Page 6
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
June 3, 2020
Tribes join zebra mussel response planning team
The scenario: A person
from out of town launches
a boat in Lake Billy Chinook:
Meanwhile, no one is yet
aware that the boat is con-
taminated with the tiny shell-
fish called zebra mussles.
From the out-of-town
boat some of zebra mussels
escape into Lake Billy Chi-
nook. If this situation goes
undetected for a period of
time, the consequences
could be devastating to na-
tive aquatic species, and be-
yond.... Quick and effective
response, on the other hand,
could avoid disaster.
The problem: This sce-
nario is not far-fetched:
Many waterways in the
United States have been in-
fested with zebra mussels,
killing the native species, in-
festing hydro piping, and
costing hundreds of millions
of dollars.
The Confederated Tribes’
Branch of Natural Re-
sources is part of a team that
is studying how best to re-
spond to a potential invasion
of the quag ga, or zebra
mussel in the Columbia
River basin.
The mussel is native to
the Caspian Sea in Asia.
About 30 years ago they
entered the Great Lakes
through ballast water of a
transatlantic vessel: Within
a decade the mussels had
colonized the river basins of
the Great Lakes.
In order for a zebra mus-
sel to live, it must attach it-
self to a hard object. This
includes things like things
like rocks, logs, boats and
hydro equipment. They also
attach themselves to native
species: In other states na-
tive mollusk species are at
risk of becoming extinct or
endangered because of ze-
bra mussels.
Tribal Natural Resources
is part of a zebra mussel
rapid response team that
also includes local, state and
federal natural resources
agencies. In May the team
conducted a table-top exer-
cise involving a theoretical
scenario of a boat launch in
Lake Billy Chinook:
In the scenario the boat
is contaminated with mus-
sels picked up from a lake
in Arizona. Once in Lake
Billy Chinook, the boat is
moored for 10 hours before
the mussels are detected.
This is a risk to native
species in the lake, such as
crayfish; to other boats, and
potentially to the tribes-PGE
Pelton-Round Butte hydro
facilities. Quick detection
and containment could
avoid a worst-case scenario.
In the response team ex-
ercise last month, the part-
ners looked at options such
as closure of facilities at the
lake, law enforcement par-
ticipation, and mandatory
boat inspections and decon-
taminations.
The exercise helped with
identifying potential re-
sponse problems, such as
with effective response com-
munication among agencies,
response time, and coordi-
nation of the containment.
The threat to hydropower infrastructure is
huge. Pipes and pumps of would be subject to
fouling by the encrusting mussels.
The Great Lakes region spends an estimated
$500 million a year scrubbing them from docks,
pipes and intakes. If the species reaches the
Columbia, the cost to hydroelectric facilities
alone could run from $250 million to $300
million a year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service has war ned.
Zebra mussels are small:
A square meter can be cov-
ered with up 70,000 of the
mussels. A single mussel can
produce up to a million eggs
in a year.
The threat is significant:
According to a 2018 report,
Michigan spends $500 mil-
lion a year cleaning docks,
pipes and intakes.
Joining the tribe in the ex-
ercise were the Oregon State
Marine Board, Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wild-
life, U.S. Fish and Wildlife,
the state Department of Ag-
riculture, Parks and Recre-
ation, the Department of
Environmental Quality,
PGE, the Invasive Species
Action Network, and the
Pacific States Marine Fish-
eries Commission.
The team has studied the
response measures that
other states have taken.
For now mandatory boat
inspection stations in Or-
egon are the first line of
defense, but most are only
open seasonally during day-
time hours.
At Lake Billy Chinook
there are specific precau-
tions taken at boat launch
areas to avoid zebra mussel
contamination.
Dave McMechan
Guided fishing permits approval
Tribal Council last week
approved a recommenda-
tion from the On-Reserva-
tion Fish and Wildlife Com-
mittee to re-open fishing by
permit for non-tribal mem-
bers.
The areas re-opening are
at Lake Simtustus, the
Metolious Arm of Lake
Billy Chinook, the Deschutes
River from Dry Creek to the
Wasco County border near
Trout Creek and the High
Lakes.
Fishing license vendors
have been notified, and on-
line sales of permits are
available at the present time.
Fisheries is still working on
removing the shutdown no-
tice from the website but
sales began late in the after-
noon on May 26.
Summary
Lands identified on the
map are open, and areas 1
through 4 are open for fish-
ing.
Area 1: High Lakes. Area
2: Deschutes River. Area 3:
Lake Simtustus. Area 4:
Metolius Arn of Lake Billy
Chinook, Harpham Flats
and Sandy Beach boat
launches and Sherars Falls.
Tribal guides are allowed
to resume guiding per their
permits and requirements
by Tribal Council. Tribal
guides must follow all guide-
lines in their permits. Guide-
lines include:
-Using procedures to re-
duce the spread of the
Covid virus.
-No Camping at tribal
camp grounds. Areas will be
day use only until further
notice.
-All these areas are still
open to tribal members for
fishing and camping.
Motion at Council:
The On-Reservation Fish
and Wildlife Committee rec-
ommends to Tribal Council
to re-open fishing, guiding
and boating to non-members
in waters within and sur-
rounding the reservation.
The Committee believes
this should be consistent with
Tribal Council’s plans for re-
opening the tribal govern-
ment and the reservation in
general. In addition, tribal
fishing guides can resume
guide activities with the fol-
lowing requirements:
1. Guides must conduct
guide activities to reduce the
spread of the coronavirus to
themselves, clients and the
Warm Springs community.
2. Guides must provide or
require clients to provide
hand sanitizer, masks and dis-
infecting wipes and use them
to prevent the spread of the
virus.
