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
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How do people fall victim to
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Usually they are susceptible
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no one to ask advice of.
How can fake claims or
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following questions to identify
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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.— ...