Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 1987)
Spilyay Tymoo Warm Springs, Oregon September 25, 1987 PAGE 3 High steelhead count reported , 1 V Columbia River Inter Tribal Fish Commission executive director Tim Wapato said that he was pleased but not surprised about the record I04.400 wild. typc-A summer steel head that have passed Bonneville Dam this year. "For a number of years now. we've been saying that wild steelhead stocks are rebuild ing." he said. "This year's wild A run is just morce proof." It is nearly double last year's run. A-typc steelhead, which are counted at Bonneville through August 23, are headed for virtually every river basin above Bonneville Dam, including Idaho's Snake River system. Beginning on August 26, steelhead crossing Bonneville are designated as B-type steelhead; most B-typcs are returning to the Clearwater River in Idaho. To de termine whether a steelhead ii of wild or hutchcry origin, scale sam- Upper Deschutes designated scenic waterway DAM OBSTACLE Swimming pools are often created In streams by the construction of small dams. However, these dams can prevent the migration offish to spawning areas. Dams cause stream blockage Rock dams built in the streams around Warm Springs often pro vide a nice swimming and wading pool for children and adults. These builders of dams can sometimes create a dam which completely blocks the natural flow of the creek. Praise must be given for the work exerted to build such struc tures but unfortunately migrating spring chinook find these well constructed dams too large an obsta cle to surmount. Fish must be able to swim upstream to spawn. Five dams, two of which actually block salmon passage, were disco vered recently on Shitike Creek oy Warm Springs Fisheries biologist Mark Fntsch. It was necessary for him to disassemble the dams to make an opening allowing fish passage. Fritsch's advice to those wishing to construct dams is to build them only tall enough to create a small pool. Two feet out of the water definitely creates a problem for the fish. If they are low enough fish can jump the dams and continue their migration upstream. Fritsch also mentioned that while inspecting the streams for obsta-, clcs he noticed much litter, "the lit ter was disgusting," particularly the disposable diapers. To keep these areas enjoyable for all it is recommended that visitors to the streams pack up their garbage and take it home to their garbage cans. Effective this month, an addi tional 82.5 miles of the Upper Deschutes River have been desig nated an Oregon State Scenic Watcr way. The I987 Legislature made the designation following a study of the river's qualifications by the Parks and Recreation Division. The designated sections lie between Wickiup Dam and Lake Billy Chi nook. The lower I00 miles of river were previously declared a scenic waterway in I970. Scenic waterway classifications prohibits dams, reservoirs, impound ments or placer mining, according to John Lilly, Parks Division assis tant administrator. To protect scenic beauty along these waterways, new development or changes of existing uses within a quarter of a mile of the river must be reviewed by the scenic waterway program, Lilly said. Rules followed for such reviews are similar to current county land use planning regulations, Lilly pointed out. Proposed management rules for the newly designated portion of the river will be discussed in public hearings in Bend and Madras this fall. The Bend hearing will also include discussion on whether to give scenic waterway status to the half-mile section of the Deschutes that runs through Bend's urban growth boun dary upstream from Tumalo Creek. Since 1 970, II river segments and one lake have been designated as state scenic waterways. For more information about the program, contact Lilly at the Parks Division, 525 Trade Street SE, Salem, Oregon 973 10 or phone 378-5000. pics are collected from steelhead at Bonneville Dam and 'read' much like tree rings are 'read'. In addition to the I04.400 wild steelhead. there were 1 1 5.700 hatch cry steelhead. bringing this year's total typc-A hutchcry and wild count at Bonneville to 222. 100 steel head. As the numbers indicate, nearly half (47';) of those 222.I00 were wild. In comparison, the I9K6 wild A steelhead totaled only 56.700. or 20?t of the Bonneville count. While wild steelhead stocks have been improving since I980, the I987 wild-A count is the single most dramatic one-year increase. "There arc several reasons for the recent steelhead increases, in cluding more releases of hatchery reared fish into natural habitat areas, better downstream migra tion conditions for juvenile fish, and the restraint exercised by tribal fisheries over the years." emphas ized Wapato. "From 1 977 through I986. the tribes have used net mesh me and length-of-season restric tions to limit steelhead harvests. Some years, the fisheries were com pletely shut dow n to maintain steel head rebuilding efforts." "We're committed to rebuilding wild runs tribal actions have demonstrated that commitment," he said. Gopher treatment scheduled to begin Action will soon begin on 2,400 acres of