Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 2001)
Spjlyay Tymoo, Wqrro Sprink Oregon 5eptemheii62001 Pe5 Ctijtd from page I , WSFPI has an agreement with the tribes providing the enterprise wit first right to the timber harvested oil the reservation, Currently, tribal and WSFPI o ficials arc reviewing thia agrcemc and may revise the document. T original agreement was implement in 1992, and expires at the cnd,f this year, providing the opporruAy for the WSFPI and tribal official to . , re-visit provisions of the agrcceent Because VC'SI PI has the firjight to timber harvested on the nerva tion, the annual allowable h, as adopted by Tribal Counctf i an important figure for the nl. The annual allowable cut is thtflumbcr of board feet of timber tbc har vested from reservation tibcrland during the year. , For the coming yuf, Tribal Council has set the ailowJlc cut fig ure at 37.6 million boarfeet across the 14 forest planning frits on the reservation. For the current yea the figure is 52 million board fc indicating a fairly substantial ruction from 2001 to 2002 in tW allowable cut level. Calica said that fc annual cut of 37.6 million boarJect represents a sustainable harveslevel for the res ervation timbcrlaO. The figure was developed after Jailed research into the conditions othe forest, he said. (See related ttorfn this page.) People at tl WSFPI mill were not happy upofhearing word of the 37.6 million bp! feet allowable cut level. John Kpia, manager of the WSFPI mill.jud the figure seems quite low, ccfidering that the res ervation incises over 300,000 acres of forested ttd. ( "We're bng forced to purchase off-reservatin timber," Katchia said. 'To do thaind make money at the same time going to be very chal lenging." The mimow has an annual con- nJWfPt9W?i,ot ,loS;iuirem,ent f rate,, of J million board , feet per year. In oler words, the mill needs to procesihat amount of timber to operate cinpetitively in the market. ; With Je allowable cut for 2002 , set at 37.injllion bjard feet, WSFPI will havffto purchase a significant number i logs - ptrhaps 25 percent of its too - from off the reservation. For ne current year, the allow able cutjn the re srvation was about ; in line ith the nail production rate, so the rjill did nk rely much on off- reservaion logsysaid Potts. Last year, tip mill added a new saw for large ugs, and efficiency in overall prodction greatly im proved, said Htts. For these reasons, WSFPI in 200 did purchase a higher than usual niiber of off-reservation logs. Howeverfprior to the year 2000, . WSFPI pJchased only minimal numbers ologs from off the reser- i.u mim HIMII w nil" i wm 1 1 " '-" " " ' 1 " ' t 1 " "' "" "J""" - - """" HI. , ft-" T.T' il I l , 1, . , i I i I i . . 1 IrT Tribes' forest planner explains harvest level -4 K k .. . - jh. Tgr- , ... - -jJf;. , . ik. --..-. til." !i i . . .. ... ' IV j .''a.'Jv. ' '' '. " ' ' Photos by Dave McMechan The photo at top is of mill superintendent Katchia at log debarking machinery; and above, a saw operator prepares logs for further processing inside the mill. ' ' ' , i '' i i 1 '. ir: ii vation; instead, the mill relied almost entirely on the allowable cut on the reservation. Past cut levels The numbers regarding past cut levels tell the story of the changes in forest management on the reservaT tion. For a number of decades' prior to the 1980s, the cut level was in the range of 50 to 55 million board feet per year, said Calica. , Then in the 1980s the annual har vest levels doubled. In one year more than 130 million board feet, includ ing salvage, were harvested from the reservation. Concerned about over-cutting and the unsustainability of the har vest level, the Tribal Council in the 1990s brought the allowable cut back to the range of 50 to 55 million board feet. The Council set these fig ures at the recommendation of for esters working for the tribes and for , the Bureau of Indian Affairs. ; For the year 2002, the Council has set the cut level at 37.6 million board feet, showing the on-going if not increased concern for sustainability of reservation timber. So, in looking to the future WSFPI for the first time is facing the need for a prolonged reliance on off reservation logs. This presents a se rious, but by no means insurmoun table challenge, said Potts. Some factors are working in WSFPI's favor, including the recent closure of the Ochoco mill in Prineville. This and the closure last year of a mill in the Mt. Hood area should free up additional logs for the WSFPI mill, said Potts. In coming years WSFPI should be able to purchase logs from the Deschutes and Mt. Hood national forests, and from the Yakama Reser vation, among other sources, Potts said. , "We are confident that we will find logs on the open market off the reservation that will fulfill our needs," he said. Cllarter school... ntinued from page 1 Chatr schools provide innova- tive anymore flexible ways of edu cating itudents within the public schoolystem. The Oregon Legisla ture aipted the charter school law in 19' Fiff percent of the