Spilyqy Tymoo, Wjrm Springs, Oregon
April 4, 2002
Page 5
Root Feast at Simnasho
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Dave McMechanSpilyayTymoo
Darlene Foster and others prepare for the Root Feast at the Simnasho
Longhouse. The feast was held on Sunday, March 31. The Agency
Longhouse will be the host of the Root Feast on Sunday, April 7.
Fluhr: enjoying job of district chief
Round Dance set at White Swan
There will be a round dance Blacklodge, and everyone is wel-
later this month at the White Swan come.
Community Center in White The round dance schedule starts
Swan, Wash. at 7 p.m. nightly on April 26 and
The event is sponsored by 27, a Friday and Saturay.
(Continued from page 1)
While the fire district is rural and
sparsely populated, there is a good
amount of emergency response activ
ity, including major wild-land fires.
Last summer, for instance, the
Grass Valley Fire Complex burned
right up to the edge of town, scorch
ing about 24,000 acres of land. In con
taining this fire, Fluhr and her dis
trict received mutual aid from a num
ber of neighboring fire districts.
In the South Sherman County dis
trict, motor vehicle accidents account
for most of the emergency response
activity. Highway 97 runs through
the middle of the district, and the
vehicle traffic, especially large trucks,
is heavy throughout the year on this
road.
' . Winter time, when the roads are
icy, is the busy time for accident re
sponse in Sherman County, said
Fluhr, who is trained in first-response
emergency medical care, as well as in
fire-fighting.
Fluhr is the daughter of Herb
Graybael and Earlynne Squiemphen.
She is a 1996 graduate of Madras High
School. She began her career in fire
and safety even before graduating high
school.
In the summer of 1995, she was a
fire-fighter cadet at Warm Springs,
"and I've been hooked ever since. It
just got in my blood," Fluhr said.
The following year, the summer
after graduating from high school, she
began participating in a fire and medic
apprentice program. She continued
her work at Warm Springs Fire and
Safety for the next three years.
In early 1997, while responding to
a rollover motor vehicle accident near
the Mill Creek Bridge, Lynn met
Glenn Fluhr, who was working as a
Warm Springs police officer. They
were married that summer.
Two years later, Glenn received an
offer to work as second-in-command
of the Sherman County Sheriff's De-
. -
Fire Chief Fluhr
partment. The Fluhrs - Lynn, Glenn
and 6-week-old Zachary - moved
from Warm Springs to Grass Valley.
For the first few years at her new
home, Lynn worked as a volunteer
with the South Sherman County Fire
District.
She was also a full-time mom, and
served as a reserve officer for the
sheriff's department of nearby
Klickitat County, WA.
Then early this year, the former
chief of the South Sherman County
Fire District retired. In February, the
district fire board unanimously
agreed that Lynn would be the ideal
person to fill the job. On February
20, she was named district fire chief.
She is the only paid fire district em
ployee in Shermaa County.
As chief, her duties include recruit
ing and training, writing the district
policies, grant writing, and develop
ing the budget. She is currently in the
process of acquiring a new brush rig
for the district. Of course, her work
also involves responding to emer
gency calls. , ,
When an emergency tone-out hap
pens, Fluhr will leave her son Zach
in the care of friends, and then pick
him up on her way back home.
As fire chief, Fluhr has an office at
the fire hall. The room is also used as
a meeting place and office of the Grass
Valley City Council. Small rural
towns often have this arrangement,
housing the city office at the fire hall.
Glenn Fluhr serves on the city coun
cil. Besides her work for the fire dis
trict, and as a reserve officer in
Klickitat County, Lynn serves on the
regional 911 board. She is the execu
tive vice-chairwoman of this board.
Born and raised on the reservation,
Lynn says the things she misses most
about Warm Springs is her family. At
the same time, her job as fire chief is
a great one, providing a rare oppor
tunity, she said.
