Smoke signals., February 15, 2012, Page 9, Image 9

FEBRUARY 1 5, 201 2
Smoke Signals 9
By Michael Wilson
Natural Resources Division Manager
The Tribe's Natural Resources
Division manages the Reservation
under a 10-year management plan
approved by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs and Tribal Council.
The current planning period will
run through 2012. Natural Resources
Division staff will be working on the
next 10-year plan over the next year.
An important part of the planning
process is Tribal member input.
The following
is a summary of
some major ac
complishments seen on the
Reservation.
While it does
not include ev
erything we
ask of the Res
ervation, it is
intended to give the Tribal mem
bership a clear enough picture of
Michael Wilson
what has been happening on the
Reservation so they can be in
formed and provide input for the
next 10 years.
We ask a lot of the Grand Ronde
Reservation, and it has provided
well. A large part of this success is
due to the work put into planning.
The Natural Resources Division
houses many professionals who take
pride in how the Reservation is man
aged. To do their jobs and meet the
needs of the Tribe, they need to know
what the membership sees in their
Reservation.
I would like to thank the Natural
Resources staff for the contributions
to this article. I would also like to
thank the Fish & Wildlife and Tim
ber Committee members for their
input on Reservation management.
Your time and participation are
greatly appreciated and valued.
Please use naturalresourceplan
grandronde.org to submit your
comments.
Fire Program
Tne Tribe maintains a na
tionally active Wildfire Pro
gram. Firefighters respond to
forest fires on engine crews or
a 20-person hand crew.
The Tribe has one Type 4
and four Type 6 engines. En
gines are under rental agree
ment, which creates a revenue stream that funds
the program.
The program also supports a 20-person Type
2 initial-attack hand crew, which can be dis
patched to anywhere in the continental United
States. This type of crew operates at a higher
level than normal Type 2 crews; they have more
experience and receive more hazardous fire as
signments. Annual reimbursement over the last 10 years
averaged $560,000 (total $5.6 million) with
$94,000 (total $940,000) of this being engine
revenue.
The Wildfire Program provides good-paying
summer jobs that work out well, especially
for college students. Grand Ronde crews have
worked on wildfires from Florida to Alaska and
many states in-between. They have also helped
to protect many reservations throughout Indian
Country.
"We have grown the fire program to a point
where the Grand Ronde name is recognized in
the fire community as a very hard-working group
with great fire knowledge" said Jeff Nepstad,
Silviculture and Protection Program manager.
Despite the hazards of firefighting, the Tribe's
Wildfire Program has operated for more than 20
years with an outstanding safety record.
The Natural Resources Division also has a
Master Cooperative Fire Protection Agree
ment with the Oregon Department of Forestry.
Through this agreement, the state agrees to
respond to and manage wildfire control efforts
on the Reservation. This agreement will not only
provide additional resources to the Tribe, but
links us into the state organizational structure.
This assistance will be invaluable if we ever have
a large fire situation on the Reservation.
w.
Fir Program
'5 w
'V-.1'." " -. . t ;- -k . y . - -, x . '
J!t' ft
Sis m
, IJSpkX (1 J
Firenghtars
Courtesy photo
10-year plan