Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2003)
Spilyqy Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon September 18, 2003 Tribal forests certffiedl as sestaieaWe A good tribal natural resources management plan made approval for Forest Steward ship Council certifica tion easy and at little cost to the tribes Page 3 . '.! .l!Pl I ' 'W . 1 By Shannon Keaveny Spilyoy Tymoo Soon out-going lumber at Warm Springs Forest Products Industries (WSFPI) will bear the label of certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). In a Tribal Council meeting early last week, Council mem bers voted to try certification for a year and measure the eco nomic advantages for WSFPI when the year is completed. FSC certified forests meet rig orous environmental, social, and economic criteria for forest management. All tribal lands used for log ging will be certified. Meeting FSC criteria for the tribes was a breeze, says Larry Potts, WSFPI general manager. In March, the tribes received a $30,000 grant from First Na tions Development. The grant paid for an in depth assessment performed by an independent, third party cer tifying agency, Smart Wood. Already, the tribes practice of sustainable forestry was in sync with FSC criteria because a tribal natural resources inte grated management plan de signed to protect tribal ecology, economy, and cultural resources. For this reason, Smart Wood gave the go ahead for tribal for ests, with five conditions to be AO FSC Soon oui-going lumber ai Warm Springs Forest Producis Industries (above) will bear the FSC label of sustainable forestry (below left). The FSC logo displays a check for excellence and a tree for the forest. met in the course of two years, saying criteria was easily met or exceeded for FSC certification. FSC principles and criteria for forest stewardship include conserving biological diversity and functioning ecosystems; maintaining high conservation value forests; advancing the eco nomic and social well being of workers, local communities and indigenous groups; and establish ing long-term sound manage ment practices. In order to use the label 70 percent of solid wood products and assembled lumber products must be certified. Chips and fiber would re quire at least 17.5 percent by weight of the total and at least 30 percent by weight of the new virgin wood used in manufac turing the product. The remaining uncertified percentages would be from pub lic lands logged by the tribes. Due to limited resources on the reservation, logging outfits need to go off the reservation to meet market demands. A 30-day notice will relieve the tribe of its contractual obli gations if the enterprise does not see significant economic advantages. Certification typically lasts five years and costs $3,000 $5,000 for annual audit fees. Costs for the first year of FSC certifica tion were cov ered by the First Nations Development grant. Potts hopes to start selling FSC certified lumber by October. "But I believe it will be much higher than that," he adds. The costs of managing a sus tainable forest are high, which the tribes are already doing. The higher market value of FSC certified wood could help offset those additional costs. "What we are trying to do is drive more value out of the fin ished product," says Potts. Without FSC certification the market would not recognize the tribes' efforts of forest sustainability. "Premiums for lumber with FSC logo could potentially amount to $1 million in the first year. " Larry Potts WSFPI general manager Forest use by tribal members for subsistence will not be af fected by certification. Advantages for the tribe Actual certification for sustainability, along with the FSC stamp, will have considerable marketing advantages for tribal lumber, says Potts. He estimates additional pre miums for lumber with FSC logo could potentially amount to $1 million in the first year. For this rea son the tribes cannot certify itself even though the forest sustainability plan is similar to the criteria for Smart Wood. Working with the FSC pro vides outside verification, cred itability, and provides a logo, ex plains Potts. Customers and clients -vill see the WSFPI and FSC logo side by side, publicly demonstrating the environmental integrity of the tribes. The positive publicity could aid with off reservation high profile projects like the pending casino on the Columbia Gorge. Mill to purchase new boiler system Warm Springs Forest Products Industries made a request to Tribal Council last week for a loan amounting to nearly $12 million, saying the loan would save the enterprise $2 million over a 10-year period. Tribal Council approved the loan. The loan money will be used to replace the boiler system at the Mill. Annual payments for the boiler of $800,000 will be made to Wellows, Inc., the company providing the new boilers. The boiler equipment cost is $4.4 million and $7.4 million for operating and maintenance costs until 2014. Interest would tack on an additional $1.2 millionThe boilers will be more energy efficient and fulfill EPA air quality requirements for operation of the Mill. The capacity of each boiler will be 80,000 pounds per hour. Boilers provide half the power for the plant. The steam is