Page 6
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
February 28, 2018
Community notes...
The Warm Springs Culture
and Heritage Language pro-
gram is looking for volunteers
to help chaperone, coach, judge
and assist at the 2018 Lan-
guage Bowl in May at the
Wildhorse Resort. To learn
more call Culture and Heritage
at 541-553-3290.
Four Madras High School
students are raising money for
their trip to visit Madras’ sister
city, Tomi City, Japan, this
June. They are selling tickets
for their Sister City Mega Prize
Raffle. Tickets can be pur-
chased from the students: Daisy
Tewee, Tyreke Ramsey, Osmar
Rodriguez or Jessica Geigner;
or at the Jefferson County
Chamber office. You can all
call Jason at 541-777-1252.
The drawing will be done on
April 4.
Academy Eagles teammates
Marilyn Tom, Coreena Stwyer,
Simyan David, Jessica Bruised
Head and Amissa Anderson,
with coach Andy Leonard
(above from left); and Shantelle
Henry (left) drives against
Obsidian.
Jefferson County Relay for
Life team captains meet the
first Monday evening of each
month at the Jefferson County
Senior Center at 6:45. The
Relay for Life will be July at
the Jefferson County Fair-
grounds in Madras.
The Warm Springs Health
and Wellness Center Employee
Appreciation Committee is
having a food drive to benefit
the Warm Springs Food Bank
at the Presbyterian Church.
The community is asked to
donate non-perishable food
items. There are donation
boxes placed in each pod at the
clinic. They are taking dona-
tions until March 30.
The Second Annual Warm
Springs Healing our Spirits
& Lands Round Dance is
coming up March 30-31 at the
Community Center. There will
be sweats, feast and pipe cer-
emonies.
The Madras Aquatic Center
and rec district has open regis-
tration for their swim team,
swim lessons and the Mud-
slinger. The Mudslinger is a
5.1 mile run or walk trail course
on March 24. To register go
to marcrecdistrict.com. Click
on ‘register now,’ scroll down
for your activity.
Jayson Smith photos/Spilyay
One of the last games of the 2017-18 basketball season, the
Warm Springs Eagles beat the Obsidian Wolves. The next
Academy sport coming up is track and field, starting just before
spring break toward the end of March.
Court sides with tribes in land dispute
In a victory for Indian Country,
the nation’s highest court this week
confirmed that Congress can pro-
tect tribal homelands from litiga-
tion.
Announcing the judgment for
the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice
Clarence Thomas said Congress did
not overstep its bounds when it en-
acted a law that put an end to a
long-running land dispute in Michi-
gan. The ruling marks a firm vic-
tory for the Match-E-Be-Nash-
She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi In-
dians, also known as the Gun Lake
Tribe.
The decision also represents a
win for tribal interests, whose
record at the Supreme Court has
been shaky in recent years. They
have been paying close attention to
the case because Congress is con-
sidering similar bills that would help
other tribes with their homelands.
The Madras boys varsity basketball team ended with a 13-11 regular season record, followed by the
weekend play-in win against Tillamook. The boys play Saturday afternoon, March 3 at Banks, game
time at 3 p.m. The team this year was Chapin Grote, Donnie Bagley, Rena Adams-Smith, Lewis Fine,
Cash Reese, Byron Patt, Dapri Miller, Kanim Smith, Kahne Herkshan, Danni Herkshan, Casey
Lockey, Tyler Lockey, Gloria Borja Lockey and Julian Badonu.
Second fishing period for Columbia River Zone 6
Tribal Natural Resources has set
the second fishing period of 2018.
The Dalles Pool is open until
6 p.m. on Saturday, March 3.
For the Bonneville pool the sea-
son will begin at 6 a.m., Monday,
March 5, and closes at 6 p.m.,
Wednesday, March 14.
For the John Day pool the fish-
ery is extended through 6 p.m., Fri-
day, March 2.
Allowed gear is gillnets with no
Northwest governors urge action on sea lion predation
The governors of Oregon, Wash-
ington and Idaho in February wrote
to the Northwest Congressional del-
egation, urging action on the sea lion
predation bill. Here is the text of
the letter :
Dear Northwest House Delegation
Members:
As Governors that are working
to recover Columbia basin salmon
and steelhead, we urge you to sup-
port legislation aimed at reducing
sea lion predation on threatened
and endangered and other at-risk
fish populations. Although several
hundred million dollars are in-
vested annually to rebuild these
native fish runs, their health and
sustainability is threatened unless
Congress acts to enhance protec-
tion from increasing sea lion pre-
dation.