reservation forest planta tions in an effort to control pocket gopher populations. Strychnine treated grain will be deposited by hand in gopher burrows. Hand baiting has been used pre viously in treatment programs,, according to forestry development officer Larry Hanson. "It has been effective in the majority of units treated," says Hanson. The small rodents build an intri cate burrow system, emerging at night to forage for food which con sists of roots and stems of forbs and grasses. Roots and bark of young conifer seedings are often included in this diet. Gopher populations rise and fall in response to ecological factors such as food supply, predators and environmental conditions. When conditions are favorable gopher populations increase. Plantation units in the northwest corner of the reservation are those with high gopher populations at this time. If uncontrolled, according to the environmental assessment prepared by Hanson, the gophers "will des troy the Tribe's investment in the plantations. Gross loss would be $600-5700.00 per acre if the area is to be kept under intensive manage ment. Areas scheduled for treatment consist primarily of commercial timber stands. Wildlife in the area include mule deer, elk and black bear with some small game animals including the grouse and turkey. Human use of the area is minimal. Heavy domestic livestock use occurs in the McQuinn strip area. Alternatives to the use of the strychnine have been considered but have been found to be less cost effective. Other methods examined include trapping, disruption of gop her sites and the use of a mechincial burrow builder to insert bait into the burrows. Impacts on the environment by use of strychnine are minimal accord ing to the assessment. Regarding water, "there are no impacts that would not be mitigated. No baiting would be done in riparian of stream side buffer zones and there is no chance of it being washed into live OPA focuses on tribal waterways Warm Springs' interest in water ways took precedence at workshops during the 28th Annual Parks Asso ciation Conference held at Kah-Nee-Ta September 16-19. Hosted by the Warm Springs Recreation department participants gained know ledge in areas from tribal jurisdic tion to the concerns of anglers on the Deschutes River. Tribal attorney Howard Arnett opened workshop sessions with a discussion of the history of the Warm Springs people and tribal jurisdiction. "The rules," he stated, "are so complex that no one under stands them." And, he added, "the courts keep changing those rules." Most of the discussion through out the conference centered on waters of the reservation or waters used by tribal members which were traditional fishing areas. The Deschutes, particularly, dominated discussion. Noting that the Deschutes River was historically the center of ceded land, the importance of the river to the Tribes was explained by tribal attorney Jim Noteboom. The Tribes' philosophy is "to preserve the nat ural qualities of the river." Fisheries will continue to be of primary importance in these waters. Hydro-power development will be secondary. The promotion of the U.S. Canada Treaty, "show we care about our resource," says fishe ries technician Louie Pitt, Jr. speak ing to a group. "Indians have always maintained a hard line on fish." Pitt stressed the importance of res torine riparian areas along streams and increasing wild fish runs. Also making presentations at the conference were Peter Packett of the Northwest Power Planning Council who focused on hydro power development in the Northwest. The subject of the Deschutes River and it's tributaries was discussed in a workshop facili tated by Rudy Clements. Speakers included Jim Noteboom, state scenic waterways administrator John Lilly, Portland General Electric fisheries biologist Don Ratliff, and river guide and sports fishermen Mike McLacus. Conference participants enjoyed a salmon bake along with a boat ride on Lake Billy Chinook and a short raft trip on the Deschutes River. Awards were presented dur ing a banquet and a powwow con cluded activities of the conference. streams." No impact on air, land and vegetation is expected. With strychnine treatment "95 98 percent of the gopher popula tion" may be eliminated, the report indicates. The gophers die under ground. However, there have been documented cases where golden ' mantled ground squirrels have eaten the bait and died on the surface where they were accessible to rap tors and other predatory wildlife. "No dead wildlife of any kind has been observed on the plantations we previously treated using this method," says Hanson in the assess ment summary. People working with the chemi cals are at risk so a licensed appli cator will be present on this project even though state and federal regu lations do not require it for this pesticide. Safety precautions will be taken. The cost acre of this treatment is $$25.00 with a total program cost of $60,000. Any questions or comments regard ing the treatment program may be directed to Larry Hanson at 553 l I6l, ext. 407 or Bill Apgar, Ext. 416. :V ' 'V i V, . if f 1 v I'i - - k t , t - V . .. 