News from lncji^n C ountry
Page9
Cherokee offer bounty for coyotes
C H ER O K EE, N.C. (AP)
r- The Eastern Band o f the
Cherokee Indians in western
N o rth C arolina is offering
bounty payments o f $25 for
each coyote carcass that is
turned into the tribe.
The Tribal Council is of
fering the m oney to try to
protect white-tailed deer on
the reservation. Money will
only be paid for coyotes that
have been shot, n o t trapped.
Tribal fisheries and wild
life
m an ag e r
R o b e rt
Blankenship says coyotes are
the main predator for deer
fawn and other wildlife in the
area.
“We realize you’ll never get
rid o f them completely, b ut
our goal is to thin them out
and hopefully increase the
faw n
su rv iv al
ra te ,”
Blankenship said.
The tribe began a white
tailed deer réintroduction pro
gram two years ago, he said.
Land was planted with win
ter peas, clover, turnips and
other plants where the ani
mals could forage.
The deer population in the
area had been declining pre
viously, Blankenship said.
“Historically, white-tailed
deer are very significant to the
C herokee p eo p le,” B lank
enship said. “T hat dates back
over 10,000 years. Every ar
chaeological dig th at’s been
co m pleted, they find deer
bones in those digs. We want
to make sure they are there
for future generations,” he
said.
B ounties have n o t been
particularly effective in deal
ing with coyote populations,
said Mike Carraway, a biolo
gist with the N orth Carolina
Wildlife Resources Commis
sion.
“A bounty can help to re
duce the coyote population in
sp ecific areas,” he . said.
“Overall, it is n o t going to
have any significant effect on
the population as a whole.”
Pyramid Lake tribal chief
honored posthumously
CARSON CITY, Nev.
(AP)' — P y ra m id L ake
Paiute Tribal C hairm an
Wayne Burke has been
h o n o re d posthum ously
as A m e ric a n In d ia n
C o m m u n ity L ead er o f
the Year.
Burke, w hose O ct. 28
d e a th at the age o f 38
was ruled a suicide, was
reco g nized by the N e
vada Indian Commission
during its annual A m eri
can Indian A chievem ent
Awards B anquet on Sat
u rd a y n ig h t a t th e
g o v e rn o r’s m a n sio n in
C arson City.
Burke was instrum en
tal in the development o f
the Reno-area tribe’s eco
nom ic developm ent and
to u rism p ro g ram s, and
was the first Native Ameri
can to serve on the N e
v ad a C o m m issio n o n
Tourism.
First National Bison Day celebrated in Jackson
: JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) -
Giant, shaggy and dangerous,
bison are the bad boys o f the
grasslands.
B ulls can w eigh u p to
2,000 pounds. They, injure
more visitors to Yellowstone
National Park than any other
animal.
T hese hulking creatures
represent a time, hundreds o f
years ago, w hen A m erican
In d ian s h u n te d b iso n fo r
food across the G reat Plains.
Their hides offered warmth,
clothing and shelter, and their
bones became tools.
T hanks to the W ildlife
Conservation Society, a day
for the bison has been set
aside.
A nd if the folks at the con
servation society have their
Way, the m ighty bison will
soon sit alongside the bald
eagle— o u r n a tio n a l em
blem—-as the United States’
national mammal.
A celebration for the in
augural National Bison Day,
Nov. 1, was held earlier this
m onth at the N ational M u
seum o f Wildlife A rt at Jack-
son. Attendance was low, but
it was the first crack at the
event, celebrated in South
Dakota, N ew Mexico, West
Virginia and Washington, D.C.
A celebration was also sched
uled in N ew York City but
was called o ff because o f
Hurricane Sandy.
National Bison Day is in
line with the National Bison
Legacy Act, a bill sponsored
by Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi,
said K eith Aune, the Wildlife
Conservation Society’s senior
conservation, scientist
“T hat designation doesn’t
come with any authorities, it
doesn’t co st any money, it
Alaska Native
fishermen seek
consolidated trial
ANCHORAGE,
Alaska (AP) — Alaska N a
tive fisherm en charged
with illegal fishing during
a p o o r salm on ru n are
seeking to c o n so lid ate
th e ir trials. A tto rn e y
James J. Davis Jr. says he
w ants to continue to a
later date the trials for 11
o f the fisherm en set to
start next week. A nother
10 fisherm en are sched
uled for January trials.
Davis says consolidat
ing the 21 cases would al
low a specialist o n Yup’ik
doesn’t invoke any jurisdic
tional battles over manage
m ent o f the species,” Aune
said-
“I t’s really about a sym
bolic designation and then
providing a special day each
year for us to celebrate the
species and why it’s im portant
to America.”