Over the last decade, predation
by sea lions on salmon, steelhead,
sturgeon, and lamprey in the Co-
lumbia River has increased dra-
matically. State researchers have es-
timated that sea lions consume
about 20 percent of the entire
spring Chinook run. More recent
year research by NOAA Fisheries
has found that up to 45 percent
of spring Chinook adult salmon
disappear between the estuary and
Bonneville Dam. Much of that loss
can be attributed to sea lions.
The risk is not unique to spring
Chinook. Oregon scientists have
concluded that wild winter steel-
head are at extreme risk of extinc-
tion if the current rate of sea lion
predation continues in the
Willamette River. Additionally, Co-
lumbia River sturgeon are being
impacted by sea lion predation at
alarming rates.
It’s hard to imagine successful
recovery of threatened and endan-
gered fish populations with these
high levels of interception by sea
lions.
H.R. 2083, the Endangered
Salmon and Fisheries Protection
Act, augments existing state, fed-
eral, and tribal authorities and al-
lows quicker and more efficient in-
tervention but still limits lethal re-
moval. Hopefully, both parties can
agree on a version of this bill that
will gain broad bipartisan support
in the Senate as well as the House.
No one wants to harm these
great marine mammals, but effec-
tively dealing with a small fraction
of the healthy sea lion population
is preferable to losing unique and
irreplaceable species of salmon.
Sincerely,
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown,
Washington Gover nor Jay
Inslee, and Idaho Gover nor
C.L. Butch Otter.
Stellar sea lion threatening sturgeon
Oregon biologists attempting to
save the Willamette River’s sharply
declined winter steelhead run have
faced a new twist in the battle
against fish-hungry sea lions at
Willamette Falls:
The river has seen an unusual
influx this winter of large, sturgeon-
eating Steller sea lions. Anglers
from the falls to the Portland har-
bor have reported seeing the car-
nage.
mesh restriction.
Allowed sales in the Bonneville
pool are sturgeon between 38 and
54 inches fork length, and salmon,
steelhead, walleye, bass, carp, cat-
fish, shad and yellow perch. These
fish may be sold or kept for sub-
sistence use.
Allowed sales in the John Day
pool are sturgeon between 43 and
54 inches fork length, and salmon,
steelhead, walleye, bass, carp, cat-
fish, shad and yellow perch. These
fish may be sold or kept for sub-
sistence use.
Standard river mouth and dam
closed areas applicable to gill nets
are in effect.
The Spring Creek hatchery sanc-
tuary is not in effect this time of
year. Fish may be sold after the
period ends if caught during the
open period.
Wildlife managers removing
Willamette River sea lions
Oregon wildlife managers
were trapping sea lions at
Willamette Falls and trucking
them out to the coast in an ef-
fort to protect a very fragile run
of steelhead.
The estimate is that sea lions
at the falls are eating at least a
quarter of the winter steelhead
run. At that rate, biologists say,
there’s a 90 percent chance at
least one population of the fish
will go extinct.
State biologists are waiting for
federal approval to kill sea lions
at Willamette Falls. In the mean-
time, they’re moving as many sea
lions as they can to the coast.
In February they moved three
sea lions to the beach near New-
port. But the animals return:
One sea lion swam back up the
river 230 miles in less than four
days.
That supports the state’s argu-
ment that lethal removal will be
necessary to protect the dwindling
wild winter steelhead run, which
reached a low of around 500 fish
last year.
The states of Oregon and
Washington have been lethally re-
moving sea lions from below
Bonneville Dam on the Colum-
bia River since 2008.
One of the sea lions on the
lethal removal list turned up in
the Willamette Falls trap in Feb-
ruary, and was euthanized.
According to ODFW, other sea
lions with a documented record
of killing salmon and steelhead
near Bonneville Dam may also be
killed if they are captured in the
Willamette Falls trap.
A decision on additional lethal
removals at Willamette Falls isn’t
expected until the end of this year.
We are back! The Eagle Crossing Restaurant is
open for business, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m ~ Come on down!