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.