teachers at charts schools must be certified, but thj other 50 percent do not need teach certification. Tre arrangement would allow a persoj of the local community who is exf rt in a certain subject to teach at thj charter school, without re quirip the person to become a cer tifieiteacher. ! instance, tribal members who havknowledge of traditional lan guafs and culture, or of the tribes' govt nment arid history, could teach at fe charter school. rie Tribal Council last week met wirfjoni Gilles, program specialist wit the Oregon Department of Edlcation. Gilles, a former princi pal a charter school, said that the Warn Springs proposal fits perfectly will trie spirit ot tnc cnarter school legislation. Charter schools, she said, "are de signed to provide alternatives, be cause children don't all learn the same way." A charter school in Warm Springs would be unique in that no other reservation in the state has such a school, Gilles said. A charter school is created through an agreement with' the school district. Funding of the char ter school comes from the state, ad ministered through the school dis trict. As with regular public schools, charter schools are funded by the state on the basis of the number of enrolled students. State funding for a public charter middle school is 80 percent of the amount per student -provided to the non-charter public middle school. For a charter high school the amount is 95 percent of the amount per student provided to the non charter public high school. The local community can choose to make up the difference in fund ing by contributing to the charter school. ' "' '' ' '' This may not ' be necessary, though, because charter schools, with up to 50 percent non-certified teachers, can be less expensive to in the community, people gave sug gestions on how the existing elemen tary school buildings might be used after the new elementary school opens. operate than regular public schools, . fThere were three main sugges said Gilles. - ' 1 V Hons, said lulie Ouaid. director of The annual allowable cut of tim ber on the reservation can lw a point of controversy. Some tribal members today feel that the cut level of the 1980s were too high, and that ihc comparatively low cut level set for next year is a consequence of past years of over cutting. The Tribal Council last month tct the 2002 allowable timber cut on the reservation at 37.6 million board feet. The numlar could increase by up to 2.5 million board feet, if forest managers determine that some of the ponderosa pine management group should also be harvested. There is no scheduled harvest for this man agement group. Instead, some pine could possibly be harvested as sal vage, or in order to improve the health of the forest. The 37.6 million board feet to be cut next year is a fairly significant reduction from the 52 million board feet of the current year. For perspective on the board-feet numbers: The Warm Springs Forest Products Industries mill in one year processes 48 million board feet of timber. Allan Derickson, the tribes' for est planner, recommended to the Tribal Council the allowable cut for next year. Derickson explained that for next year, specific cutting levels are set in each of the 14 planning units of the reservation timberland. This will be the first time that such levels have been established for the various units, which represent different watersheds on the reserva tion. The reason why the 2002 allow able cut level is below that of last year in part has to do with the pon derosa pine ground on the reserva tion, Derickson explained. A full explanation of the situa tion, he said, requires a brief over view of 'the"history of timber har vesting on the reservation. Back in the 1940s and '50s, which were the early years of commercial timber harvests on the reservation, the focus was on taking trees that were seen as otherwise being wasted. These often included older trees, ones that had blown down, or trees that were unhealthy from disease or fire. Harvest levels steadily increased, and in the mid 1960s the tribes en tered the lumber market, with the establishment of Warm Springs For est Products Industries. The WSFPI mill is at the site of the old Jefferson Lumber mill. Into the 1970s the focus of reser vation forest management remained on the harvesting of older trees, and the planting of new ones that some day will be ready for harvesting. The rate of growth in younger forests is faster than that of old growth, which creates the incentive, from the harvesting perspective, to convert the old stands of trees to new stands. On the reservation this manage ment approach peaked in the 1980s, when over 100 million board feet were being harvested annually.. At the end of the 1980s people 'Tje Warm Springs Res emition is in a unique po sition geographically for natural re- managing sources. " Allan Derickson Forest planner were increasingly concerned that the reservation timberland was being over-cut. In response, during the first part of the 1990s, the tribes devel oped an Integrated Resource Man