Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 2002)
PagelO Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon August 8, 2002 Succesful month for GeoVisions The newest tribal enterprise, GeoVisions has earned more revenue than fust projected. GeoVisions, spe cializing in digital mapping, earned $100,000 more in recent monthly rev enue than initially expected. This announcement came last week from the office of Warm Springs Ventures, the tribal corporation that provided funding for GeoVisions. The GeoVisions enterprise was formed early this year. The enterprise is a part of the Confederated Tribes' Geographic Information System, or GlS office, a department of the Natu ral Resources Branch. Almost immediately after becom ing operational, GeoVisions was as signed to two fires in the region. GeoVisions currently operates a one-of-a-kind mobile command center primarily designed for on-scene map ping as it relates to fire management. GeoVisions provided mapping ser vices at the scene of the Eyerly Vice, and has also been assigned to the Black Butte Fire. These two incidents have brought the larger than expected revenue generation for GeoVisions. Salmon event JH Howlak Tichum Wanda Victoria Charley $ ...' 1 I." I k ; ' f ') ijf Wanda Victoria "Wanaxani" Char ley, age 45, passed on due to an ex tended illness on July 3. Ms. Charley was born December 23, 1956 to par ents Jane M. (Whitefoot) and Wesley "Riggs" Charley at Redmond. She was an enrolled member of the Con federated Tribes. Charley lived most of her life on the reservation, attending school at Warm Springs Elementar and Madras High School, where she graduated in 1974. She was employed throughout the years in Children's Protective Ser vice, the Warm Springs Forest Prod ucts Industries and as a cook. Her hobbies were bead working, cooking, shopping at the mall, and fishing (she loved to can and dry salmon). Preceding her in death are her mother, Jane, brother Joe Frank Charley and her grandparents Carrie (John) and Robert Charley and Lillie (Yoke) and Elias Whitefoot. Survivors include father Wesley "Riggs", daughter Shamona Charley, bothers Keith (Joyce) Charley Sr., Robert (Nikki) Charley Sr., Dewayne Charley of Portland, sisters Merda Charley, Bonny Charley, Lillie (Ronald Sr.) Suppah, Leslie (Lawrence Jr.) Squiemphen all of Warm Springs and aunts Gladys Thompson and Joyce Quinn. School: already in budget Dave McMechanSpilyay Charles Wolfe was among the dancers at the weekend salmon event in Portland, Wy-kan-ush-pum. (Continued from page 1) Part of the hold up could also be "the instability of the economy and revenue shortfalls of the tribe and the state. Both sides are being very con servative in how they map out the next twenty years." said Quaid. "However we as a tribe have already built the school into our budget for the year 2002-2003 and the next 20 years." assures Quaid. The school will still be located south of the Early Childhood Educa tion Center on a hill that overlooks the center. Quaid explains, "The site is beau tiful, safe, residential and ties in per fectly with the other educational buildings. It is cost effective because the infrastructure, such as water and sewage, already exists. This leaves more finances for the actual build ing. The school will accommodate ap proximately 600 students and can be used for community events. Tribal members adopted the school referen dum in June 2001. Fish: EPA study thought to be largest of its kind (Continued from page 1) A hazard level is figured by an analysis of how much of a chemical can be safely eaten with how much is actually being eaten. A safe hazard level is one. The study acknowledges that very few fish were tested. "The statistics released are just a snapshot of a certain point in time. The fish were only tested over a time period of one to two years, and it doesn't necessarily mean the con tamination levels are consistent with today's levels or other years," said Hudson. . Thought to be the largest of its kind, the EPA study was designed to address the effects of pollution on the Native Americans diet. It covered over 40 million acres of land, including samples taken from the Columbia River, Deschutes River, Hood River, Fifteen Mile Creek, Snake River, Umatilla River, Clearwater River and more. Loca tions for fish testing were chosen ac cording to tribal recommendations regarding where they typically har vest fish. Many samples were taken from the Zone 6 Fishery on the main stem of the Columbia River, a popu lar fishing place for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Fish samples were tested for 131 contaminants, of which 92 were found. "But," said Hudson, "it is impor tant to realize not everyone of these contaminants is cancer-causing or dis ease-causing. For example, zinc was found in high levels in coho salmon. Zinc has litde known ill health effects on humans." The study raised significant