NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
A7
Burns Paiute tribal lands see restoration projects
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Conservation programs
on three separate tribal prop-
erties in Grant and Har-
ney counties have improved
habitat for fish and wildlife
on riparian, upland and for-
est lands.
The work was com-
pleted thanks to partnerships
between the Burns Paiute
Tribe, which formed in 1897
on lands around Burns, and
the USDA Farm Services,
USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service and
the
Bonneville
Power
Administration.
“There are a lot of mov-
ing parts,” said Erica Maltz,
the Tribe’s natural resource
director. “They’ve been a
great partner, enabling us to
strike that balance between
economic, cultural and nat-
ural resource management.”
Limited hunting oppor-
tunities for waterfowl and
game birds are provided on
some of the lands through an
agreement with the BPA, but
tribal members have priority.
Monitoring
includes
small mammal, bird and
amphibian surveys and hab-
itat surveys.
Contributed photo
Volunteers install a nesting box in Logan Valley on property owned by the Burns Paiute Tribe in 2018.
Logan Valley
The Tribe’s relation-
ship with the USDA began
in 2007 with the 1,760-acre
property in Logan Valley it
acquired in 2000. The prop-
erty includes wet meadows,
upland habitat and forest
land.
Using the Conserva-
tion Reserve Enhancement
Program, the Tribe imple-
mented steps to stem stream-
bank erosion on 345 acres
along Lake and Big creeks
and their tributaries.
This included planting
native species suitable to the
site, such as Booth’s willow,
Geyer’s willow, western
dogwood, wild rose, golden
currant and quaking aspen.
Electric and laydown
fencing were used to pro-
tect the plantings from cattle
and elk, but the short grow-
ing season, browsing elk
and incised streambanks left
Lake Creek with marginal
plant species. Big Creek, on
the other hand, was a “poster
child of success,” with lush
growth of willows, wild rose
and native grasses.
The Tribe leases the
grassy meadows to area
ranchers and uses the Con-
servation Stewardship Pro-
gram to plan a rest and rota-
tion grazing system. CSP
assistance is also used for
brush management and thin-
ning in the forest area.
“The various cost-share
programs offered by NRCS
provide an important local
investment,” said Calla
Hagle, the Tribe’s wildlife
program manager. “They
significantly expand what
we’re able to do and a pri-
mary source of conservation
funding in Logan Valley.”
The Logan Valley site
is used by the Tribe for its
annual weeklong culture
camp. Youths from grade
school to high school gather
at the camp with tribal
elders and staff from the
Tribe’s natural and cultural
resources departments for a
variety of hands-on learning
opportunities. These include
GPS scavenger hunts, fish-
ing, tribal history talks and
crafts.
“There’s a tremendous
amount of work that goes
into managing for the var-
ious ages and planning
age-appropriate
activi-
ties,” Hagle said. “However,
there’s tremendous gratifi-
cation in watching a young
person, who refused to enter
a stream for a fish count at
the beginning of the week,
then refuses to get out of
the stream at the end of the
week.”
Beech Creek
The Tribe’s most recent
acquisition is a 2,400-acre
property on Beech Creek
north of Mt. Vernon, pur-
chased with a traditional
mortgage through the Indian
Land Tenure Foundation in
2016. The site was in pretty
good shape as the previous
owners held conservation
values that the Tribe agreed
to continue, Hagle said.
Some camping oppor-
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
The Burns Paiute Tribe’s Beech Creek property
near Mt. Vernon in 2017.
Eagle file photo
Eagle file photo
Eagle file photo
Gabe Portillo of the Burns Paiute Tribe spears a
salmon in the Malheur River on June 15, 2016, at
Malheur Ford near the Tribe’s property in Logan
Valley.
A member of the Burns Paiute Tribe spears a
salmon that was transplanted in the Malheur
River on June 15, 2016, at Malheur Ford near the
Tribe’s property in Logan Valley.
Deborah DeLaRosa of the Burns Paiute Tribe drags
a salmon to shore after spearing it in the Malheur
River June 15, 2016, at the Malheur Ford near the
Tribe’s property in Logan Valley.
tunities at the Beech Creek
Ranch were provided during
the 2017 eclipse event. A
juniper removal project
will begin this fall with the
hope to see the harvested
wood put to use, Hagle
said.
The Beech Creek prop-
erty had been managed as
agricultural working land.
Fencing to protect the ripar-
ian areas from overgraz-
ing and streambank degra-
dation will be implemented
through CREP funding.
In addition, Environmen-
tal Quality Incentives Pro-
gram funding through the
Northside Mule Deer Win-
ter Habitat Initiative will be
used to enhance winter hab-
itat by juniper removal, and
CSP assistance will be used
to enhance crop, pasture and
range management.
A big step for the Tribe
was the reintroduction of
adult chinook salmon in
the Malheur River near the
Logan Valley property in
2016 through negotiations
with the state Department of
Fish and Wildlife. This pro-
vided tribal members their
first opportunity to harvest
the ceremonial fish from the
river since 1919.
Jonesboro
The Tribe acquired the
6,300-acre Jonesboro prop-
erty in Malheur County in
2000, Hagle said. The prop-
erty was not in as good shape
as the other two and required
more focus, she said.
To improve this “oasis in
the desert,” the Tribe imple-
mented a 345-acre CREP
project along the Malheur
River with a focus on elim-
inating weeds and provid-
ing habitat for big game and
birds.
Native plants and grasses,
including
chokecherry,
elderberry, Great Basin wild
rye, western wheatgrass,
Idaho fescue and blue bunch
wheatgrass were planted
along the streambank.
Jonesboro’s remaining
6,000 acres include rugged
canyons covered in juni-
per and sagebrush that pro-
vides good sage grouse hab-
itat. Starting in 2013, the
Tribe entered into an EQIP
contract to remove juniper
and enhance the sagebrush
steppe habitat to promote
sage grouse recovery.
Hello Grant County,
My gosh, I thought July was busy!
Kudos to everyone who participated in
the decorating contest for the 110th
Grant County Fair! What great support
from our communities! Great job!
First off, there will be NO Chamber
board meeting or membership
luncheon this month due to the Fair.
It’s a busy time and the board would
like to encourage everyone to enjoy
the fair! If you haven’t bought your fair
passes, carnival tickets, or Parmalee
tickets, we are selling them at the
Chamber office also.
The Chamber has elected a new
Executive Committee for the 2019-
2020 year. Jerry Franklin (We
affectionately refer to him as “Mr.
Chamber of Commerce”) is President,
Sherrie Rininger is our President-Elect
and Taci Philbrook is our Vice
President.
Committees have been assigned and
they will be meeting and bringing their
recommendations to the Chamber
board on an ongoing basis.
Committees are: Budget, Marketing,
Administration/Personnel, Community
Outreach/Events, Membership and
Facilities/Conestoga Wagon.
If you just read the various committees,
you will have noticed that the Chamber
has assumed the responsibility for the
management and maintenance of the
Landmark Conestoga Wagon located
at the Dixie Summit Viewpoint. We are
in the process of contacting existing
and potential advertisers about
advertising in the enclosed entry
beneath the wagon. This area receives
a large number of visitors every day!
So, if you aren’t currently advertising
there, and would like to, please
contact the Chamber office at
541-575-0547.
See you at the Fair!
Tammy Bremner
Manager, Grant County Chamber of
Commerce
135344