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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1991)
OR COLL E 78 .06 S66 Apr 91 THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE GRAND RONDE COMMUNITY OF OREGON ft APRIL 1991 V Si Chairman 's Report By Mark Merrier On the 16th of March, 1991, Council member Larry Brandon and I attended a Tribal leaders Forum, in Seattle, Washington. Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii was present for this meeting. Senator Inouye is the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee, on Indian Affairs. This Committee has jurisdiction over any legislation related to Indian issues introduced by any U.S. Senator. Senator Inouye told the group of Tribal leaders present that he is genuinely supportive of Indian people, and he was at this meeting to take his "Marching Orders" from Tribal leaders, to listen to concerns and issues affecting Indian people. Also present at this important meeting was U.S. Representative George Miller whom, is Acting Chair man of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. This House Committee is the counter part to the Senate Committee, having jurisdiction over any legislation introduced on the House side. About 60 Tribes were represented coming from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. Many issues were expressed to the Senator, such as the Supreme (Continued on page 3.) GENERAL COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 7TII 1991 MEETING AT 11:30 Provided Meal Following Special Note: A model of the new community center will be on display. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON LIBRAR. 4A" Keceivea on: U4-uj-ji v Smoke signals (Grand Ronde, Or. ) 0 V rt- mi nt -., wr , ; V T E ;3 f -TiJIUjriFI jT tMFa ( M'liM t iu. ADAMS LOOKS OVER THE LAND - Head forester Cliff Adams looks out over the Tribal reservation lands Tribal Timber - Past, Present, Future By Brent Merrill The following is the first part in a three part series about the Tribal Forestry Program. Part one will focus on the past, from the beginning of the program to present day. Part two will examine the current timber issues facing the Tribe and the activities the program is involved in. The final part wiO detail the future plans of the for estry program and how those plans might effect the Tribe as a whole. Interest in the precarious timber issues that face the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and all of Western Oregon has elevated since the re-creation of the reservation lands in 1988. The establishment of the reservation returned 9.811 acres of timber land to the Tribe. The original Grand Ronde reservation lands totaled 69,000 acres. With the return of the timber to the Tribe, the importance of revenues generated by that timber has also increased. Interest among Tribal members about how issues like old growth, the spotted owl and fire protection will effect their timber base has reached a paramount. This three part series will showcase the Grand Ronde Forestry Program and how it is set up to deal with these issues and others. Head Tribal Forester Cliff Adams is the man in charge of the Forestry Program and he was chosen for the position just before the re-establishment of the reserva tion. "I think Cliff Adams is really a good, top quality forest manager," said the Tribe's General Manager Jim Willis. "I think he runs a good program." Willis explained why Adams was right for the job. "Cliff brings a well-rounded point-of-view to forest management. He's conservative and he is experienced in the private market side of the business because of his experience with Crown Zellerbach and other companies." Adams said that when he came to work for the Tribe (approximately one year prior to the establish ment of the reservation) he spent the first year gathering information and making recommendations based on his expertise and experience. Adams gained his forestry ex perience while working for companies like International Paper Company and Crown Zellerbach after completing his degree in forestry engineering from Oregon State University. Upon hiring Adams, the Tribal Council and administrative leaders identified working towards the acquisition of the reservation as his main priority. Once the reservation lands were secured Adams said finding "a suitable facility to house the program" became the priority. Hiring personnel and purchasing the necessary equipment followed the acquisition of the current timber facility. Tribal youth Trevor Aaron was the first actual staff Adams hired for temporary summer work. Connie Monson was hired in 1989 as the program's secretary. More recently, Adams has hired Jeff Kuust as a Tribal forester and Jeff Nepstad as a forest technician. Ken Cram is currently working on temporary assignment as a forest technician and Tribal member Marcellus Norwest is employed as a program security officer. When the Grand Ronde Reservation Act (Continued on page 3.)
