Spilyay Tymoo
Warm Springs, Oregon
June 16, 1989 PAGE 3
Tribe must decide forest's future
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For ecologist Chris Maser met with Natural Resources officers, foresters and interested tribal members at
DahlPine where he related the importance of defining what the forest means to tribal members. With this in
mind tribal members can then set goals and objectives in forest planning.
The forest is a living organism. It
needs water. It needs sunlight. It
needs the nutrient's found in a
healthy soil.
Like other living organisms, the
forest is part of a complex, interre
lated community composed of plants,
insects, animals, birds and numer
ous species, each contributing to
one another's survival. Each species
plays a role.
A tree that is part of a forest
needs time to proceed through its
life cycle. As it grows it takes nut
rients from the soil, nutrients that
come from plant and animal species
inhabiting the same area. Small
animals carry and deposit more
nutrients and eventually a vigorous
tree stands, providing food and
homes for other forest species.
Fire and time take its toll in the
natural life cycle of the forest. The
tree may survive 400 years or more
before it begins to die. But dying
provides life for other forest spe
cies. A decaying tree adds nutrients
to the soil, encouraging the rota
tional cycle to bein again,
again.
On a larger scale, the forest is a
blanket on the earth. It provides a
protective covering for soil and
bedrock. It prevents erosion in
areas of heavy preciptitation. It fil
ters water, making it clean and
clear. And the forest is continu
ously changing, adapting slowly to
new conditions.
The benefits of a forest for man
were simple centuries ago. It pro
Cumulative
One of the most important, if
not the most important forest
resource concept, is that of cumu
lative impacts. This is one of the
most maligned concepts in society
today. The Integrated Resource
Management Planning Team is
wrestling with this concept and all
Hernandez enjoys scaling job
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BIA scaler Bev Hernandez helps determine the value of log
Log scaling is a position tradi
tionally held by men. Bev Hernan
dez didn't care about that when she
requested a position as scaler with
the Warm Springs Bureau of Indian
Affairs Forestry Office. She just
wanted to do it.
Since January 1989 Hernandez
hat been helping to measure the
S10 million worth of lops going
vided lood, shelter, firewood for
warmth and areas to graze lives
tock. It continues to be of eco
nomic importance today. The dif
ference now, however, is that man's
use of ihe forest has increased con
siderably, and he has returned little
back to the resource. The forest is
being diminished through over
harvest, overgrazing and clearance
for agriculture and development.
This denuding of forest areas has
had profound effects in some areas
around the world. Erosion, result
ing from loss of stabilizing vegeta
tion, washes away the soil in Ban
gladesh. Pollution has increased in
Mexico near the capitol where
forests, removed for firewood and
bulding materials, no longer filter
the air. Small Carribean islands
have lost their forest resource
completely by selling their trees to
be made into coal. Worldwide,
scientists fear that the diminished
forests contribute to declining oxy
gen supplies and increased temper
atures as well as resulting in the
extinction of thousands of species
of plants and animals which may
one day prove beneficial to man
kind. Forestry practices are constantly
being revised as it is learned that in
the long-run, particular practices
are basically not to man's benefit.
Short-term economic profits are
no compensation to errors that
may prove irreversible for the
environment. For some people,
whose forests are gone, it is too
late. For the owners of forests still
impact on
that it implies. It has been utilized
as a rallying point for both "envi
ronmentalists" and forest and other
industry spokespersons and their
employees.
Ordinance 45 of the 1968 Tribal
water coae recognized the impor
tance of good watershed manage-
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sfortheln,
rtbe.
through the Warm Springs mill
and calculating their value. She
notes any log damage, insect
infestation, disease and rot and
determines the amount of market
able wood in the log.
Hernandez began working with the
Forestry Office five years ago and
looks forward to continued work
as a scaler.
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healthy, still standing, there is a
chance to maintain a forest for
both economic benetit and lor
environmental health.
The Warm Springs people "must
decide what they want in the future,
what they want to pass on," says
former U.S. Department of Inte
rior research scientist and forest
ecologist Chris Maser, during a
recent visit to Warm Springs.
Speaking to a group of Warm
Springs foresters, Natural Resour
ces personel and tribal members,
Maser explains that the Tribe must
determine goals and objectives
regarding the forest. The Tribe
must decide, "What will work for
us," he says.
These decisions cannot be left up
to foresters and biologists. The
Tribe itself must figure out "what
you want in terms of profit and in
sustained ability of the forest,"
Maser relates. The Tribe "must
define what the forest means."