Scott Smith, the g ro u p ’s
com m unications m anager,
introduced Aune, who he de
scribed as “the bison guy” to
a crowd o f about 25,
Aune makes a compelling
argument for the bison hav
ing some sort o f special sym
bolic status.
The American bison once
roamed across the boreal for
est o f Canada and Alaska.
A t peak n u m b ers, esti
m ated at 3Cf to 60 million,
they were found in close to
every corner o f the Lower
48, Aune said.
D riv en by g o v e rn m e n t
policy, demand for hides and
mass slaughters, the “ force
o f n atu re” was rapidly re
moved from the land, even
tually winnowing the popula
tion to about 1,200 animals,
Aune said.
By 1905, a g ro u p o f
ran ch ers, co n serv atio n ists
and sportsm en form ed the
American Bison Society to
breathe some life into small
herds that remained scattered
in pockets around the coun
try.
The species, now num ber
ing 500,000, has been effec
tively saved and is no longer
■threatened by extinction. But
today roughly 95 percent o f
all bison are raised comm er
cially, p rim arily fo r th e ir
meat, Aune said.
G row th o f wild herds on
public lands petered out in
die 1930s, he Said.
T hat’s led to the “second
recovery o f the bison,” what
Aune described as an effort
to increase the population
from a conservation stand
point. T hat means increasing
genetic diversity and bridging
gaps in bison-habitable range,
he said.
Bronc rider dies in
Finals rodeo accident
LAS V E G A S (A P )_ A
25-year-old Missouri man
has died after being injured
during the Indian National
Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
Rodeo officials sayJ.D.
Jones o f Goodm an, Mo.,
died at a hospital after be
ing critically injured dur
ing the saddle bronc riding
c o m p e titio n S aturday
night.
O fficials Say it w as
Jones' first time com pet
ing in* the national finals.
The 37th annual event
w as h eld fro m N ov. 6
through 10 at the South
Point resort. O rganizers
issued a statem ent saying
Jo n es was a favorite o f
the rodeo because o f his
passion and resp ect for
the sport. T hey thanked
the Indian N ation for ral
lying behind the cowboy's
family financially and p er
sonally.
Big Brothers Big Sisters sign-up forms
When completed, these forms can be given to
Sarah Frank, Warm Springs Big Brothers Big Sis
ters coordinator. Her office is at the Family Re
Eskimo culture to act as
a pro bono expert for all
the fishermen.
L ast m o n th , th re e
o th e r fish e rm e n trie d
separately in Bethel were
found guilty o f violating
strict fishing restrictions
last sum m er. T h e m en
were each fined $250. In
their trials, Davis argued
that no one notified the
fisherm en about restric
tions. Magistrate Bruce
Ward said they were neg
ligent for not finding out
about the restrictions.
source Center. Her phone number is 541-553-0497.
You can reach her by email at:
sfrank@bbbsco.org
Big Brothers Big Sisters
of Central Oregon
“Big” Recommendation
I would like to recommend___________ ___________________ . to be a Big Brother or Big Sister. His/her
contact information is :______________________________________
C. Ore. group plans
statewide, vote on trapping
B E N D (AP) - A group
based in Central Oregon plans
an anti-trapping measure for
the 2014 ballot.
T he TrapFree O regon ini
tiative would ban trapping o f
animals for their fur or other
body parts and outlaw the
buying or selling o f fur or
other parts o f trapped ani
mals. I t would also make poi
soning animals illegal.
The ban would have ex
ceptions for mice and other'
Reason:
small rodent-like animals and
larger animals that can’t be
C o n tro lled by n o n -le th a l
means.
T h e m o v e m e n t to b an
trapping started earlier this
year in B end after a half-
dozen dogs were caught in
tra p s in C e n tra l O reg o n .
Sponsors o f the initiative say
rules set by the state didn’t
go far enough. Voters in O r
egon have twice rejected trap
ping bans, in 1980 and 2000.
Your Name
“Little” Recommendation
I would like to recommend_______________________________ to be a Little Brother or Little Sister.
His/her parent/guardian name and contact information is :______________________________________
C. Ore. ranchers prepare for wolves
B E N D (AP) - O regon’s
state w o lf co ordinator has
w arned Bend-area ranchers
to prepare fo r a rapid ex
pansion o f the state’s w olf
population.
The wolves make their way
in to the state from Idaho.
They were eradicated in O r
egon in the 1940s.
A t a panel last week, East
ern O regon ranchers long fa
miliar with w olf predation on
cattle com plained that they
are prohibited from killing
wolves and say nonlethal pre
vention measures are ineffec
tive.
A
Reason (not required, but helpful):
Your Name