1 . -;,- .... , ' . - v - . ..: r : ( . ,, ' ... .y-."" ' . ft.-i' -! y ;. ",:.'"-.--': ' - .-, - : . "- -j . i - ... v ". .- v. ...--- . , - ' ; . -.- i ' - '.-. I , - - S pity my Tymoo photo by Shrwcxyk Collecting eggs Eggs were recently taken at Warm Springs Federal Fish Hatchery. According to hatchery manager Gary White, between 800,000 and 900,000 eggs will be collected and incubated. This is not as many as hatchery personnel would like to see, but spring chinook returns were lower than expected. Fisheries technician is adding mitt to eggs. BIA provides drug education funds fj V . t'7 - - - -- - "a-V - ' jt -.I, - . jf -' - rr; T'v ' W ' - ' r I-"' ".r?! -'',ju I" f ' -'W-v.. m- ' C 'rttJor ".. ?w Kl tf - Y " ' " ' - t-" r" :" I f v . - The Bureau of Indian Affairs will make nearly $2 million avail able to Indian schools and tribes for drug abuse education and prev ention during school year 1987-88. The funds are part of an agree ment signed August 1 4 between the Departments of Education and the Interior. The Memorandum Agree ment (MO A) transfers $ 1 .9 million from the Education Department of the BIA. The funds were allocated to Education under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. "We believe this is an opportun ity to supplement the efforts of BIA and tribal schools as well as tribal governments in our mutual goal of achieving sobriety in Indian Country," said Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Ross Swimmer. "Federal funding is not the solution to all alcohol and substance abuse problems but I hope these monies will enable local people to bring about change in their schools and communities." Approximately 70 percent of the money will go to BIA and tribally contracted schools to fund school based programs like family drug abuse education, counseling, inter vention and rehabilitation referrals. About 30 percent of the funds can be contacted by tribal governments affiliated with BIA-funded schools for community-based programs like training for teachers, counselors and law enforcement officials, the development and distribution oi educational materials and techni cal assistance to help community based organizations in their fight against substance abuse. Under the agreement, the BIA will award funds to schools accord ing to the Indian School Equaliza tion Program Formula. Schools must file an application with the BIA to receive the funds. The 30 percent going to community-based programs will give highest priority to programs aimed at "high risk youth," which are defined as school dropouts, the economically disadvantaged, students who are pregnant and other problemed youth. Applications should be made through BIA agency education offers. Smokejumper trainees wanted SCENIC TRIP A rafting excursion on the Deschutes River was one of the activities planned by Warm Springs Recreation for participants of the Oregon Parks A ssociation Conference held at Kah-See-Ta Sep tember H-l 9. Applicants are being sought for the Redmond Air Center five-week smokejumper training sessions. To be considered for selection, applicants must have at least two seasons of work experience, one season of general forestry agriclu ture experience and one season of wildland firefighting experience. A season is a minimum of 90 calendar days. Applicants must be not taller than 67 and no shorter than 5'. They must weigh no more than 200 pounds and no less than 1 20 pounds. They must also pass a medical examination. AH smokejumper can didates will meet national ly established standards and qualifi cations. The five-week course which be gins in early June, 1988, w ill include rigorous training with emphasis on physical fitness, parachuting skills and firefighting techniques. The first two-and-half weeks are designed to train recruits in proper procedures for exiting from air craft, parachute landing rolls, let downs from trees, parachute mani pulation, aircraft safety and to deve lop a high physical condition level. Prior to their first training jump, each recruit will be required to pass a test which includes running a mile-and-a-half in under 1 1 min utes. 25 push-ups. 45 sit-ups and seven pull ups or chin ups. Each candidate will also be required to pass a packout test which consists of carry ing a 1 10 pound pack over a three-mile course on flat ground in 90 minutes or less. By the end of the first session, each candidate must demonstrate proficiency in exits from aircrafts. let dow ns. parachute landing rolls. parachute manipulations and air craft safety prior to their first para chute jump. Recruits can also plan on one or two-hour physical conditioning ses sions each day including a two to five mile run at seven to eight min utes per mile. The second two-and-one-half week session will include seven to eight training parachute jumps and tree climbing. The rest of the training period is devoted to familiarization w ith equipment, smokejumper fire fighting techniques and mop up standards. If you are interested in this train ing, contact Bob Harned. forest manager, at 553-1121. extension 416. Applications can be obtained from Harned and will be accepted between December I and January 15. 4