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OR. COLL.
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78
CHASTA
UMPQUA
MOLALLA
KALAPUYA
ROGUE RIVER
A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe
FEBRUARY 15, 1999
New business endeavors focus
of General Council meeting
The Natural Resources Division and Spirit Mountain Development
Corporation are the main agenda items for February.
An artist's rendering of the completed Russellville Housing Development in Portland. See
related story below and sidebar at right.
By Tracy Dugan
The Natural Resources Division gave its pro
gram report for February at the General Council
meeting. Division Manager Cliff Adams outlined
the different components of the Division, and up
coming projects. Also, Spirit Mountain Develop
ment Corporation (SMDC) staff spoke about up
coming Casino events, new development projects,
and hiring and training.
"In 1998, we had three timber sales, "said
Adams. "Tumwata, Three Creeks, and the Gum
shoe Thinning units." Adams also said that a part
of Agency Road fell away and they were in the
process of repairing it.
Silviculture and protection includes site prepa
ration and pre-commercial thinning; fire protec
tion; inventory; and some mapping out of lands.
The Fish and Wildlife program conducts surveys,
monitors threatened and endangered species on
the reservation, and keeps track of licences and
tags as well as distributing them. Adams said that
some changes to the hunting and fishing regula
tions were going to take place in 1999. They will
be published in the future so all tribal members
can familiarize themselves with them.
"We also have planted some camas on the res
ervation" said Adams. "We are managing this
plant for cultural purposes."
The Environmental Protection component moni
tors the water quality on the reservation, looks
for other hazards, conducts surveys, implements
and maintains the Tribe's recycling program, and
conducts education and awareness activities in
the schools and community.
Finally, the Land Acquisition program is respon
sible for actively seeking out ways to enlarge our
tribal homelands, as well as pursue specific land
requests for tribal investment.
"In 1999 we will begin to create a new Forest
Management Plan," said Adams. "It is supposed
to be completed by the end of the year 2000, so
we have started to work pretty hard on it."
Adams also said the division is working with
the Bureau of Land Management and the United
States Forest Service on another stewardship
agreements for other lands.
The Spirit Mountain Casino update was given
by Adam Henny, Camille Mercier, and Shelley
Hanson.
"The Lodge has already had a huge impact on
our revenue," said Henny. "During the week Spirit
Mountain Lodge is running at about 65 occu
General meeting, continued on page 3
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
Community of Oregon
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
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Tribal success:
A model for Indian
economic development
By Oscar Johnson
The success of the Grand Ronde Tribe drew
recent praise from Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) officials as a potential model for economic
development in Indian Country.
"They're a model tribe for us," said Portland
Area BIA Director, Stan Speaks. "They've
shown that a tribe doesn't need to be in the
business for 50 to 100 years to be successful."
The comments followed a presentation on the
Tribe's developmental history that Council
member, Mark Mercier, gave to about a dozen
BIA superintendents from throughout the
Northwest, including Alaska, Idaho and Warm
Springs.
The officials gathered in a Spirit Mountain
Casino banquet room for their two-day quar
terly meeting on February 2.
They met to plan strategies for the upcom
ing year on issues such as managing tribal trust
land and proving Native program results and
needs to the conservative Congress.
"We meet in different locations, usually on
or near a reservation. We try to get different
' tribes to give a presentation and also to sup
port tribal business," said Speaks who added
that many were also anxious to see and sup
port Spirit Mountain Lodge.
"It gives us a good opportunity to see what
tribes are doing. These are (BIA) managers
from all around who might see things to help
them give suggestions to other tribes," he said.
Mercier kicked off the meeting by outlining
the Tribe's journey down the road to its recent
successes.
He described the Tribe's struggle for Resto
ration and reservation lands; and the quest for
ample tribal services and administrative hous
ing. He also explained the Tribe's successful ef
forts to work with state and county govern
ments to establish Oregon's most successful
casino.
"The Tribe has always been aggressive about
working with different federal agencies,"
added Mercier, citing current efforts to jointly
manage neighboring federal lands with the
Bureau of Land Management.
Spirit Mountain Development Corporation
President, Bruce Thomas, followed with an
Success, continued on page 2
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