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v. 29
no. 16
August 5,
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n Springs, OR 97761
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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