used to dry lumber and run turbines. Larry Potts, WSFPI general manager, said the loan would have a large benefit to the community. From 131 staff members at WSFPI, 105 are tribal members or married into the tribe. Payroll for tribal members or MITS amounts to nearly $6 million per year. Council expressed concern that the Mill would close down before repayment of the loan would be completed. In recent years due to a waning industry, the Mill has reported losing up to $2 million in revenues per year. Potts said provid ing the loan would enhance the enterprise's ability to succeed financially in the coming years. "But not providing this loan would certainly begin to pave the path for the mill to close down," deadpanned Potts to Council. Advocates discuss commercial code Community advocates for a uniform commercial code (UCC) on the reservation met in early September to further tackle issues and impacts a code would have on the Warm Springs community. Advocates are planning a workshop with Tribal Council in mid- to late-October. "We discussed how to implement a UCC while protecting tribal sovereignty and tribal members. We want to do this while making the reservation attractive to outside lenders," explained Shawnele Shaw, Warm Springs Community Action Team community advocate. The group is also making an effort to make the code user-friendly. It will be posted on the Warm Springs website. Warm Springs already has community elements that would be included in a commercial code. The group hopes to build on these already existing elements. Some examples are the Warm Springs business privilege tax, a tax break designed to encourage outsiders to set up businesses on the reservation and regulations on tobacco, liquor, and alcohol sales for reservation businesses. "We want to incorporate these elements into the code and then add other elements," said Shaw. A UCC on the reservation would promote economic development, by creating a uniform set of standards that would provide outside lenders legal protection. B and B Complex Fire simmers down Seasonal weather and good hard work helped simmer down the B and B complex fire this week, said Ken Lydy, Warm Springs assistant fire management officer. Fresh snowfall could be seen on some mountain peaks early Tuesday morning. Scattered showers and cooler temperatures were expected into mid-afternoon on Tuesday. As of Tuesday morning 88 percent of the fire on the east side of the Cascades was contained and 70 percent on the west side of the Cascades. The 20-pcrson Warm Springs Hotshot crew was sent home for few days of rest. There are still three Warm Springs camp crews assisting in containing the fire. Total fire crews have been reduced to 1,004 people. The fire, made of the Booth and Bear Butte fires, consumed just over 90, 000 acres by Tuesday morning. Just over 3,000 acres were burned on reservation lands. Mop up and rehabilitation on the northwest corner of the fire would be completed by the end of Tuesday. The travel advisory for US Highway 20 was lifted Tuesday afternoon after crews finished remov ing hazardous trees. Delays were still expected. The investigation for the cause of the fire has been completed and the results should be released sometime next week by the federal government. An Arson Task Force will meet on Friday in Bend to discuss the fire. The certification would also provide verification that the tribes are implementing the in tegrated natural resources man agement plan on the reserva tion. The price of framing lumber composite products has fluctu ated greatly with the nation's economy in the last 10 years. Potts says the price is at its low est in 10 years right now. Eventually he expects the price to settle at around $300. As part of the company's strategy to drive up that price, he thinks certification could push up the price an additional $30 to $50. Conditions Smart Wood requested the tribes fulfill five conditions in the first two-years of certification. Within one year from the award of certification, CTWS forest management must de velop formal feedback mecha nisms to respond publicly to Tribal members comments, questions and concerns regard ing forestry practices. Also within one year from the award of certification, contracts must be modified to include a section of safety requirements and a requirement that private contractors working with WSFPI accept responsibility for compliance with all relevant for estry, labor laws, and regulations. Potts says all of these require ments are already happening and it is just a matter of alter ing the language in contracts to make them more explicit. The third condition to be completed in one year after cer tification is that WSFPI perform a landscape and spatial analysis of old growth trees, using the FSC Pacific Coast Working Group Type I, II, and III defi nition to assist in making har vesting decisions. This will prevent the net loss of old growth structure that happens over time. The tribes are already moni toring old growth but the orga nization plans to give the tribes additional guidance. By two years CTWS will pri oritize road problems, develop a strategy for addressing high priority roads and begin the nec essary maintenance. Potts says