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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2004)
University of Uregon Library Rectived oni 08-11-04 .Spilyay tyioo. tSCA OrColl E 73 .s&a v. 29 no. 16 August 5, 2Mt Tyrnuu P.O. Dox 870 n Springs, OR 97761 Acquisition Dept.Serials Knight Library 1299 University of Oregon Eugene OR 97403-1205 I lwNl OIL Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Coyote News, est. 1976 August 5, 2004 Vol. 29, No. 16 Tribes hire new chief of police Jim Soules, a police veteran who started his career in Warm Springs, was recently named Chief of Police for the Warm Springs Police Department. Chief Operations Officer Lauraina Hintsala and Secretary-Treasurer Charles Calica made the announcement in a joint statement. The hiring was ef fective July 28. Soules will be responsible for patrol, investigations, fish and game, correc tions and dispatch units. He will report to Chief Operations Officer Hintsala. Raymond Tsumpti will continue to oversee the remainder of the Public Safety Branch, which includes Fire and Safety, the tribal prosecutor, Vic tims of Crime, parole and proba tion and legal aide. The realign ment will enable the tribe to com plete its fact-finding into the contro versy that shook the police depart ment recently, as well as consult with the Tribal Council on ways to improve and restructure the Public Safety Branch. The reason for this change, accord ing to Hintsala and Calica, is to ensure . the safety and welfare of the reserva tion communities. Career began in Warm Springs Soules has been in law enforcement for over 30 years. He began working as an officer in Warm Springs in 1971. He left in 1975 to work in McMinnville. He later went to the Prineville Po lice Department, where he worked for 24 years, including 22 as chief of po lice. He retired from the Prineville de partment last year, but remained in law enforcement as a consultant. Of his new job in Warm Springs, Soules said, "An immediate priority is to make sure the police department is stable, and to make sure we're provid ing a caring and good quality service to the community." Jim Soules Tribal fishermen look to expand their market Tribal fishermen have traded salmon along the shores of the Co lumbia River for many years. Now, they're hoping to expand their mar ket. The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is exploring the feasibility of building a $8.6 million fish-processing and retail center that would include 500 jobs and allow the tribes to sell more of their wild catch directly to stores and the pub lic, instead of to other processors. "Tribal fishermen have always been victimized by low prices," said Olney Patt Jr., executive director of the inter-tribal fish commissioa "If they have a way to process the fish, and have a value-added product, that may increase the profit" From the moment a tribal fisher man catches a fish, he is working against the clock in terms of selling, said Patt. "The first thing you do is put the fish on ice. Then you're in a hurry to get it sold," he said. This siutation means the seller is at a disadvantage, and the buyer can get the fish for very cheap, said Patt. Processing with a value-added component - such as smoking - can help the fishermen earn more for their fish, he said. Currently, tribal members sell about a third of their commercial catch di rectly to the public at roadside stands such as the one in Cascade Locks. There, in the parking lot outside the Charburger restaurant, customers pe ruse whole salmon and fillets packed into coolers and hauled to the make shift market in pickup trucks. The rest are sold to fish buyers for as little as 50 to 75 cents per pound based on larger volumes. "If we are to continue this liveli hood, we need to maximize the value of each one of the fish," said Jon Matthews, finance and operations di rector for the intertribal fish commis sion in Portland Meanwhile, tribal fishermen have been squeezed by competition from the farmed-fish industry. By raising Atlantic salmon within huge net pens in Puget Sound, British Columbia and South America, salmon farmers can offer wholesale buyers a guaranteed price and quantity of fish year-round. That's why tribes across the Northwest have started looking for new ways to develop a premium market for Pacific salmon caught in the wild. The Mucklcshoot Indian Tribe, for example, this year forged a deal with Safeway to sell tribal salmon at stores around Puget Sound. "That's one of the best prices you can get if you can work a deal to go direct to market," said Debbie Preston, spokeswoman for the Northwest In dian Fisheries Commission in Olympia. Preston said other tribes will be watching to see whether the Columbia tribes' venture into commercial fish processing makes sense. See FISH MARKET' page 7 Tribal enterprise providing fire support By Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo The GeoVisions mobile com mand center trailer is becoming a regular sight at wildfires in the re gion and beyond. During a wild-land fire, the cen ter produces high technology map ping and other data, maintaining an almost up-to-the-minute report on the progress of the blaze. High tech mapping is an essential service of GeoVisions, but the tribal enterprise has grown into other fields as well. For instance, before the Log Springs fire began, a GeoVisions work crew completed a wildfire fu els reduction project in the Simnasho area. This project helped prevent the Log Springs fire from traveling into the Simnasho community. GeoVisions worked with tribal For estry on this project. The enterprise also had a line crew out on the Log Springs fire, which has burned for about 10 days on the north part of the reservation. GeoVisions also has an archeology survey crew. "We've trained 10 new tribal I: Z-r""! ' 