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News from Inciten Country Page9 sp,:y3>’r!y,!io°
N ew hatchery to bring salmon to Colville tribe
B R ID G E P O R T , W ash.
(AP) - The first salmon hatch
ery on the Columbia River
designed with the latest sci
entific recommendations on'
how to avoid weakening the
naturally spawning popula
tions is 80 percent complete
and will begin producing fish
in the spring.
Promised to American In
dian tribes decades ago, the
Chief Joseph Hatchery is lo
cated directly across the river.
from C hief Jo sep h D a m - ,
where each year salmon still
retu rn year, only to bum p
their heads against the mas
sive concrete structure that
prevents them from continu
ing their journey to spawn in
trib u ta rie s n o rth e a s t o f
Bridgeport.
Unlike the dams below it,
there is no fish passage at the
second-largest power-produc
ing dam on the Columbia,
second only to G rand Cou
lee D am above it.
But with this hatchery, the
Confederated Tribes o f the
Colville Reservation will bring
thousands o f fish back to a
corner o f their 1.4 million-
acre reservation below the
dam, where they can gather
su rp lu s fish, an d p ro v id e
tribal m em bers and others
across the region with new
fishing opportunities.
The $49 million hatchery
is funded by the Bonneville
Power Administration. It will
p ro d u ce som e 1.9 m illion
spring and summer Chinook
each year.
Tribal leaders and officials
frorti the U.S. Army Corps o f
Engineers toured the facility
Oct. 16 — from the ladders
w h ere re tu rn in g h atch e ry
salm o n w ill be c a p tu re d ,
through the incubation and
rearing stations, to the run
ways and holding ponds on
this 15-acre site owned by the
Corps.
“This is an example o f the
tribe taking charge o f its own
destiny,” Col. Bruce Estok,
the C o rp s’ Seattle D istrict
Com m ander, said after the
tour. “This has got to be the
best hatchery in the state or
Fish managers
believe th a t tens o f
thousands o f addi
tional summer Chi
nook w ill be avail
able fo r harvest,..
the Pacific N orthw est right
now. We’re p ro u d to w ork
with you on it.”
N o rth w e ste rn D iv isio n
C om m ander Col. A nthony
Funkhouser added, “It’s not
just about the tribe. There are
so many other people who
w ill b e n e fit fro m th is
project,” including all the fish
erm en from the ocean clear
up to Bridgeport, as well as
several other American In
dian tribes w ith w hom the
Colvilles are sharing their re
turns.
Depending on returns, fish
managers believe that tens o f
thousands o f additional sum
m er Chinook will be available
fo r h a rv e st in th e pacific
O cean from V ancouver to
Alaska, and in the lower and
upper Columbia River as a
result o f the hatchery.
Joe Peone, director o f the
’ Colville Tribal Fish and Wild
life D epartm ent, said o f the
2.9 million Chinook raised at
the facility, the tribe is expect
in g b e tw e e n 12,000 an d
15,000 C hinook salm on to
return in surplus o f what they
need for production.
Before they get there, fish
erm en all along the Colum
bia River system will have an
opportunity to fish for these
hatchery salmon, he noted.
O n c e i t ’s o p e n e d , th e
hatchery will include an inter
pretive center with inform a
tion about the hatchery and
Colville tribes, and a walking
trail that loops through the
property.
V isito rs m ig h t also see
tribal fishermen using tradi
tional dip nets and hoop nets
from new dock-like scaffolds
to be built along the shore
line.
H a tc h e ry m an ag e r P al
Ex-congressman impressed by dams’ removal
PO RT ANGELES, Wash.
(AP) — The form er congress
man who sponsored the law
to tear down the two dams
on the Olympic Peninsula?s
Elw ha River says he’s very
impressed with the work, and
that salmon have already re
turned to their form er habi
tat above the dams.
Form er U.S. Rep. A1 Swift
introduced the legislation 20
years ago to remove the cen
tury old Elwha D am and the
85-year-old Glines Canyon
Dam. H e tells the Peninsula
Daily News that he grew up
in a g en eratio n th a t b u ilt
dams, and it took him a while
to see the logic o f tearing
Oklahoma tribe on track
to buy La., Miss, casinos
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)
— An O klahom a Indian
tribe is m oving forw ard
w ith
. b u y in g
th e
Diamondjacks casinos in
B o ssie r City, L a., and
Vicksburg, Miss.
A bankruptcy auction
did not occur after Global
Gaming Solutions was the
only bidder to qualify. The
u n it o f th e C hickasaw
Nation o f Oklahoma plans
to pay $27.5 m illion in
cash and $97.5 million in
new debt to secured lend
ers o f current owner Leg
ends Gaming.
Legends filed for Chap
ter 11 bankruptcy reorga
nization in Shreveport, La,
in July.
The new owners w on't
be able to com plete the
p u rch ase u n til a b a n k
ruptcy judge approves.
Court papers show Leg
ends, even after an earlier
bankruptcy, owes lenders
$298 million. Almost all of,
that is secured debt.
The tribe owns 13 casi
nos in Oklahoma's com
petitive Indian gambling
market, plus horse racing
tracks in O klahom a and
Texas.
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them down.