Bend man cited in wreck
A Bend man was injured last
week in a single-vehicle accident
at milepost 5 on the Kah-Nee-Ta
Highway.
Mark Shields, 29, was the only
occupant of the vehicle, a 1993
Ford pickup. Shields was trans
ported by Warm Springs ambu
lance to Mountain View Hospital,
where he stayed over-night.
Shields was cited by Warm
Springs Police following this ac
cident. Alcohol and an excessive
rate of speed appear to have been
involved in the wreck, said Don
Courtney, Director of Warm
Springs Public Safety.
The incident happened last
Thursday night, March 28, at
approximately 8:25 p.m. Traffic
on the Kah-Nee-Ta Highway was
disrupted for a time.
Resource stair responds to tnb member comments
A project assessment is being de
veloped by the project interdiscipli
nary team (PIDT) to address pre-com-mercial
thinning, underburning and
mistletoe treatments. Treatments are
being proposed to improve forest
health and reduce the risk of fire.
Scoping meetings were held re
cently to gain tribal member com
ments on these activities and the
PIDT has addressed a number of con
cerns in the following article prepared
for Spilyay Tymoo.
The project assessment will span a
9-year planning period and address
pre-commercial thinning on approxi
mately 500-2,000 acres, underburning
on 4,000-5,000 acres, and mistletoe
treatments on approximately 1,000
1,500 acres within the forested area
each year. General areas will be de
scribed in the assessment, but specific
activities will be subject to review on
an annual basis. All of the activities
associated with this project will be
monitored annually.
The PIDT docs not anticipate any
adverse impacts to soil resources as a
result of this proposal, nor do they
foresee any changes to the road sys
tem. Prior to the implementation of
any activities, the Culture and Heri
tage Department will survey for cul
tural resources, including cultural
plants, and recommend protective
measures after consulting with the
Culture and Heritage Committee.
When project-related activities are
likely to affect culture resources, the
PlD7 recommends mitigation mea
sures. Mistletoe
Dwarf mistletoe is the major dis
ease affecting trees found in the lower
elevation of the Warm Springs Reser
vation. When compared to other ar
das off the reservation, Warm Springs
w rated as variable in levels of dwarf
mistletoe. Treatment areas arc priori
tised based on the dwarf mistletoe
rating system, which has a 6 as the
highest level. A rating of 0 would in
dicate there is no infection.
I Under the proposed action the 1
i levels would be treated first, which
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The dark vegetation growing on the trees is mistletoe.
allows the existing stand to grow un
til it has completed a typical rotation.
The 4-5-6 levels require Forestry to
start a new stand. Clear-cuts are not
the primary means of treatment. In
stead, foresters look for other species
or isolated trees of the same species
with no infection. Ponderosa pine and
Douglas fir are the primary species
targeted for treatment since they are
the most abundant in the low eleva
tion stands. Another treatment avail
able for dwarf mistletoe is to prune
the infected branches and two whorls
above and below the infection.
Fire
Fire Management hosts public
meetings in the spring and fall to no
tify tribal members of the areas to be
burned. While reductions in fuel load
ing arc a primary objective of the pro
gram, there are other benefits that
include stimulating tree growth, thin
ning of overstocked stands, improv
ing forage conditions for wildlife and
livestock, and helping to control some
invasive plant species.
A prescription process, which in
cludes weather considerations, is uti
lized to determine the timing of burn
operations. The goal is to burn from
60-70 percent of the unit being
treated, which leaves a mosaic of veg
etation that makes excellent wildlife
habitat. I 'ire Management also uses
bulldozers to create fire lines around
rural homes and subdivisions, and
mowing will be used at increased lev
els in the future. An extensive moni
toring program is being established to
study the results of burning strategics
on the reservation. Allottees who
wish to participate in the Fire Man
agement program should contact the
Forestry Branch.
