun ther Heeren sits a gentle, soft- spoken man who terms his style “low key.” Engelbretson, 46, quietly joined the B.I.A. forestry depart ment at a busy time, with logging at full tilt, pine cone gathering in gear, and spruce budworms infesting the high country. The new forest manager has also come at a time when a tribal timber study is questioning the Bureau’s inventory procedures and on a nationwide basis tribes are seeking more involvement in the management of their timber resources. None of this seems to ruffle Engelbretson, whose self-profes- sed method is to watch, analyze, and then act. He is not a stranger to uncertainty nor unexpected events, and has learned the value of flexibility. On northern California’s Hoopa R eservation, where Engelbretson managed the for est from 1971 until this year, tribal politics were preventing the Bureau from turning over timber receipts to the tribe for an indefinite period. His own status wasn’t even rock-hard as he held the “acting” manager role for three years. During the past year Engel bretson found himself in the unfilled Superintendent’s job for two sixty-day appointments, res ponsible for a range of programs similar to - those in Warm Springs. While Engelbretson was at Hoopa he watched the annual allowable cut drop from a high of 60 million board feet to 27 million as a new inventory showed that only a smaller cut would meet the sustained yield policy of the Bureau. It was not evasion of dif ficulties that brought Engelbret son to Warm Springs, however. It was, rather, a promotion and the desire to “try something the Hoopa forest management system is the existence of a tribal crew of 25 that works along with the Bureau staff. Engelbretson admitted that this arrangement might be “unusual” and recog nized its potential for attracting tribal members to the forestry field and providing them with on the job training, as well as employing older experienced men who lack credentials. Engelbretson said it was too soon for him to say whether such a crew would be feasible here. He did say, however, that he felt the Bureau should encourage tribal members to enter forestry, but noted that tribal jobs often pay more and are therefore more attractive. Although Engelbretson faces big differences here in Warm Springs especially in terms of the scale of operations, B.I.A. local officers have a great deal in common procedurally and or ganizationally. At Hoopa Engel bretson’s department has been crippled by Bureau dollar freezes and personnel ceilings, as in Warm Springs, and reduced staffing was often the norm. Engelbretson noted that while his hands were tied within the Bureau; the tribal crew often came to his assistance in scaling and cruising — one way around the bureaucracy. Trustee of a tribal resource Ken Engelbretson different.” His deep aesthetic appreciation for the east side pine type was also a drawing factor, said the new manager. At Hoopa he and his depart ment worked primarily with west side fir, one of the many differences between that reser vation and this. Engelbretson left a staff of sixteen and a commercial forest of 81,000 acres and came to a crew of 38 and a timbered area of 368,000 acres, including the McQuinn Strip. Hoopa does not own its own mill while the Confederated Tribes harvest and process their own timber. Tribal logging out fits at Hoopa bid competitively on an open m arket for timber sales while Warm Springs has a closed market. Encouraging Indian Foresters One interesting feature of Extension Notes: North End Horse Count Horses were counted by the Northend Livestock Ride Bosses recently using a helicopter. Ap proximately 29 hours of flying time was required to cover most of the area north of the Warm Springs River to the Reservation boundary. Jacob Frank, Exten sion Program Assistant and one of five Northend horse ride bos ses, coordinated the count. Dur ing most of the flying, two ride - bosses identified each group of horses by the stud and then agreed on the number of horses within each group. The horse count was funded through the Land Operation department, costing $5,000. The purpose of the count was to get a handle on the number of horses grazing on the northend. Horse numbers will be added to the number of cattle to get a total of livestock on the Northend range. With this number it is then possible to start managing the livestock to best utilize the range without damaging the re source. Over utilization in the past has resulted in elimination of desirable grasses and intro duction of weeds such as Medusa Head. The ride bosses hope to keep the livestock numbers within the carrying capacity of the range. They also hope to identify the best time each area should be grazed. Further plans by the-ride bosses is to build a fence with Land Operations’ assistance along Warm Springs River west of Highway 26. This area will then be used as summer range to relieve graze pressure from the area east of Highway 26. Storing Potatoes Picking potatoes in fields after harvesting is an easy and inexpensive way to get good quality