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SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
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Map created by George Valdez
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Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Miguel Adams, 1 1, gifts a necklace to Laura Tesler, Oregon Department off
Fish and Wildlife Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program staff biologist,
during an event to mark the donation of almost 1 00 acres of prairie habitat
and oak savannah at Rattlesnake Butte to the Tribe in Junction City on
Friday, Sept. 7. Also gifted necklaces for their involvement in making the
donation happen was Dan Bell, middle, Nature Conservancy Willamette
Basin Conservation director, and Lorri Bodi, second from right, vice president
for Environment, Fish and Wildlife at Bonneville Power Administration. On
the left is Mike Karnosh, Tribal Ceded Lands coordinator.
LAND continued
from front page
Bonneville Power's obligations un
der the 2010 Willamette Wildlife
Mitigation Settlement. The nego
tiated settlement specified that
Bonneville Power either give or
place conservation requirements on
17,000 acres to make up for habitat
lost when dams along the Willa
mette River flooded other wildlife
habitats, said Mike Karnosh, the
Tribe's Ceded Lands coordinator.
At the end of 2012, Karnosh said,
the Grand Ronde Tribe will either
own or maintain about 450 of those
acres. Grand Ronde staff members
are currently investigating 1,500
to 2,000 acres that may also be
included in the Tribe's wildlife
management portfolio.
As important as the actual land,
said Grand Ronde officials, are the
growing relationships between the
Tribe and the Nature Conservancy
and federal and state agencies that
have developed in recent years.
"You bring a rich cultural his
tory and innate knowledge of land
management to this property,"
said Dan Bell, Willamette Basin
Conservation director of the Nature
Conservancy.
"This is pretty groundbreaking,"
said Karnosh, "because it makes
the Tribe an equal participant."
The Tribe values this responsibil
ity because it demonstrates Tribal
land management expertise on the
state and national stage.
"The real benefit," said Karnosh,
"is that the Tribe can show that
they can take care of the land as
well as, and in some cases, better
than the government. This is our
proving ground."
In addition, said Tribal Council
member Chris Mercier, "We're as
serting ourselves in our ceded lands
again, showing that we're serious
about environmental issues."
A 2011 Memorandum of Under
standing gave the Tribe a hand in
managing with the Bureau of
Land Management and the Na
ture Conservancy almost 5,000
acres at Table Rocks in a similar
ceremony. Many from the Tribe
headed south after the Rattlesnake
Butte event to a weekend encamp
ment celebrating the Table Rocks
agreement.
The land is among the Tribe's
ceded lands.
"This is really why we do our
jobs," said Karnosh.
"Monumental!" is how then-Tribal
Council Secretary Jack Giffen Jr.
described the land donation.
Then-Tribal Council Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy described the
moment as "joyful. This is healing
for us. If our ancestors could talk,
there would be a lot of laughter,"
she said.
She described how treaties of the
1850s had promised the Tribe farm
implements "not knowing that we
were the original stewards of the
land The only promise they kept
was to take all of our land. Today
represents the return of a small
piece of that land It's healing to
know there is some justice in Amer
ica. We can all feel good today."
"This is a great success for con
servation," said Lorri Bodi, vice
president for Environment, Fish
and Wildlife at Bonneville Power.
"This is an important site for pro
tection and a big accomplishment
for BPA ratepayers. ... The power
of partnership is so great, for us,
for our children and for our grand
children." The Nature Conservancy's Bell
noted that one of the parcels that
made up this donation came in
1985 from John Pickett, owner of
the Pickett Slide Rule Co.
"I'm not old enough that I'm even
sure what a slide rule is," Bell said.
"I'm still not sure I know what it
does, but the place struck me as
very special, a gem of a place and
worth protecting."
In addition to "one of the very
few remnant populations of the
western rattlesnake (Oregon's only
indigenous rattlesnake) known in
the Willamette Valley, and the only
one west of the Willamette River,
the south facing rocky slopes har
bor populations of virtually every
reptile native to the Willamette
Valley," said Laura Tesler, Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife
manager of the Wildlife Mitigation
Project. Tesler is responsible for
recommending sites that will meet
the requirements of the project to
Bonneville Power.
"There are many plants here as
well," she said, "including small
examples of two other high ranking
plant communities once widespread
in the Willamette Valley and now
restricted to a very few small areas:
the Roemer's fescue dry grassland
and the Oregon white oak savannah.
Among plant species uncommon
in the Willamette Valley are Hall's
violet, prairie lupine and turkey mul
lein, along with a host of other typical
Willamette Valley prairie and savan
nah wildflowers. Many of the native
plants here are used in traditional
basket-making practices of the Tribe,
and there are also cat's paw lilies and
shooting stars that are also used in
traditional medicine."
Greg and Lisa Archuleta and Jor
dan Mercier opened the ceremony
with drum and song. Karnosh and
Miguel Adams, 11, Lisa Archuleta's
son, honored the speakers after the
ceremony with necklaces made by
Tribal Elder Francis Simmons.
"Thank you for bringing your
spirit, vision and generosity to
this plan," said Tribal Public Af
fairs Director Siobhan Taylor, who
organized the event.
In addition to Public Affairs, cred
it for the success of the more than
two-year project goes to Wilson,
Karnosh and Schwabe at Natural
Resources, Tribal Lands Manager
Jan Reibach, and Jennifer Biesack
and Ryan Sudbury in the Tribal
Attorney's Office.
News crews from Oregon Public
Radio and Eugene television sta
tions KVAL and KEZI reported on
the event.
About 35 attended the ceremony
that preceded a three-hour hike
through the area, attended by half
that many.
"This was an especially great
hike over an area that's signifi
cant to the Tribe, the state and
the environment," said Tribal At
torney Rob Greene, who went on
the hike. "Staff from the Tribe, the
Nature Conservancy, federal and
state agencies were on the hike.
The camaraderie among the hikers
reflects the great relationship the
Tribe has forged with Nature Con
servancy and BPA staff, among oth
ers. Rattlesnake Butte is another
milestone in the Tribe's impressive
record of stewardship within its
ceded lands." B
Family Movie Night
showing 'Avengers'
The Tribe's Youth Prevention Program and Community Aware
ness Team will present "Avengers" during Family Movie Night on
Saturday, Sept. 29, in the Tribal gym. Dinner will start at 5: 1 5 p.m.
and be followed by the movie at 5:35 p.m. The dinner will include
chicken strips, tater tots, salad, water and juices and snacks. There
will be door prizes, too. D