Professional foresters and biol
ogists can provide technical know
ledge in making these decisions
and in implementing objectives but
they cannot define the values of the
Tribe. With goals and objectives
defined, however, foresters and
biologists can work cooperatively
to those ends.
Time is still available to make
adjustments necessary to maintain
the forest. Forest planning, says
Maser, "can go on for centuries if
the decisions are well thought out."
It is important that options are
part of the planning process.
watersheds
ment, as can be read in the follow
ing statement.
"Management of the Water Resource
is dependent upon the preservation
of reservation watershed areas. Good
land use practices must be observed
in the forested areas, rangeland and
stream bottoms. Adequate vegeta
tive cover must always be maintained.
The development of all related re
sources such as the forest, ranges,
farmland and all construction, such
as roads and dams must be accomp
lished in a manner that will cause the
least deterioration of the watersheds.
Stream pollution, excessive run-off,
erosion, changes in water tempera
ture and other factors that change
water characteristics must be mini
mized." Additional information and re
search since that time has emphas
ized that, in some critical areas,
actions that cause even the smallest
amount of deterioration to other
resources can be excessive. It's like
watching someone building a house
of cards or match sticks; at some
point it all falls down. Cumulative
impacts as the name signifies, are a
total of all impacts on a watershed,
reservation, nation or the world as
a whole. The "greenhouse effect" is
a world wide example of a cumula
tive impact.
In one watershed it is the total
impact caused by road building
and use, logging, recreation, cattle
and horse grazing, natural erosion,
climatic actions, prescribed fires,
etc. All of these work together to
create an effect such as the degra
dation of a watershed or an aquatic
resource. Nature can and does heal
itself over time, therefore, the
objective of the Planning Team is
to plan actions to sustain the en
vironment on any one area over a
given time period.
An example of a planning action
is the work done by the Coordi
nated Resource Planning Team that
utilized a modified cumulative
impact analysis method in 1986-87
to arrive at a rating for the Beaver
Creek Watershed. They did this in
order to predict the optimum
amount of timber that could be
harvested from that watershed
annually over the next ten years,
while providing other uses, with
In determining what the Tribe
wants, when , why, how much and
how long, the Tribe must also
create a forest for future genera
tions. " wc have the responsibility
to pass on options, Maser asserts.
Forests today, says the forest
ecologist, arc viewed as crops. Super
trees and nurseries are part of
forest manugmcnt. Management
takes place with economic profit in
mind. With this focus, the forest is
not allowed to proceed through its
full regeneration cycle. Sustainable
forests are surviving only over three
crops. lime is not allowed for a
natural cycle. With this approach.
Maser asks,"Ilow can we allow the
land to heal?" He adds. "All for
esters know how to grow a sustained
forest, but they aren't allowed to
do it." Economics is the driving
force, not the health of the forest
"The Pacific Northwest has the
world's largest repository of healthy
forests," says Maser. These forests
may eventually be important in
establishing forests elcswhere. En
vironmental situations call for
hardy, adaptable old growth trees
The global warming phenomenon
may cause some tree species to
decline. Old growth genes may be
required to reestablish forests. Pol
lution, too, may destroy the less
adaptable trees in the future. Old
growth species may be the earth's
hope for forest areas.
Old growth is habitat for many
species that may go extinct as the
the areas decline. The extinction of
particular species indicate the con
dition of these areas. According to
Maser, the spotted owl itself may
not be important, but the flying
squirrel, which inhabits the same
environment is necessary to pro
vide nutrients for tree growth. "We
must maintain diversity." Maser
emphasizes. "We must look at
forests as habitat, not timber."
Concern must be given to the
soil and water in forest areas. Trees
gain nutrition from the soils. "We
have to put capital back into the
ground," Maser explains. A sus
tainable forest needs sustainable
soil and sustainable water. "The
forest is not finite."
The Tribe must decide "whether
tor not it wants an ancient forest
and why." It must make decisions
. about profit from the forest and it
must decide what type of forest it
wishes to pass on to future gen
erations. A healthy forest depends on
decisions made by its landowners.
There's not much time to make
those decisions. As custodians of
the forest, says Maser, we need to
establish a "responsible relation
ship between humanity and the
earth." We need to do it now.
important
out adversely affecting the water
shed. A point system for different
actions such as road construction,
clear cutting, prescribed burning,
etc. was utilized to determine the
level of impacts that had occurred
over the past ten years. This infor
mation was then compared against
the actual conditions in Beaver
Creek and a stability threshold
established. The planned actions
for the next ten years were then
scheduled so that the valitity of the
watershed would be maintained.
