Smoke Signals 7
JUNE 15, 2012
Tyee Nattuire Reserve open ft the pubUc
By Rebecca McCoun
Tribal biologist
The Tyee Nature Reserve, located
to the south of the Grand Ronde
Tribal Housing Authority building,
is open for public use and is ac
cessible from Housing Authority's
parking lot.
Restoration of this site has been
an ongoing project between the
Tribe's Natural Resources and Cul
tural Resources departments and
the Institute for Applied Ecology,
a non-profit group.
The Tribe has used the Tyee site
as a Nelson's checkermallow plant
reserve since the 1990s. Nelson's
checkermallow is a plant on the
threatened species list that can be
found throughout Grand Ronde.
Work to restore prairie habitat
and enhance the Nelson's checker
mallow population began several
years ago when Melanie Gisler with
the Institute for Applied Ecology
approached the Tribe with grant
funds from the Oregon Watershed
Enhancement Board and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
The institute collected seed from
the local plants for genetic pres
ervation and brought in Nelson's
checkermallow plants from other
reserve sites.
Other native prairie plants were
introduced to the property with an
emphasis on plants with cultural
uses to ensure plant diversity and
improved overall ecosystem func
tion. Some of these plants include
camas, tarweed, juncus and bitter
root, among others.
Tribal staff is hoping that this
site be used in the future as a lo
cally available gathering area for
camas and other cultural plants.
Currently, plants on this property
are not available for harvest be
cause of a need for the plants to be
established before gathering can
begin. This will ensure a sustain
able harvest in the future.
An official celebration marking
the opening of the site will occur
early next spring when flowers are
in full bloom. Until then, take a
walk on the gravel paths and enjoy
the flowers that are in bloom.
For more information about the
Tyee Nature Reserve, contact Trib
al Biologist Rebecca McCoun at
503-879-2396 or Tribal Cultural
Protection Specialist David Har
relson at 503-879-2320.
Special thanks to Gisler, staff
and volunteers from the Institute
Youth Ed schedules camp
The Tribe's Youth Education Program is holding a two-day Camp
Dakota on Monday and Tuesday, July 16-17, in Scotts Mills.
The program will start with lunch in Salem and then will travel
to Camp Dakota, where participants will go through a rope course,
ride a zip line, play paintball and operate remote-controlled cars.
The event is open to male Tribal members, descendants and
enrolled Native American students who were in sixth, seventh or
eighth grade in 2011-12 school year.
For more information or reserve a spot, contact Chris Bailey at
503-879-4534 or by e-mail at chris.baileygrandronde.org.
Bringing Back
the Bow If 2012
1st Traditional Bow Camp since 1855
p.
Carovl
. lOTradirionaBowCainv
Come learn how to make a traditional bow!
For voulh ages 8-18
Meals and materials provided
Camping available (must camp with a parent or guardian)
Last day to register is May 31st
Must have permission slip signed by parent or guardian
June 28th, 29th, 30th
Meals C' 9am, 12pm, 6pm
Locution Grand Ronde Pow wow
grounds at the fort Ynmhill ntu park
Plaaaa com In a good
way and havt lots of lun
learning how 1o maki a
bow Ilka our ancestor.
Contact Brian Krehbiel:
503-879-4639
brian.krehbieln?gro ndronde.org
OR
Hermila Chavez; 503-879-2208
hermila. chaves'": fjrandronde.org
Please leave a message with
name and number.
HP rn
'..:,?'..-Vitv.',M -ii-oaif
. --' F'e . 'I 'V J. ;.(' 'T j
.-- ? I J- ' . -
is
3
Photo by Michelle Alalmo
From left, Melanis Gisler, habitat restoration program director for the
Institute for Applied Ecology, Tribal Biologist Rebecca McCoun, Tribal
Cultural Protection Specialist and Tribal member David Harrelson and Tribal
Forestry Technician and Tribal member Torey Wakeland stand by the new
sign at the Tyee Nature Reserve, which is behind the Grand Ronde Tribal
Housing Authority building in Grand Ronde on Wednesday, May 30. They
each were involved with restoration of the reserve.
for Applied Ecology, the Tribe's fish
and wildlife volunteer interns, the
Tribe's silviculture crew, grounds
keeping and the 2011 Summer
Youth Crew for their contributions
to the project. H
he was DwirtiDirDgj'
SECURITY continued
from page 6
"I was talking to Lucille and try
ing to get her to respond to me, and
get her undone from her seatbelt."
At this time, he added, "The car
was pretty much all the way in
flamed. They had started to spray
fire extinguishers."
A Sheridan firefighter pulled
Anderson out of the windshield
and had the equipment to take out
the rest of the glass. And that was
quickly removed.
Anderson ran back to the rear
driver's side window and reached in
for the dog. It didn't want to come
when he got its collar, so he reached
in and hugged it to his chest and
carried the dog out. He brought the
dog to Baumann.
Hanes, an unnamed firefighter
and EMT pulled Pruhsmeier from
the SUV. They put her on a gur
ney. "She was hurting," said Wheeler,
"but she was not burned and she
was conscious. What I remember
is her bare feet coming out and the
fire coming out. I expected to see
her feet all burned."
The bird, flapping wildly inside a
Plexiglas cage with small breath
ing holes in the back of the SUV,
was last to emerge, Anderson said.
Hanes never saw the bird.
Afterwards, when the adrenalin
subsided, Wheeler said, "I could
have found a corner of the casino
to sit down in and cry."
"When the adrenalin wears off,
you realize what happened," said
Hanes. "The emotions that get you
afterwards: I could have bawled."
"I was coughing from the smoke,"
said Hanes. "Dawn couldn't get a
deep enough breath."
Wheeler used "an old fireman's
trick," he said. "I covered my face
with my coat and didn't get it as
bad."
Heffner, Hanes, Wheeler, Ander
son and the crash victims ended up
at the Willamette Valley Medical
Center in McMinnville. Baumann
went from there to Oregon Health
& Science University Hospital in
Portland.
At the hospital, Hanes found piec
es of the tempered glass from the
windshield in his jacket pockets.
"I got some plastic string on my
glasses," said Wheeler. "I hadn't
noticed until after."
Anderson suffered from smoke
inhalation with cuts on his leg and
hand. "He had been punching the
window," said Hanes.
"We're very proud of the unself
ish, heroic actions our officers took
during this harrowing rescue," said
Joann Mercier, director of Security
for the casino. "They displayed tre
mendous courage."
"It says even more that these
guys stopped on their own time,"
she added. "They don't just do
their job at work, but also outside
of work."
Anderson took in the dog and bird
following the accident, said they
were "100 percent OK." The bird
spent the weekend mimicking the
coughing and gasping it had heard,
Anderson said.
Baumann and Pruhsmeier were
subsequently released from the
hospitals. Baumann picked up
her pets on Tuesday, June 5, and
although she did not return a call
for comment, she told Anderson
that when things calmed down, she
wanted to have everybody over for
a barbecue.
"It was the most extreme circum
stances," said Hanes, "and the best
result." EJ