8
OCTOBER 15, 2023
SMOKE SIGNALS
‘I raise my hands to all of our amazing staff’
MOA TAGS
continued from front page
Western Oregon.
Tribal Elder Gary LaChance, 55,
was the first person to be issued
the tags when he walked through
the doors of the Natural Resources
building just after 7:30 a.m.
“It was an awesome moment to
witness the first tags go out the
door,” Natural Resources Director
Colby Drake said in an email. “Staff
was hugging and cheering as he left
(to begin hunting). This will be the
first of many firsts for the Tribe and
NRD staff related to the new MOA
with ODFW. We are so excited to
see this come to fruition. Thank you
to everyone who has put in many
hours to make this a reality for the
membership.”
The MOA signed between the
Tribe and ODFW on Aug. 4 ex-
panded the cultural hunting, fish-
ing and gathering area from the
1,300-square-mile Trask Unit to
more than 11,000 square miles.
The number of tags issued on
Monday under the new agreement
is equivalent to all first and second
season consent decree tags in the
Trask Unit, according to Natural
Resources staff.
“For NRD staff, today was a big
day,” Drake said. “It started off with
Gary LaChance picking up the first
buck and elk MOA tags. There were
hugs and tears amongst staff, some
who have worked toward this day
their whole career to see a Tribally
issued tag leave the building. Over-
all, it was a great day getting to see
Tribal members come in and be so
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Elder Jack Giffen Jr. looks at his new Grand Ronde Tribal harvest
license after Tribal Natural Resources Department Administrative Assistant
Tina Helfrich gave it to him on Monday, Oct. 2.
excited to see just what is available
to them in the lines of tags. There is
some education that is happening as
we roll this system out, but overall
the enthusiasm throughout the day
couldn’t be ignored by the member-
ship and NRD staff.”
Tribal Council member Kath-
leen George described the day as
“amazing.”
“I raise my hands to all of our
amazing staff,” she said during a
Tuesday, Oct. 3, Legislative Ac-
tion Committee meeting. “It was
an amazing day and wonderful to
see us blessed with staff who are
as passionate as we are about this.
It’s so exciting to see our Tribal
members have the opportunity to
hunt and fish in our ceded lands.”
The new agreement with the
state allows Tribal members to har-
vest finfish, lamprey, shellfish and
crustaceans, mammals and birds
in the Wilson, Trask, Willamette,
Stott Mountain and Santiam wild-
life management units in Western
Oregon. In addition, Tribal mem-
bers can fish on the Columbia River
from Kelly Point to the Bonneville
Dam in Oregon waters.
In reaction, Tribal Natural Re-
sources staff members – the Fast
Track Team – have been working
Tribal nonemergency text line
The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department has a nonemergency text
line at 541-921-2927.
“If you have a nonemergency situation or question, feel free to contact
my officer via text through this line,” said Grand Ronde Tribal Police Chief
Jake McKnight. “When one of my officers receives the text, they will call
you back when they have time.”
McKnight said that emergency situations still require calling 911.
For more information, contact McKnight at 503-879-1474.
Help us look for chronic wasting
disease in our herds!
Natural Resources Guide
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly infectious, fatal disease
that can infect both deer and elk. CWD has not been found in
Oregon, but has been detected in 31 states. In 2021, Idaho had two
detections in their free ranging population within 30 miles of the
Oregon border.
NRD will be cooperating with ODFW to collect lymph nodes of
harvested deer and elk for CWD testing. Staff will be available to
collect samples from animals brought to NRD during business hours
and there will be an after hours drop off station at the ceremonial
cooler at the lower shop at NRD. Hunters are asked to fill out a brief
information card to include with the head of the animal, which
requires first vertebrae below the skull. Heads will be returned upon
request.
RAFFLE for a $50 Cabela’s gift card for participation!
Natural Resources Depart-
ment CWD sampling after
hours drop off:
47010 S.W. Hebo Road
Contact Wildlife Biologist Marie
Vicksta at 503-879-1458 or
marie.vicksta@grandronde.org if
you want more information.
to create the regulations and struc-
ture of hunting and fishing in the
new territory open to the Tribal
membership for a fall 2023 season.
Natural Resources has expanded
office hours on Tuesday through
Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30
p.m. until Tuesday, Nov. 7, to
accommodate demand for new li-
censes. Office hours will remain 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Friday.
Tribal Fish & Wildlife Program
Manager Kelly Dirksen is asking
Tribal hunters and fishers to take
pictures of their experiences in the
new territories and submit them
to Natural Resources to help the
Tribe take the next steps in ex-
panding hunting and fishing rights.
Those who do will be entered into
a drawing for a Cabela’s gift card,
he added.
“It’s a much larger land base,”
Dirksen said. “We have to get this
right, so I hope you’ll be patient
with us as we put the last pieces
together to implement this in ’23
and in ’24.”
For more detailed information
about the hunting and fishing
licenses, see the Oct. 1 edition of
Smoke Signals or download the dig-
ital version, available at smokesig-
nals.org.
Did you know?....
NRD Managed Lands
Access Policy Publication
Natural Resources Department Managed Lands Access
Policy publication for Tribal membership.
Identifies Tribal lands managed by NRD and maps.
Identifies access information such as levels, categories,
management, requests/permits and activities.
Available upon request at 503-879-2424 or by email at
nrd@grandronde.org.