This study was then expanded
across the reservation and utilized
to arrive at the recommended
reduction in cut implemented by
Tribal Council in 1988.
Cumulative impact analysis is
based on the best information avail
able today. Like the amount of
insurance one carries, it must take
into account the Tribes' present as
well as future needs.
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A recent fencing project on Beaver Creek wUl help protect sensitive streamside ureas from vestock which tend
to compact the soil and denude areas of vegetation. This is one of many project on the reservation designed to
protect water quality and quantity.
Concurrent Notice
Notice to Public of No Significant Effect on
the Environment and Notice to Public of Request
for Release of Funds
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Tribal Administration Building. Tenino Road
P.O. Bo C, Warm Springs, Oregon 97761
(503)553-1161
To all interested agencies, groups and persons:
On or about July 7, 1989,
Springs will request the U.S.
Development to release federal funds under Title 1 of the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (PL 92-383
for the following project:
Warm Springs Tribal Museum
Warm Springs, Oregon
Jefferson County
Warm Springs Indian Reservation
Fifteen and one-half percent
Tribal Museum project will be
amount equal to $700,000. Total cost of the project is $4,500,000
It has been determined that
not constitute an action significantly affecting the quality of the
human environment and accordingly the above-named tribe has
decided not to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (PL
92-290).
The reasons for such decision not to prepare such Statement
are as follows:
No potentially adverse impacts have been identified as a result
of the proposed Warm Springs
An Environmental Review Record respecting the museum project
has been made by the above-named
environmental review of the project and more fully sets forth the
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reasons wny sucn statement is
Review Record is on file at the
public examination and copying upon request at the tribal
planning office between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on
weekdays.
No further environmental review of such project is proposed to
be conducted prior to the request for release of Federal funds.
All interested agencies, groups and persons disagreeing with
this decision are invited to submit written comments for consid
eration by the Tribe to the office
comments should be received
before July 7, 1989. All such
considered and the Tribe will not request the release of Federal
funds or take any administrative action on the within project
prior to the date specified in the preceding sentence.
The Confederated Tribes of
project described above with
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under
Title 1 of the Housing and
1974. The Confederated Tribes
HUD that the Confederated
Smith, Secretary-Treasurer of the Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs, in his official capacity as Secretary-Treasurer, consents
to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts if an action is
brought to enforce responsibilities in relation to environmental
reviews, decision-making and
sibilities have been satisfied. The
that upon its approval the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
may use the Block Grant funds and HUD will have satisfied its
responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act of
969. HUD will accept an objection to its approval only if it is on
one of the following basis: (1) that the certification was not in fact
executed by the certifying officer or other officer of applicant
approved by HUD; or (b) that applicant's environmental review
record for the project indicates
finding or step applicable to the project in the environmental
review process. Objections must be prepared and submitted in
accordance with the required procedure (24 CFR Part 58) and
may be addressed to HUD at the Office of Indian Programs,
Seattle Regional Office, Arcade Plaza Building, 1321 Second
Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101-2054.
Objections to the release of
stated above will not be considered by HUD. No objections
received after July 7, 1989 will be considered by HUD.
Grass is wildfire carrier
The Fire Management staff would
like to take this time to remind all
residents of the Warm Springs
Indian Reservation of the upcom
ing fire season and associated
dangers. Spring rains have pro
duced a new crop of cheatgrass,
which, coupled with the old crop,
increases the dangers of wildfire.
This new crop of cheatgrass is now
in the curing stage and very soon
will be dead and highly flammable.
Grass is the principal carrier of
the Confederated Tribes of Warm
Department of Housing and Urban
(I5) of the total cost of the
financed with federal money, an
the request for release of funds wil
Tribal Museum project.
tribe which documents the
not required, i nis Environmental
above address and is available for
of the undersigned. Such written
at the address specified on or
comments so received will be
Warm Springs will undertake the
Block Grant funds from the U.S.
Community Development Act of
of Warm Springs is certifying to
Tribes of Warm Springs and Ken
action; and that these respon
legal effect of the certification is
omission of a required decision
funds on bases other than those
Ken Smith, Secretary-Treasurer
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
PO Box C
Warm Springs, OR 97761
wildfire, so don't be fooled by light
rain as the moisture dries very
quickly and the fire danger remains
almost constant.
With the Pi-Ume-Sha celebra
tion approaching, everyone is look
ing forward to a merry festival. Be
sure to use good judgment while
using fireworks and use only those
fireworks that are approved by the
local law enforcement agencies. Be
extra careful with debris burning
near grasses.
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