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Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Sisters Tournament coming up for White Buffalos
The White Buffalos var-
sity basketball teams have the
Sisters Tournament on its late
December schedule. The
tournament is set for Dec.
29-31.
The varsity teams just fin-
ished the Seaside Holiday
Tournament. The girls had a
big win, 60-24, over Newport
at the tournament.
They played in the tour-
nament championship game,
which the Seaside girls won.
In the championship game
Mariah Stacona had 14
points, Janae Adams 8, and
Leah Suppah 6.
Boys win
Meanwhile, the boys var-
sity team won the Seaside
tournament, defeating Sea-
side 45-41.
Jered Pichette had 32
points and eight rebounds for
Holiday tourney turning 51
The Fifty-First Annual
War m Springs Indian
Holiday Basketball Tour-
nament is Dec. 31 thru
Jan. 3 at the Warm Springs
Community Center.
For more information
call Austin Greene at 553-
1953 or 553-3243.
Invitation to MHS Connections
Courtesy MHS
2014-15 Madras White Buffalo varsity girls.
the White Buffalos.
The girls plays away on
Jan. 6 against Ridgeview, fol-
lowed by a home game
against Mountain View on
Jan. 7.
After that the next home
game is Jan. 16 against Cas-
cade Senior High School.
Penney to manage CRITFC
Fishery Science Department
Dr. Zachary L. Penney will
be the new the Fishery Sci-
ence Department manager
for the Columbia River In-
ter-Tribal Fish Commission.
He will begin his new job
on March 2.
Dr. Penney will manage
CRITFC’s largest depart-
ment, consisting of 45 scien-
tists and support staff.
The department main of-
fice is in Portland; with the
Hagerman Genetics Lab in
Idaho, and a research coop-
erative with the University
of Idaho in Moscow.
The Fishery Science De-
partment is tasked with in-
creasing the scientific knowl-
edge about Columbia Basin
fish and the habitats upon
which those fish rely.
The department conducts
valuable research that in-
forms tribal, state and fed-
eral management agencies.
Penney will be responsible
for increasing the visibility of
tribal scientific accomplish-
ments; and planning, imple-
menting, and improving tech-
nical projects and programs
throughout the Columbia
River Basin.
Dr. Penney has a Ph.D. in
Natural Resources from the
University of Idaho, and an
extensive background in fish-
eries management and policy.
His experience includes
work with tribal agencies,
federal agencies, and
academia.
For the past year, Penney
has been serving as a NOAA
Sea Grant Knauss Fellow in
the office of Representative
Huffman (Calif.) in the
House of Representatives in
Washington D.C.
December 24, 2014
The varsity girls roster this
year features several Warm
Springs students:
Seniors on the team are
Mariah Stacona, Hailey Sloan
and Stephanie Gomez.
Juniors are Janae Adams,
Mayra Renteria, Lana Shike,
Leah Suppah, Rosebud
Whipple, Kalan Wolfe,
Freshman girls are
Kiersten Anderson, Kaliyah
Iverson, and Lynden Harry.
Elsewhere in high school
sports: Madras High School
Wrestling is at the Pendleton
Invitational on Saturday, Dec.
27.
Madras High School Con-
nections is a group that meets
in the afternoon of third
Monday of each month.
The group members talk
about what’s going on at Ma-
dras High School.
MHS Connections is for
students, parents and school
administrators to talk about
what’s working and what’s not
working at the high school.
Contact Principal Sarah
Braman-Smith to learn more,
or stop by the school the
third Monday of each
month. You can reach the
school at 541-475-7265.
Walk, run, swim this Saturday
The Freeze Your Fanny
Off Walk, Run & Swim is this
Saturday Dec. 27 at the Ma-
dras Aquatic Center. Regis-
tration includes a fleece hat,
chili feed and a free swim for
families. This is a fundraiser
for the Mountain Star Fam-
ily Relief Nursery. To learn
more and to register, go
online at macaquatice.com/
events
New research on sea lion harm to salmon
by Jeremy FiveCrows
CRITFC
Dr. Zachary Penney
“Growing up, my parents
and elders instilled in me the
importance of fishing and
education,” said Dr. Penney.
“I’m excited to bring these
passions to benefit the Colum-
bia River Treaty Tribes, and
culturally-significant species
like salmon and lamprey.
“Tribal culture tells us why
salmon are important, and
science can tell us how to best
help them. As we further the
scientific understanding of
fish and the habitats in which
they live, we can improve the
recovery efforts of Colum-
bia Basin salmon.”
Paul Lumley, CRITFC ex-
ecutive director, commented
on Dr. Penney’s hiring:
“His energy and passion
for fisheries will be a great
asset in the tribes’ efforts to
put fish back in the rivers and
restore the watersheds where
fish live.”
In addition to his Ph.D.,
Penney has a Master’s of Sci-
ence in Earth and Ocean Sci-
ences from the University of
Victoria and a Bachelor of
Science in Aquatic Resources
from Sheldon Jackson Col-
lege.
Beads, Native American Gifts, Museum,
Deli, Grocery, Ice, Fishing Permits,
Western Union, Check-Free Bill Pay,
ATM and Much More!
2132 Warm Springs St., Warm
Springs - ph. 541-553-1597
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
Fisheries is trying to find out
just how many adult salmon
are being lost between the
mouth of the Columbia River
and Bonneville Dam.
The number that NOAA
Fisheries came up with is
quite alarming.
The fish loss research be-
gan in 2010, and shows a
steady increase in fish deaths
in that stretch.
Adjusted for harvest and
other salmon impacts, the
2014 average spring chinook
salmon survival was just 55
percent, down from 69 per-
cent in 2013 and 82 percent
in 2012.
If the 2014 estimate is rep-
resentative of the overall run,
this means approximately 45
percent of the 2014 spring
chinook run died somewhere
between Astoria and
Bonneville Dam.
Right now, the research
can’t tell how much of this
fish loss is due to sea lions
and seals.
The project lead re-
searcher reported, though,
that fish mortality and the
number of sea lions in the es-
tuary have increased dramati-
cally in recent years.
This coincides with reports
from tribal fishers, who have
seen evidence of sea lion and
seal predation on damaged
fish in their nets.
Courtesy Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
Sea lions crowd a walkway at a mooring basin in Astoria.
The Columbia River Inter-
Tribal Fish Commission and
other agencies are trying to
fill in this gap in the research.
They hope to determine
just how much of the loss
being seen is due to sea lions
and seals.
One current CRITFC re-
search project is counting sea
lions and seals along the en-
tire lower river, not just at
Bonneville Dam.
The fish loss research fo-
cuses on spring chinook, be-
cause that is the time of year
when the sea lion population
is largest in the river.
The sea lions follow the
spring chinook run coming up
the river between March and
May. Most of the sea lions
then go to breeding grounds
off southern California in the
summer.
About 68 percent of the
fish the researchers tagged
and sampled near Astoria
were destined for the river
and tributaries above
Bonneville based on genetic
testing.
Survival varies over the
course of the run, said Dr.
Michelle Wargo-Rub, of the
Seattle-based Northwest Fish-
eries Science Center.
It appears that a higher
percentage of fish in the early
part of the run die before
reaching Bonneville Dam
than fish migrating later in the
spring.
Early returning fish also
take longer to reach the dam,
which exposes them to sea li-
ons and seals for a longer
time, she said.
CRITFC has been work-
ing with the states of Oregon
and Washington, the Army
Corps of Engineers, and the
U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture to haze California and
Steller sea lions below
Bonneville dam to hopefully
change their behavior.
The CRITFC hazing crew
uses cracker shells, seal
bombs, and boat chases.