7 ""r-T r 1 J i n,,mm " Hllilitr ii rn - '. . . ! In the GeoVisions Mobile Command development of the Logs Springs fire. members as archaeology survey tech nicians," said Jim Crocker manager of GeoVisions. "They'll be working on a couple of different projects through the fall." Tribal Council approved GeoVisions Dave McMechanSptiyay Center, Trish Phifer (right) and Marissa Stradley work on maps related to the as an enterprise in 2002. GeoVisions has been steadily growing, and now employs about 40 people full time. "We're going to expand our profes sional services," said Crocker. "I'm happy that we've been able to work in various natural resource projects for the tribes." He said that GeoVisions is in process of developing a partnership with Warm Springs Forest Products In dustries. Phase see FIRE on page 7 Tribes planning timber harvest in Shitike watershed By Bill Rhoades Spilyay Tymoo A timber sale scheduled for 2006 targets approximately 31 million board feet of timber in the Shitike Creek watershed. An interdisciplinary team from the Forestry and Natural Resources branches has been collecting tribal member comments on the planned sale. The planning process officially be gan on June 17, when the project in terdisciplinary team (PIDT) completed its third and final scoping meeting with the tribal public Meetings were held for Agency, Seekseequa and Simnasho districts, ini tiating the process to complete a draft plaa A simulated fly-over was presented during the scoping meetings so tribal members could get a bird's eye view of the Shitike Creek watershed. A field review of the proposed project area will be scheduled with the annual tim ber tour in August The TIDT, which presents informa tion about the proposed sale to inter ested tribal members, is comprised of individuals from the Natural Resources technical staff and committees. The team includes a fish biologist, forester, wildlife ecologist, hydrologist, fuels manager, forest engineer, silvicul turist, archeologist, range conservation ist, soil scientist, writereditor, repre sentatives from three tribal committees, and a representative from Warm Springs Forest Products Industries (WSFPI). Presentations made during the scoping meetings contain general infor mation regarding the project area and sale objectives. AH team members and members of the tribal public are en couraged to attend the meetings. Comments from the scoping meet ings are used to develop a planning document known as a project assess ment The assessment contains alter natives for implementing the sale, a strategy to monitor the sale after it has been implemented, and mitigation mea sures to offset negative impacts. After considering input from the tribal public, the PIDT will develop at least two action alternatives, both em phasizing a balanced approach to re source management Some tribal members would like the PIDT to develop additional alterna tives and others would like to do away One person said they don 't believe in protecting bull trout. The staff responded by saying there are a lot of tribal members who do want to protect bull trout... with the alternatives in favor of one action plan, so the Natural Resources Branch fashioned the current strategy as a compromise. The team will present their assess ment and recommended alternative to the Resource Management Interdisci plinary Team (RMIDT) and they in turn release the assessment for public review. Following a 30-day review, RMIDT approves one of the alternatives and attaches a decision document to the project assessment, which is then for warded to the BIA superintendent for concurrence. Tribal member comments are ac cepted throughout the process at the main office of the Forestry Branch. The entire process and all manage ment activities related to the forested area must adhere to goals, standards and best management practices adopted under the Integrated Resources Man agement Plan (IRMP) for the Forested Area. The plan is reviewed and updated every five years. The 2006 timber sale is being pro posed because it will generate revenue for the Confederated Tribes. The size and type of trees harvested will determine the amount of profit. These sales are designed to provide options for the WSFPI mill by creating a pantry of timber. Yearly harvests typically meet the allowable annual cut established by Tribal Council and provide jobs for tribal loggers and mill workers. Timber treatment The 2006 sale will include a num ber of treatments that will best fit the species of trees and forest health con dition observed in particular stands. The treatments will include seed tree, shelterwood, commercial thinning and precommercial thinning. The area being proposed for treat ment in 2006 contains thousands of trees (primarily lodgcpole pine) that have been killed by mountain pine beetles. Lodgepole pine stands that have trees larger than 9 inches in diameter and over 90 years in age are being at tacked and killed by these insects. The insects also attack and kill ponderosa pine and western white pine. Tribal members asked the team whether or not the dead trees will be harvested and what can be done to reduce the future impact of pine beetles. Foresters told the scoping audience that trees in stands with a significant amount of mortality from beetle at tack will be proposed for harvest Some uses for the dead lodgepole other than timber are posts and poles, and fire wood. Commercial thinning is one way to help keep trees vigorous and protect them against beetle attack, but moun tain pine beetles are difficult to man age even with commercial thinning. The best way to control mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine stands is to remove the larger, older trees that host the beetle and to manage for a more diverse mix of tree species. Set TIMBER on page 10
