S MOKE S IGNALS
FEBRUARY 15, 2016
5
Membership briefed on Natural Resources program
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
PORTLAND — General Council
returned to the Monarch Hotel near
Clackamas Town Center on Sun-
day, Feb. 7, for the fi rst time since
March 2013 and a good turnout
of Tribal members heard Natural
Resources Department Manager
Michael Wilson present an over-
view of his department’s numerous
activities and accomplishments.
Wilson’s presentation was orig-
inally scheduled for the January
General Council meeting, which
was canceled because of a lack of
quorum caused by inclement weath-
er throughout western Oregon.
“I’ve had the opportunity through
fi refi ghting and the Tribal Timber
Council to visit a lot of different
Reservations across the country,
and we have a very beautiful Reser-
vation that I enjoy working on every
day,” Wilson said as he displayed
a snow-covered picture of the Res-
ervation taken recently by one of
the department’s foresters. “Staff
understands that. We understand
that this Reservation, your Tribal
lands, are valuable for many differ-
ent reasons: for hunting, fi shing,
gathering, solitude … just being out
on the land. We understand that.”
Wilson discussed many different
Natural Resources programs, in-
cluding timber management that
works to maintain a sustainable
supply of timber on the Reserva-
tion. Currently, the Tribe harvests
approximately 7.1 million board
feet annually, which is conducted
under the guidance of a 10-year
management plan approved by
Tribal Council and the Bureau of
Indian Affairs.
“All the impacts we are going to
have on the Reservation are well
timed out,” Wilson said.
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Michael Wilson, the Tribe’s Natural Resources Department manager, updates
the membership on his department’s numerous programs during the
General Council meeting held at the Monarch Hotel & Conference Center in
Clackamas on Sunday, Feb. 7.
Natural Resources has started
growing traditional plants, such as
camas, in raised beds at the offi ces
off Hebo Road to help restore them
to Tribal lands.
Natural Resources continues
working on its Pacific Lamprey
Translocation Project, where staff
transport lamprey from Willamette
Falls to above Fall Creek near Eu-
gene to encourage the species to
migrate farther up the Willamette
River basin.
“This is a species that is cultural-
ly important to us, but not a lot of
money is going toward it,” Wilson
said about the potentially threat-
ened fi sh. “We can help the species
and be a leader in this area, and
also get the hands-on work in the
water and in the streams by our
staff.”
Hello Community! We would like to
invite you all to the Canoe meetings set
for this year.
When: March 12,
April 9, May 14, June 12
Who: Those people interested in
participating in Canoe Journey
Time: 12-3pm (Lunch is provided)
Where: Grand Ronde Tribal Gym
Please contact Cristina Lara for more information
503.879.2040
Natural Resources is now issuing
Tribal hunting tags for ceremonial
elk and deer hunts and is manag-
ing two conservation properties –
Chahalpam on the North Santiam
River in Marion County and Rat-
tlesnake Butte near Junction City
in Lane County. At Chahalpam,
the Tribe’s management practices
helped delist the Oregon chub as an
endangered species, he said.
Most impressively, Wilson said
the 2015 wildland fi re season was
one of the busiest ever. The Tribe’s
20-person hand crew was dis-
patched to four full-time fire as-
signments that occurred over 64
days. Fire crews put in almost
18,000 hours working on fi res in
Washington, Oregon and California
and made about $1.2 million in re-
imbursements. All of this without
any injuries, extending the depart-
ment’s safety streak to 2,600 days.
“We have an outstanding safety
record,” Wilson said.
The Tribe’s fire engines were
out for 193 days and brought in
$165,000 in reimbursements, he
added.
Wilson also thanked the general
membership for its understanding
in August when the Tribe closed the
tinder-dry Reservation because of
forest fi re concerns.
During the question-and-answer
portion of his presentation, Wilson
said the department is working
with the state to establish a Tribal
smelt harvesting season on the
Sandy River.
Natural Resources also recently
installed sonar equipment at the
fi sh weir on Agency Creek that will
help track returning Coho and steel-
head salmon to the Reservation.
“The reason why that is so im-
portant is that the data that the
sonar tracking device will bring to
the Tribe will allow us the oppor-
tunity to manage that resource,”
said Tribal Council Vice Chair Jack
Giffen Jr. “This new technology will
pinpoint species coming back and
that documentation will be the key
to establishing how many of those
we could actually harvest. It’s a key
resource for future generations.”
Wilson also acknowledged the
two committees Natural Resources
staff members work with on a reg-
ular basis – the Timber and Fish
and Wildlife committees.
In other action, it was announced
by Richard Ray, Linda Brandon,
Louise Coulson and Cherie Butler
were elected to the four open seats
on the Elders Committee.
Mike Giffen, Charles Lackler,
Annette Ingram, Adrainne Llaneza
and Dawn Doar won the $50 door
prizes and Floriene Hoff, Ralph
Baker and Carol Haskins won the
$100 door prizes.
Lisa and Greg Archuleta, Jade
Unger, Eric Bernando and Tribal
Council member Jon A. George par-
ticipated in the cultural drumming
and singing to open the meeting.
The next General Council meet-
ing will return to Grand Ronde on
Sunday, March 6, for an 11 a.m.
session at the Community Center.
The meeting, in its entirety, can
be viewed on the Tribal website,
www.grandronde.org, by clicking
on the News tab and then Video. n
Grand Ronde
Preschool is expanding
The Grand Ronde Preschool is expanding and is seeking Tribal
families with children who were aged 3 or 4 before Sept. 1, 2015.
Call 503-879-2161 to request an application or contact Early
Childhood Education Manager Angie Blackwell at 503-879-2287
for more information.
If you have an application on fi le, you do not need to re-apply. The
classroom is scheduled to open in mid to late February, although
the exact date is not yet known. n
Housing Board seeks community input
The Grand Ronde Housing Board is inviting Tribal members and Tribal
housing residents to provide input to assist its members in carrying out
its advisory role to the Housing Department and Tribal Council regarding
policy guidance.
The Housing Board meets at 3 p.m. the third Thursday of each month
in the Housing Department conference room, 28450 Tyee Road. Its chair
is Matt Thomas.
For more information, contact the Housing Department at 503-879-
2401. n