3. Guides must not use
local businesses for food and
supplies, including bringing
clients onto roads marked
#WeCountOregon’s Census & Sovereignty Virtual Live event,
June 9 from noon-1 p.m., celebrates the vibrancy and history of
the Native peoples of Oregon. This event will be MC’d by Delson
Suppah and broadcast on Warm Springs KWSO radio. The
event will open with a moving song and drumming by Brian
Krehbiel. We’ll hear from Willa Powless from the Klamath Tribe
Council, Rep.Tawna Sanchez, William Miller from Naya Fam-
ily Center, Jim Tucker, Vice-Chair of the National Advisory
Committee to the Census Bureau, and Nicole Adams among
other Native voices connecting the census with our sovereignty.
We’ll laugh with the brilliant Ryan Redcorn from the 1491’s
and talk about Indigenizing the census!
Registration here: https://tinyurl.com/y7jhnw9l
Courtesy CTWS Fisheries
Areas opening for guided fishing permit access
‘Local Traffic Only’, except
the specific roads necessary
to access fishing locations
on the Deschutes River
from the Warm Springs boat
ramp to the northern
boundary of the reserva-
tion.
thoroughly wash your hands
and use good hygiene prac-
tice. Consider keeping your
distance from others at 3 to
6 feet.
Be aware of personal con-
tact and limit handshaking or
high fives, and be aware of
potential exposures by limit-
ing your activities that involve
large crowds or groups of
people, elders and others that
have compromised immune
systems.
Keep in mind the best
way to protect yourself from
COVID-19 is to prevent the
spread by frequent and thor-
ough handwashing, avoiding
contact with your face, eyes,
note or mouth. Cover your
cough or sneeze with tissue
then dispose of the tissue.
Please clean and disinfect
surfaces of your home and
the points of entry to your
home and vehicles.
The COVID-19 symp-
toms include fever, cough
and shortness of breath. If
you are experiencing any of
these symptoms, please call
the Warm Springs Health and
Wellness Center at 541-553-
5512.
Please do not go
straight to the clinic: Call
first so that your condition
can be assessed.
State addressing Oregon unemployment claims backlog
Many who lost their jobs
during the Covid-19 pan-
demic have been waiting on
their unemployment ben-
efits. It’s a problem seen to
varying degrees in many
states around the country.
Last week, the Oregon
Employment Department,
amid growing pressure,
launched a new multi-fac-
eted effort, “Project Focus
100,” to clear the 38,000-
claim backlog.
Damon Runberg, the
agency’s regional econo-
mist, said part of the
project’s goal is to improve
service by modernizing the
technology and database
software used to process
claims.
He said the software was
meant to be updated ear-
(Continued from page 1)
The easiest way to
complete the 2020 Cen-
sus during the Covid-19
pandemic is to do it
online.
Got
to:
my2020census.g ov/
login
If you don’t have
your 12-digit census
identification, just click
on the option below the
‘Login’ button that says:
“If you do not have a
Census ID, click here.”
If you don’t have
the ability to do the cen-
sus online, you can do
the questionnaire by
phone.
The 2020 Census will
ask a few simple ques-
tions about you and ev-
eryone who was living
with you on April 1 of
this year. Call 844-330-
2020 and follow the
prompts.
When you get to talk
to a person, let them
know you get your mail
at a post office box, and
you do not have a cen-
sus ID. You can call in
your 2020 census infor-
mation everyday from 4
a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific
Time.
CRITFC
position
Safety reminder from Council
The Tribal Council in
March declared a state of
emergency on the reserva-
tion, as the Covid-19 pan-
demic is a health risk of the
highest priority. And the
declaration of emergency
remains in place.
Community members
are asked to utilize the
Warm Springs Health and
Wellness Center call number
at 541-5532-5512, available
Monday through Friday, 8
a.m. to 5 p.m.
If you are ill, or a family
member is ill, please stay
home in quarantine. Please
keep yourselves and your
family safe by continuing to
Census
lier this year, but the update
came too late for the Covid-
19 crisis.
Runberg said 91 percent
of all claims filed since
March 15 have been pro-
cessed. He said the other 9
percent of claims may be
taking longer to process due
to their complexity. The U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
reports Oregon’s unemploy-
ment rate jumped to 14.2
percent last month, the high-
est on record. In March, it
was just 3.5 percent.
The Columbia River
Inter-Tribal Fish Com-
mission is advertising
for the following posi-
tion:
Administrative Spe-
cialist - CRITFC Law
Enforcement Division.
Full-time, regular, non-
exempt. $42,745 to
$47,180. Location:
Hood River. Closing
date to apply is July 1.
Primary Responsi-
bility: The Administra-
tive Specialist is respon-
sible for maintaining
department purchasing
records. Keeps imme-
diate super visor in-
formed of administra-
tive related matters as
they affect the agency.
Assists the Chief and
the Captain as necessary
in the fulfillment of
their various adminis-
trative duties.
Experience: Two
years of general cleri-
cal experience, with pro-
ficiency in typing, word
processing, or other ex-
perience generating
documents; OR an
Associate’s degree in
Office Occupations or
Office Technology; OR
Graduation from a pri-
vate school of business
with a Certificate in
Office Occupations or
Office Technology, plus
one year of general
clerical experience. Ap-
ply to:
Columbia River In-
ter-Tribal Fish Com-
mission - Attn: Human
Resources. 700 N.E.
Multnomah Street,
Suite #1200 - Portland,
OR 97232. Phone:
503-238-0667. Email:
hr@critfc.org
For additional details,
you may also contact
the HR department in
Portland, 503-238-
0667, or the Captain at
the law enforcement
office in Hood River,
phone number 541-
386-6363