because of the tribal natural resource plan, roads are already pretty well maintained. Roads are the biggest con tributor to stream sedimentation, so proper maintenance is cru cial to a sustainable ecosystem. "This condition is not forc ing the tribe to spend money, but instead asking for a more de finitive plan for road mainte nance," explains Potts. Before the first load of cer tified logs are shipped, WSFPI needs to develop a trip ticket or rubber stamp that has the CTWS unique FSC Chain of Custody (COC) certification code number. The COC is a method of tracking wood from FSC well managed forests. "COC ensures we are not mixing non-certified wood with certified wood," says Potts. Without the COC, the FSC would not have the credibility in the marketplace it has. It is an assurance tracking system that follows the flow of wood from a certified forest to finished products. A WSFPI COC plan will be in place in 15 days, says Potts. A branding system to track certified logs also needs to be implemented. Interns find Warm Springs clinic offers an interesting perspective Kari Due will only work at the Warm Springs Wellness Cen ter for two weeks. She's the first of four interns this fall on their way to becom ing registered dieticians. Her time at the clinic is part of 10-month internship for un dergraduates with a degree in nutrition. A recent graduate at Oregon State University, Due was drawn to the Warm Springs clinic be cause she felt experience at a public health facility would be beneficial. The strong focus on diabetes care also attracted her. "There's always several in terns that want to come here," said Laura Spaulding, nutrition ist at the center. Warm Springs has an out standing reputation for diabetes care and prevention. The clinic's statistics on regu lating blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, and kidney functions of diabetes patients are some of the best in the country. 7 '" . ' .',9. -iv - ; Dietician Intern Kari Due It is one of 17 nationwide Indian Health Centers deemed a Diabetes Center for Excel lence. That recognition brings in extra funding for the diabetes program and case find diabetes patients. And it brings in inter ested young dieticians like Due. "I am very interested in regu lating diabetes through diet," said Due. She was also drawn to the clinic because there is a strong focus on foods and herbs used as medicine. 'That connection is up and coming in the field," said Due. Warm Springs Nutritionist Sara Lee Thomas, RD., special izes in regulating food with herbal supplements. Interns start with a class on cultural sensitivity. They are taught about specific issues re lating to Native American popu lations. "We were taught not to gen eralize about their culture and take each person on a one to one basis," explains Due. Also age sensitivity issues and a patient's related nutritional and social needs. Interns work with Women with Infant Children (WIQ Pro gram and tour the Senior Cen ter, and High Lookee Lodge. "I'm hoping this is a positive experience that will help me fig ure out what I want to do next," said Due on her first day. Last year's intern Diane Cook found that positive experience and came back for more. She was recently hired as a full-time nutritionist at the clinic. Tribal census to begin in October The beginning of the tribal census has been postponed un til Oct. 6, as census officials wrap up the hiring process. For the limited duration of six weeks, 17 individuals were hired to conduct the door-to-door census. But officials are waiting for more applicants for the data specialist position.Lavonne Rotz, tribal data administrator, anticipates census employees will be trained the last week of this month. Volunteers for the project are also being sought. Rotz estimates about 17 volunteers are also needed to work with the tem porary employees. She hopes to form a cooperative relationship with tribal offices like the coun seling center, the senior center, and the housing department. Volunteers could double up on their work because of their con tact with the community. Obtaining correct informa tion about tribal members through a census will aid in as sessing the needs of the com munity, explained Rotz. For ex ample, if the census reveals there is a high population of disabled veterans on the reser vation then a veteran's center could be opened. In addition, the tribes will complete their 2000 census chal lenge with the federal govern ment at the end of this month. In turn, the federal government will investigate the findings of the tribe. But chances arc good wc will win the federal govern ment, said Rotz. If the tribes win, the reser vation will see more federal money based on the 2000 cen sus for housing, poverty issues, and more. Another census chal lenge to take place next spring will bring additional funding to Warm Springs housing department.Correct census in formation will also aid the CTWS in access to federal fund ing The main part of the census will last about one month. But tribal members can expect to be contacted as late as January. Residents will not be bothered before 9 a.m. or after 8 p.m. The census will take place 7 days a week. For information, call Vi tal Statistics at 553-3252.