potatoes for the winter months. Many Madras and Cul ver farm ers will be harvesting their potatoes in mid-October and by asking permission indi viduals can pick as many as they can carry. “ It’s important that potatoes be picked as soon after the har vester has gone through the field” says Clint Jacks Extension Agent. “Sunlight will turn the potatoes green and will make them unfit for table use. Tubers with an excessive amount of greening should be discarded.” Potatoes should be stored in a d ry ro o m th a tc a n b e k e p ta t a temperature of 35 to 40 degrees F and where the humidity is moderate. They should also be kept in total darkness. Under these conditions well matured tubers will stay in good condition for seven to eight months, says Jacks. When the storage tempera ture goes above. 40 degrees F, potatoes should keep two to three months, but sprouting and shriveling may occur. If the storage temperature drops to 32 degrees F, potatoes often become sweet. Increasing the temperature a few days will cause the sugar to revert to starch and good table quality restored. The Bureau’s mandate as a trustee is to manage the reser vation’s timbered land ip the best interest of the Tribes, ac cording to what the Tribes want, noted. Engelbretson. So the clamor for more involvement in timber management, as embod ied in the developing National Indian Timber Countil, does not seem to Engelbretson to be in compatible with the effective carrying out of the Bureau’s trust responsibility. Although “best interest” is usually interpreted as the “greatest production of wood fiber” and the resultant eco nomic benefits, Engelbretson acknowledges minority views such as the “leave it as it is” school of thought. He approves of the conditional use system de signed by the Tribes'to examine other possible uses for certain timbered land. The setting aside of land in this manner “does not necessarily violate the best bene fit of the Tribes,” the manager commented. Staying in touch with the Tribes When asked how he intended to communicate with the Tribes, Engelbretson responded, “very directly.” He said it was up to the Council and management to set the pattern, however, and said he “would always be available.” As it is, he is expected to attend Timber Committee meetings twice a month and make monthly reports to the Superintendent for presentation to the Council. As Engelbretson m eets people, familiarizes himself with programs, and settled in, the only worry he has is that foresters will feel cramped this ’winter in the allotted office space. Even now Engelbretson’s soft tones are barely audible above the boisterous sound of male voices in the basement offices of the Old Agency build ing; Engelbretson is living on the campus with his wife Patricia and high school aged daughter Kristin. He also has two grown children attending college in California. The trim, youthful- looking man is a walker and is already starting to wear a path from one end of campus to the other in his daily home-to-office trek. ENGELBRETSON'S BACKGROUND BRIEFLY 1954 - Earned B.S. in Forestry from University of Minnesota 1956-58 Started forestry work With B.I.A. at Hoopa Agency, California 1958 - Resource-inventory through Riverside area office in southern California 1958- 59 - Temporary assignment at Sacramento Area Office doing timber and resource inventory on rancherías, allotments and reservations of central California. 1959- 63 - Forest Manager at Tule River Reservation 1963-71 - Assistant Forest Manager at Hoopa Indian Reservation 1971-74 - Acting Forest Manager at Hoopa x 1975-78 - Forest Manager, Hoopa 1977 - B.I.A. incentive award. Facts on Aging, Part 3 Don't Always Believe The Commercials Fantastic cure for whatever ails you! How do people fall victim to false claims or useless products? Usually they are susceptible because of a personal health problem such as cancer or arthritis. Serious health prob lems can make us want to turn to someone-anyone-who promises a cure. Lesser ills such as over weight or normal aging can also make us vulnerable. Often times older people fall into at least one of these catagories and will have no one to ask advice of. How can fake claims or quackery be recognized? Use the following questions to identify quackery . If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, quackery may be at work! — Is the product advertised as a “secret remedy” or “m ir acle” drug or product?, — Is the remedy sold door to door by “health advisors” ad vertised in sensational m aga zines, or promoted in lectures to the public? — Is the medical profession accused of “ignoring” this new discovery? — Is the product or device “good” for treating a vast var iety of illnesses or conditions? — If you think you’ve been a victim of quackery, don’t be em barrassed ! Instead, act quick ly- — See your physician or inform your county medical society or office. — Contact the Food and Drug Administration in Port land. — If the product or device was sold or advertised through the mail, inform your local post office. . ■ t ,-v.— ...
