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Tribe's Natural Resources Division Reports to General Council at January Meeting
FEBRUARY 1, 2002
By Brent Merrill
The January General Council
meeting was held on Sunday,
January 6 at the Tribal Commu
nity Center in Grand Ronde. Here
are the highlights:
Natural Resources Report
The Tribe's Natural Resources Di
vision gave the program report for
January. Natural Resources Direc
tor Cliff Adams (who has since
taken the position of General Man
ager for the Tribe) talked to mem
bership about the program's activi
ties in natural resources' manage
ment, silviculture and resource pro
tection. Adams said that program's refor
estation efforts included bud cap
ping 58 acres of land and placing
vexar tubes (to protect the trees) on
13 acres. He said that pre-commer-cial
thinning activities included 167
acres on the Reservation and 94
acres on the Scappoose property.
Adams said that several members
of the Natural Resources staff were
involved with firefighting efforts
during the summer of 2001. Staff
members joined firefighting crews
to help put out blazes in Oregon,
Washington and Montana. Accord
ing to Adams, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs reimbursement fees to the
Tribe were $106,000 and engine
reimbursement was $31,000.
Natural Resources staff also
worked on a huckleberry project
with the Sweet Home Ranger Dis
trict to increase sunlight to the for
est floor by thinning and pruning
young trees.
Adams reported that Natural Re
sources staff members completed
biological assessments on threat
ened and endangered plants, for
the new childcare facility, the new
education facility, the new housing
project and all 2001 timber sales.
He said that several more biologi
cal assessments were planned for
2002. Staff members replaced six
culverts that will improve nine miles
of instream fish passages and also
improve the overall water quality
in those areas.
According to Adams, an elk study
is planned for this year in an effort
to better understand how elk use the
Reservation and a smolt trap has
been installed in Agency Creek to
monitor and study fish migration.
Tribal member and Natural Re
sources Environmental Specialist
Kathleen Feehan reported to mem
bership on the Environmental Re
sources program. Feehan said the
Tribe's water quality program is de
veloping an understanding of Tribal
streams and the aquatic resources
they support.
Feehan said that the Tribe was
represented in four Superfund site
investigations in 2001 to determine
if the Tribe's resources had been
damaged. She also said that the
Natural Resources staff partici
pated in the development of the
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Tribe's 10-year
resources man
agement plan.
Timber and
Roads Coordina
tor Jeff Kuust
reported that the
Natural Re
sources Division
administered
the harvest of
9,718,675 board
feet of timber in
2001.
Tribal mem
ber and Lands Coordinator Michael
Wilson reported to the membership
on land acquisition and fee to trust
lands. Wilson informed member
ship on the Tribe's recent acquisi
tion of the Melcher, King and
Davidson properties. Wilson said
the land stewardship project with
the Forest Service is progressing on
lands adjacent to the Reservation.
In conclusion, Adams honored
Tribal Elder and Forest Patrol Of
ficer for his continued excellence in
the field.
Door Prizes
Dorothy Leno won two Bob
Newhart concert tickets. Kevin
McKnight, Pat Allen and Bob Nagel
each won a $50 door prize and
Nagel donated his winnings to the
Veteran's Memorial Ad Hoc Com
mittee. Sylvia Fuller won the $100
door prize.
New Culture Committee
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New Culvert The Tribe's Natural
Resources staff participated in the re
placement of six culverts on the Reser
vation that will improve nine miles of in
stream fish passages and also improve
the water quality in those areas.
The new members of the Tribe's
Cultural Committee were an
nounced at the meeting. The com
mittee consists of Pat Allen, Joe
Brisbois, Annabelle "Peachie"
Hamm, Jessie Brann, Janet
Phillips, Mary Norwest Davis, Leon
"Chips" Tom and Don Day.
Next Meeting
The next General Council meet
ing will be held on Sunday, Febru
ary 3, in Grand Ronde at the Tribal
Community Center. The meeting
time has now been changed to
11:00 a.m. from the previous time
of 11:30 a.m.
Education Construction
New View The Tribe's new education
facility continues to take shape as construc
tion crews have worked throughout the win
ter to get the buildings up. A forklift (right)
cruises across the floor of the gymnasium
and auditorium delivering a load of cinder
blocks to masons working on the outer wall.
In the background to the left is the nearly
completed youth center; in the middle is
the pre-school and Head Start program
building. The Education administration of
fices and the Higher Education program
offices are to the right.
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Builders Masons James Nugent and Tim Deschler place a corner block
on the outer wall of the new gymnasium building.
T The Hard To Reach Spot Foreman Mike Clayburn of Nugent Masonry
puts grout into the corner of the outer wall of the new gymnasium.
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