agement Plan (1RMP), which was adopted in 1992. The IRMP was the first such plan for a reservation, and was kxjkcd on as a model for other tribes. Essentially, the IRMP called for forest management that takes into consideration timber harvests, but also factors like water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and cultural resources. Under the IRMP, a sustainable allowable timber cut on the reserva tion was determined to be about 55 million board feet per year. How ever, rather than drop sharply from the high cut levels of the 1980s to the new target level, the Tribal Council decided to phase in the re ductions over a few years. An issue that complicated this process involves the reservation's low-elevation ponderosa pine man agement group, which had been har vested to a great extent until 1992 Initially in the early 1990s, while developing the sustainable harvest level number, the forest managers included a harvest level for the pine. The level was about 20 percent of the total cut. In 1992, though, an independent study indicated that the pine ground ' on the reservation had been over-cut The Tribal Council then adopted a 10-year moratorium on pine ground harvesting. However, during the 1990s and into this year, the long-term sustain able cut figure of approximately 55 million board feet was not adjusted to reflect the pine ground morato rium. For 2002, the adjustment is be ing made, which helps explain why the harvest level is dropping from 52 million board feet this year to 37.6 million board feet next year. Derickson said that the IRMP approach to forest management has many benefits for the tribes' forest land. "The Warm Springs Reservation is in a unique position geographi cally for managing natural re sources," Derickson said. The reservation, encompassing many watersheds, goes from the crest of mountains in the west down to a major river in the east. This allows the tribes to determine the quality of water in the streams and the health of the habitat for fish. Tradi tional food gathering areas and other cultural resources can also be pro tected, Derickson said. One of the main hurdles, toward creation of a charter school is fund ing of the facilities, that is, the build ings where the classes are to be taught. '' For the Confederated Tribes, this issue may be resolved in the fall of 2003, when the new Warm Springs Elementary School is scheduled to open. The new school is made pos sible by the adoption this year of an $8 million design and construction plan. The Confederated Tribes and School District 509-J are sharing the costs of this project When the elementary school is relocated to its new facilities, the existing buildings of the Warm Springs Elementary School will be open for a different use. It is possible that a charter school could operate in the existing elemen tary school buildings, said Olney Patt. Earlier this year, during hearings -Warm Springs Early Childhood Education. The three suggestions, Quaid said, were a charter school, a vocationaljob-skills teaching center, and a place for activities of the Boys & Girls Club. Whatever option is chosen, the tribes will have to work in partner ship with the BIA, which owns the elementary school property, said Quaid. The BIA leased the property to the tribes until the time when a new 'elementary school opens, said Quaid. She added that the BIA very likely would be willing to continue allowing the tribes to use the build ings after 2003. Another issue, she said, is the need for renovation at the existing Warm Springs Elementary School buildings. A big issue will be fund ing to remodel the buildings for older students, rather than elemen tary school children, said Quaid. Traditional leave... Continued from page 1 Work on developing a traditional leave policy for the tribal govern ment began last summer. The initiative for the project came when elders at last year's Huckle berry Feast mentioned the need for such a policy to Charles Jackson, secretary-treasurer of the Confeder ated Tribes. Later, Heath, working with a committee of traditional food gath erers and preparers, developed a draft for review and consideration by Tribal Council. The new policy applies to any tribal employee, in the employment of the tribal government, who is an active practitioner of a traditional tribal religion of one of the three confederated tribes. Such an employee can take leave from employment with full pay and benefits to participate in all tradi tional religious activities of the Con federated Tribes, according to the policy. The extent of such leave, the policy states, is dependent on the specific role of the employee in an approved activity and shall include sufficient time for preparation prior to the event and rest after the event before the traditional practitioner must report back to work. Also, the policy applies to an employee taking a Ichishkin, Kiksht or Numu language class, with a 2 hour per week limitation. The new leave policy requires the employee taking leave to give prior notice to his or her supervisor.