Precommerclal Thinning
Pre-commercial thinning is an in
termediate silvicultural treatment that
is performed in forest stands that have
a high concentration of young trees,
typically 15-20 years old. Thinning
the trees provides faster growth rates
with less competition for nutrients
and a greater chance of surviving dis
ease or insect attack.
Trees targeted for removal are those
showing all or some of the following
characteristics: disease, poor form, or
low commercial value. Thinning can
create a lot of slash (downed trees).
To reduce fire danger, the slash would
be piled and chipped, or it could be
utilized for firewood, posts and poles,
or in essential oils production.
Thinning is done in plantations
and wild stands in both the timber
and the wildlife zone, but not in con
ditional use areas. Tribal members
who bid on contracts for thinning
acres do the work.
The contractors are monitored to
make sure their work is done in a
manner that is environmentally conscious.
Water
All of the proposed activities are
designed to increase the health of the
forest.
Proposed treatments will create a
more substantial overstory, which
will provide more shade and allow
winter snow to remain on the ground
longer.
As a result, the eventual snowmelt
and runoff will occur at a slower rate,
which will prevent erosion, drought
and flooding. If the proposed action
is not implemented then the poten
tial for a catastrophic fire will in
crease. If a catastrophic fire occurs
there will be a high likelihood of ex
tensive erosion, flooding and drought
in the local vicinity.
Roads
Road eradication and blockage is
an integral part of the forest manage
ment program, which is intended to
reclaim excessive roads and skid trails
for forest production. Some roads
have been ripped or blocked to pre
vent vehicle use. If a road was closed
on one end, but not the other, it was
an oversight. If roads have been re
opened on one end and not re-closed,
the Branch of Forestry would like to
be notified so it can take appropriate
action. Road maintenance, on roads
that are not part of an active timber
sale, has been a problem for many
years, partially because BIA Branch
of Roads has limited funds for main
tenance and no mechanism exists to
fund maintenance of roads by the
Branch of Forestry outside of active
timber sale areas.
At the present time, seasonal clo
sures are used on a limited basis to
restrict vehicle use. Some gates have
been installed for this purpose (south
end of the J-100 and north end of the
S-42N). Criteria for opening these
gates are established by the Natural
Resources Branch.
Over the next 10 years, one can
expect to see an increasing number
of seasonal closures in the wildlife
management zones to protect winter
ing big game animals and a variety of
other wildlife species.
Wildlife
All of the treatments proposed
under this project will have some af
fect on wildlife resources. Some of the
effects may have negative impacts in
the short term while others may be
positive. Over time these effects will
change as the vegetative condition of
the area changes. For example: pre
commercial thinning will reduce the
density of trees in an area, which may
reduce hiding cover and security for
big-game. However, the same treat
ment will allow more sunlight to
reach the forest floor and thereby in
crease the overall growth of forage
plants. Likewise under-burning re
duces the quantity of vegetation in
the short term, but it also increases
the growth of palatable forage.
Most of the effects to wildlife will
depend on the number and frequency
of treatments. The wildlife manage
ment zones designated in IRMP were
established with standards and best
management practices (BMPs) to
maintain a certain level of cover for
big-game, while also providing ad
equate forage for the animals to con
sume. Forty percent of each wildlife
management zone should retain at
tributes that meet some level of cover
characteristics, and the other 60 per
cent should produce forage. I lowcver,
change is often the driving force that
determines sustainability and diver
sity, so ecosystems should not be
thought of as static.
There were many excellent com
ments from the public regarding this
project. These include suggestions to
leave some unburncd or untreated
vegetation along roads for screening
to protect big game, and implement
ing the treatments in mosaics rather
than covering large scale portions of
the landscape.
The protection of big-game trails
and the permanent or seasonal clo
sure of roads are also necessary in
order to maintain big game popula
tions at harvestablc levels.
Many concerns are addressed in
IRMP, but input is needed on specific
activities so it can be incorporated
into project-related documents.