T h e D e m o c ra t r e p r e
sented the northern parts o f
the peninsula from 1979 to
1993, w h en re d is tric tin g
moved the area into a differ
ent district. Swift retired from
the House o f Representatives
in 1995. ,
H e toured the Elwha by
Phillips said w hat’s special
abput this project is that it’s
the first hatchery designed
under new specifications, laid
out by the Hatchery Scientific
Review Group.
U nder Congressional di
rection, the panel o f indepen
dent scientists analyzed hatch
eries in the Pacific N orthw est
and came up with recommen
dations for preserving the
w ild genetics o f naturally
spawning salmon while allow
ing for hatchery production.
Phillips said among other
m e a su re s, at le a st th re e -
fo u rth s o f th e re tu rn in g
hatchery salmon will be har
vested, to p rev en t a large
number o f hatchery fish from
genetically mixing with natu
rally-spawned fish.
The project also includes
tw o acclim ation p o n d s at
Om ak and Riverside, each o f
which can rear up to 400,000
Chinook for release into the
Okanogan River. A weir on
th e lo w er p a rt o f th e
Okanogan will help the tribe
capture hatchery fish return
ing there.
Sixty-six people are cur
re n tly em p lo y ed o n th e
hatchery’s construction work,
and once it’s finished, it will
employ 11 full-time workers,
m any o f w hom are trib al
members with recently-com
pleted college degrees.
Chief Joseph Hatchery is
one o f four hatcheries autho
rized for construction when
G rand C oulee D am elimi
nated salmon from surround
ing rivers on the reservation.
T he W inthrop, E n tiat and
Leavenworth hatcheries were
all completed.
T rib al c h a irm a n Jo h n
Sirois said there’s a huge ex
citement among tribal mem
bers about the fishing oppor
tunities as well as the distri
bution o f surplus fish — both
fresh and frozen — to mem
bers and other tribes.
H e said he often fishes at
the Leavenw orth hatchery,
but now will have opportu
nities closer to his hom e in
Omak. “We just can’t wait
until it gets opened,” he said.
Halloween
land and by air last week.
The last remnants o f the
E lw ha D am w ere gone in
early March, and the Glines
Canyon D am , 9 miles u p
stream, has been reduced to
a 50-foot waterfall, with the
form er Lake Mills reservoir
behind it almost gone.
Choctaw casino nearly done
CREOLA, La. (AP) - The
Jena Choctaw Pines Casino in
G rant Parish is expected o f
open soon.
The casino, .developed af
ter many years o f trying by
the Jena Band o f Choctaw
Indians, is nearing com ple
tion. It is about 60 percent
done and is expected to open
in January.
“It’s finally going to be a
reality a fte r m any years,”
tribal Chief B. Cheryl Smith
said. “This has been our goal
for about 20 years. We’ve had
a lot o f devoted leaders work
ing on it. I'm as excited as I
can be that it's finally coming
true.” .
The casino is located o ff
U.S. Highway 167, just north
o f the A lexandria/Pineville
area. It will be a Class II ca
sino, meaning it can have gam
bling machines but n o t table
games such as blackjack or
roulette.
The casino is expected to
employ about 300 people.
T h e first p h ase o f th e
p ro ject is a 46,000 square
foot gambling floor that in
cludes 700 m achines and a
poker room. The casino will
have a buffet that can seat
roughly 170 peo p le and a
sports bar with a capacity o f
about 75.
A
Tribal leaders are hoping
to expand in the future. The
next phase would more than
double the size o f the casino
building, expanding gambling
and restaurant space and per
haps adding meeting space. A
th ird p h ase would add a ho
tel and entertainment venue
to the property.
The timeline o f future ex
pansion has n ot been set.
“Based on how we get out
o f the gate will dictate the
next phase o f construction,”
P epple said, “T h a t clearly
takes some time.”
Patience is something the
Jena Band o f Choctaws has.
The tribe has been exploring
gam bling opportunities for
years, but m et resistance.
T h e trib e h ad eyed
Logansport as a potential lo
cation, but couldn't get state
officials to sign o ff on a gam
ing compact. A compact was
not needed at the current lo
cation because G rant Parish
is c o n sid e re d p a rt o f th e
tribe's native land.
In 2001, local business
m an Mike Wahlder donated
more than 40 acres — which
includes the current casino
site — to the tribe. Pepple ex
pects the casino in its initial
form to draw people from
about a 100 mile radius.
(Continued from page 1) ,
The
H e a lth
an d
Wellness Center is also hav
ing a Halloween Basket si
lent auction.
You can see the basket
on Halloween Day from
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Pod A
at the clinic. The auction
will start at 1 p.m.
In S im n a s h o
Simnasho’s Annual Hal-
lo w een P arty w ill take
place Halloween night at
th e Sim nasho Fire Hall.
Trick or Treating will start
at 5:30. Poduck dinner is
at 6:30 followed by games
until 9pm. Any prize do
nations or candy donations
for seniors to h and out
would be appreciated.
T he Jefferson County
C ham ber o f C om m erce
H allo w een M e rc h a n t’s
C o stu m e
C o n te st,
Wednesday, O cto b er 31.
Call the office to register
your business in the con
test. Judging will be done
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on
the 31.
Yvonne Iverson/Spilyay
Carvers at last week’s Pumpkin Party.
C a W
stecco -
— —
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