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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 2009)
Spi Iyay Tymoc P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 « 3 0 s w par J° v e AL society soktland . 0 * ^ Warm Springs, OR 97761 C oyote News, est. 1976 July 30, 2009 Voi. 34, No. 16 50 cents Work progresses on creek project Members comment on pipeline proposal Better fish habitat is just one o f the benefits o f the Shitike Creek realignment project. T he new course o f the creek will also make it safer in case o f flood ing. T he realignment, for instance, takes the course away from dow n stream wastewater treatm ent areas, and also better protects the M useum at W arm Springs and W arm Springs Forest Products Industries. W ork on the creek, downstream from the comm unity center, should be substantially complete within a few weeks, said Scott Turo, habitat biologist w ith tribal N atu ral R e sources. T he creek design, he said, incor porates habitat for steelhead, bull trq u t, sp rin g an d fall C h in o o k , redband trout, pacific lamprey, and other native fish species. Funding for the creek realign m ent comes from the tribes through the Pelton Round Butte Fund, from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the E nvironm ental Protec tion Agency, O regon W atershed E n hancem ent B oard w ith ssaff time provided by the Bonneville Power Administration. W ith th e new design, Shitike C reek w ill have m o re m ea n d er bends, following a path similar to where it was in 1938. There will also be side channels for use by juvenile fish. Riffle fea tures will be constructed using boul B y D ave M cM echan Spilyay Tymoo Heavy equipment operators working on the Shitike Creek re-alignment project. d e rs to p ro v id e g ra d e c o n tro l, stream energy dissipation, and addi tional habitat. T he overall project will result in cooler stream water, which will be better for the fish. Tribal m em bers had the chance to com m ent recently on the possibility o f allowing a gas pipeline to cross the res ervation. T he m em bership comm ents came during a series o f scoping m eet ings on the proposal. T he team appointed by Tribal Coun cil to study the proposal will consider the com m ents in developing a recom m en d atio n to C ouncil, said B obby B ru n o e, general m an ag er o f tribal Natural Resources. “We had many good comments, and m any good questions,” he said. T h e pipeline com pany, Palom ar, meanwhile is following a process sepa rate from the tribal scoping process. Besides the tribal process, the fed eral E nergy Regulatory Com m ission (FERC) has conducted public meetings on the alternative, reservation route. Currently, the preferred alternative location for the 220-mile pipeline is north o f the reservation. However, the p r e fe r r e d r o u te w o u ld c ro ss th e Deschutes River at an area designated as Wild and Scenic by federal, state and tribal plans. Also, the preferred route would re quire an overhead crossing o f the pipe line above the D eschutes River. A n alternative route, through the reservation, would bave an underwa ter Deschutes River crossing outside o f the Wild and Scenic designation, above the Pelton re-regulating dam. T he discussion with Palom ar began after the tribes determ ined that an on- reservation crossing could potentially be beneficial to both parties. O ne ben efit could be reducing impacts to the environment. T he following are some o f the many questions that were raised at the scoping meetings, and responses from the study team: Question: Is this project already a done-deal by the tribes? Response: The project is being stud ied by the tribes, and no decision has been m a d e .. H ow many people will it take to build it and w ho will be the contractor? There will be m ore than one con tractor, n o t yet determ ined, and the num ber o f workers also is n o t yet de termined. T here w ould be an effort to hire from the local w orkforce, and there may be opportunities for job training. W hat would be the benefits to the tribes? B enefits include paym ent to the tribes, some employment opportunities, and the possibility o f access to the gas pipeline for use on the reservation. W hen is the project expected to be done? T he hope is to have the pipeline operational in 2011. Palom ar is a project o f the gas util ity N W Natural, a Portland based util ity, and TransCanada, a utility located in Alberta, Canada. T he tribal study team, appointed by Tribal Council, includes Chief H eath, Brunoe, Power and Water Enterprises general m anager Jim M anion, and a légal representative fro m K arn o p p Petersen, LLP. Dave McMechan/Spilyay Potential is great for community garden B y D ave M cM echan Spilyay Tymoo T he W arm Springs comm unity gar den has come a long way over the past few o f years. T he 3-acre parcel located by the administration building was not used for some growing seasons, but now has several active, irrigated plots. E dm und Francis is recruiting people o f the community to w ork their own plot at the community garden. T here are several individuals and families w ho are currently w orking plots, but there is plenty o f room for m ore growers, said Francis. T he current growing season w ould only accom m odate the p lanting o f short-growth vegetables such as lettuce, o r starter plants. Francis’ long-term goal, though, is to get m ore people in terested and involved for upcom ing seasons. Francis is the lifestyle coach for the W arm Springs D iabetes P revention program o f the Indian Health Services. T he comm unity garden is a great way to help m eet the goals o f his program. W orking at the garden— planting, weeding, watering, harvesting— “takes you away from watching too m uch tele vision,” said Francis. Too m uch T V leads to weight gain, a risk factor o f diabetes. W hen you’re w atching too m uch television, he said, you are n o t only just sitting on the couch, but you’re watching comm er cials for snack food, which leads to m ore snacking. Community gardeners have only scratched the surface o f the potential o f the Warm Springs community garden. Dave McMechan/Spilyay Edmund Francis at the Warm Springs Community Garden “So we encourage our participants to use the garden,” he said. Anyone in terested can reach Francis at the D ia betes Prevention program o f Indian H ealth Services, 553-0118. There are m any people w ho have, helped w ith the im provem ent o f the com m unity garden, said Francis. B eth A nn Beam er, o f the M oun tain View H ospital Com m unity H ealth Im provem ent Partnership (CHIP), for instance, provided grant m oney for the project. The tribal Utilities D epartm ent contributed some help, as have the H o t Shots, and Carolyn Harvey o f the Com- m u n ity H e a lth E d u c a tio n T eam (CHET), to name just a few. Francis said he would be writing a letter to the ed ito r thanking all those w ho have helped. T he com m unity garden is divided into 33 plots, each m easuring 20-by- 25 feet. T h e c om m unity gardeners have planted beans, pum pkins, corn, cilantro, tom atoes, w aterm elon, bell peppers, onions, squash and p u m p kins. T he group o f gardeners last year was small, he said, and som e were dis couraged because there was an early frost. Francis did m uch o f the harvest ing himself, and gave the vegetables to the community. Gardening, he said, requires patience. “It’s a waiting game,” he said, b u t the results are w orth the wait, and the work along the way is rewarding. Eventually, Francis said, he would like to see an active orchard along the p e rim ete r o f th e garden, and such things as a tractor, a shed for tools, and a picnic área. Com m unity gardeners have only scratched the surface o f the potential o f the W arm Springs com m unity garden.
