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.