ques tions about fish of the Columbia River, and of other areas allocated to tribes by their treaties. The study also suggests a risk exists to the broader public, but less so because there is less consumption. The four tribal groups were surveyed at eating up to 48 fish meals a month and at rates six to 11 times higher than the national aver age. ( Harold Blackwolf of Warm Springs said, "I eat fish three to four times a week. It's like a snack for us, instead of grabbing a bag of chips, we grab some salmon." Hudson said, "Contaminants need to be prioritized according to the worst, then a cleanup remedy needs to be designed." He said, "There is need for con cern, and the tribes need to take ap propriate actions. The next step is try ing to make a connection between fish consumption and tribal health prob lems. Meanwhile, contamination ar eas need to be isolated and cleaned up. There are a number of unknowns this study has brought to light." The study emphasizes fish prepa ration can decrease risk, and recom mends removing fat and skin before cooking, and allowing fat and oil to drain while cooking. These techiniques should help reduce expo sures to PCBs, DDTs, dioxins, furans and other organics which accumulate in the fatty tissues of fish. The irony "is that the fat is one of the primary reasons the tribes eat fish," said Patty O'Toole, Confederated Tribes fish biologist. The EPA recognizes that, despite contaminants, fish are a good source of protein, low in satruated fats, and contain oils that may prevent coro nary heart disease. "The fish we eat is like medicine for us," said Blackwolf. "The salmon was the first food to speak up and help the Indians. It has been a staple my whole life." ,,v. Tribes involved in the EPA study are expected to initiate task forces to address developing fish issues brought to light by the study. Timber sale: Tribal member comments touch on number of areas (Continued from page 7) A sort yard would not be profit able at this time. During the Pathfinder scoping meetings tribal members asked whether or not trees would be planted after the timber sale is completed. The long-range plan for reforestation is to plant seedlings and have them growing so they will have a competi tive edge over brush species such as snowbrush and manzanita. If the seedlings are not competing favorably, a second option is to spray the brush. Some successful attempts have been made at pulling brush, but the older, more established plants are difficult to pull up. It is also a very expensive procedure. The Forest Development section administers tree planting contracts. Depending on the site, typical plant ing species include Douglas fir, pon derosa pine, western white pine, west ern larch, and noble fir. The time it takes to grow trees varies from site to site, based largely on site productiv ity. There arc harsh conditions associ ated with some sites on the cast side, but all regeneration harvest units (typically areas with fewer than 30 residual trees per acre) are reforested. The crews doing tree planting arc monitored each day they are in the field. If plots fail they must be re planted. Plantations have not been harvested to this point, but there arc plans to thin an old Forest Service plantation on the S-568 road during the 2003 Timber Sale. Permits to harvest forest products arc handled in a variety of ways. The harvest of beargrass is authorized through Tribal Council. The forest manager distributes permits for cone gathering and Timber Committee is sues permits for gathering boughs. In the past, bough cutters were too ag gressive and their harvest methods resulted in sun-scalded bark, which eventually killed the tree. Bough cut ting, as practiced today, does less harm to trees in the younger plantations. Tribal members often ask about old-growth trees at the scoping meet ings. One timber-related management objective is to conserve existing old growth trees through the metering of harvests and by providing conditions favorable for future old-growth stands. There are also provisions for grow ing old-growth trees in the long-term productivity islands. Trees within this management zone are allowed to reach 250 years of age before final harvests are implemented. Only a portion of the long-term productiv ity island can be final harvested at one time, so there will be old-growth trees within these management zones. I lowever, old-growth reserves are not a tribal objective at this time. Fire is another subject likely to draw comments from the tribal pub lic. To protect the forest from fires, managers try to thin young stands, especially in the low elevations where wildfire return intervals arc frequent. After thinning occurs crews try to clean up the slash. Fuels management is a key in limiting losses to other re sources such as water, wildlife and timber. Prescribed fire is another management tool that helps to reduce fuel loads and the threat of cata strophic wildfire. Non-timber resources that arc managed during timber sales include, but arc not limited to, water, wildlife, firewood and cultural plants. At the present time much work is being done to conserve existing huckle berry bushes, while still allowing for the harvest of timber. One way this Some people have ex pressed concern over recent health problems affecting mule deer at Crooked River Ranch, Culver and O'Neil Junction. can be-accomplished is by logging over snowpacks, which reduces im pacts to existing bushes. Some eco logical conditions needed for sus tained berry production are climate and cross-pollination from bees. To address one issue raised during the scoping process, PIDT members will meet with committee representatives and designate areas suitable for primi tive campsites that could be used by huckleberry pickers. During the meetings held to gather tribal member comments there was concern expressed over whether or not it is still safe to eat fish. It is known that salmon of the Columbia River Basin do have certain levels of contaminates (PCBs, lead, mercury, and various pesticide residues) in their flesh. Most (if not all) of these contami nates are accumulated off the reserva tion during the open ocean part of the fish's lifccyde. Studies have indi cated there may be some long-term risks for humans who consume large quantities of Columbia River salmon. IRMP standards and best manage ment practices arc meant to protect fish on the reservation. Riparian ar eas are buffered by 100 foot no-cut zones on each side of class I streams, 60 feet on each side of class II streams, and 30 feet on each side of class III streams. IRMP also prohibits oil, grease, an tifreeze or any other toxic substance from being changed, stored or dis posed of within 200 feet of a stream, spring, seep or bog. These standards are meant to protect aquatic resources, including fish, throughout the reser vation. They are also meant to ensure that fish residing on the reservation are healthy and fit for human con sumption. See related story on page 1. There were many excellent com ments from tribal members regarding wildlife, including one suggestion to leave vegetation along roads for big game cover, and another to harvest trees in mosaic patterns. Protecting big game trails and clos ing roads on a permanent or seasonal basis are also necessary measures that help to maintain the big-game popu lations at harvestable levels. IRMP provides basic guidelines for wildlife management, while more specific measures are implemented at the project level, as would be the case with the Pathfinder Timber Sale. The technical staff relies on the Natural Resources data base and in put from tribal members to ensure that crucial game trails and travel cor ridors arc buffered from excessive dis turbance. Some people have expressed con cern over recent health problems af fecting mule deer at Crooked River Ranch, Culver and O'Neil Junction. The outbreak of Adeno hemoragic disease (ADH) has recently subsided in those areas, but has spread to the Sisters area, following a natural mi gration pathway for mule deer. At the present time there have been no re ported cases of ADH on the reserva tion. I lowever, all sick deer or any sus pected to be infected, should be re ported to the Natural Resources Branch. Even though the California big horn sheep released last January are not located in the project area, they were a topic of discussion at the Path finder scoping meetings. Most of the sheep survived the trauma of being transplanted and are adapting to their new home in the Mutton Mountains. Fish and Wildlife employees recendy sited fifteen of the 20 transplanted sheep. Five newborn lambs were also observed. If left alone these sheep could expand into a sizeable herd. One question noted during the scoping process was directed towards the status of koonch in the Mutton Mountains. Because of past timber management practices and stand re placement wildfires, koonch in the Mutton Mountain area is currently dormant and in a state of recovery. Another person wanted to know about the status of the spruce bud worm. In this case the response is a bit more encouraging. The western spruce budworm has not been a problem on the reserva tion for several years, in part because forest health problems are dealt with as they arise. Other comments from tribal members that were noted 1. Sometimes tribal member input is not taken seriously because RMIDT is buffered from the public by the PIDT. RMIDT should sit in on these meetings so they'll know how serious we arc. 2. We have a hard time getting PIDT members to the scoping meet ings. 3. The reason people don't come to the meetings is because they don't believe anyone is listening. 4. We get pushed into producing timber for the mill. 5. Tribal Council is never at these meetings. 6. Protect root digging areas near Coyote Creek.