President Obama will meet with hundreds of tribal leaders in Washington, D.C. November 5th, 2009.  The President had committed to an annual meeting with tribal leaders during his 2008 campaign and is fulfilling his promise. This historic meeting will coincide with the National Congress of American Indians’ Grand Opening of the Embassy of Tribal Nations on November 3rd and a tribal leaders meeting on November 4th.

NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank encouraged tribal leaders to go to Washington as a united Indian Country to begin and carry on a meaningful government-to-government consultation process with the President and his Administration.” Representatives of 564 federally recognized American Indian tribes have been invited to the summit. According to the White House, the Nov. 5 session is part of the president’s sustained outreach efforts.  ”I look forward to hearing directly from the leaders in Indian Country about what my Administration can do to not only meet their needs, but help improve their lives and the lives of their peoples,” Obama said in a written statement.  ”This conference will serve as part of the ongoing and important consultation process that I value, and further strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship.”  Obama’s session will not be the first White House meeting with all of the tribes. In 1994, then-President Bill Clinton held what was billed as a “listening conference” for leaders of all of the tribes. Held at the suggestion of Wilma Mankiller, who was then principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the session was believed to be unprecedented.  “I hope and trust that natural resources and the environment will factor in as one of the top discussion items at this summit,” said Frank. “It would be very appropriate for the tribes to continue to present themselves as good stewards and natural resource managers with never-ending connections with the land.”

Download the entire Federal Update as a PDF, including Priority Bills: November 2009 Federal Update (187)

The President will deliver opening and closing remarks and participate in an interactive discussion with tribal leaders. Other interactive discussions in the areas of economic development and natural resources; public safety and housing; and education, health and labor will be led by representatives from the highest levels of the Administration.  Expected Administration officials include: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Deputy Attorney General David Ogden, HUD Deputy Secretary Ronald Sims, DHS Deputy Secretary Jane Lute, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, and Indian Health Service Director Dr. Yvette Robideaux. The White House Tribal Nations Conference will also be streamed live at www.whitehouse.gov/live.  Please check back on the day of the event for the final schedule.

NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2009
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

The indigenous peoples of North America — the First Americans — have woven rich and diverse threads into the tapestry of our Nation’s heritage. Throughout their long history on this great land, they have faced moments of profound triumph and tragedy alike. During National Native American Heritage Month, we recognize their many accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices, and we pay tribute to their participation in all aspects of American society. This month, we celebrate the ancestry and time-honored traditions of American Indians and Alaska Natives in North America. They have guided our land stewardship policies, added immeasurably to our cultural heritage, and demonstrated courage in the face of adversity. From the American Revolution to combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, they have fought valiantly in defense of our Nation as dedicated servicemen and women. Their native languages have also played a pivotal role on the battlefield. During World Wars I and II, Native American code talkers developed unbreakable codes to communicate military messages that saved countless lives. Native Americans have distinguished themselves as inventors, entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders, and scholars. Our debt to our First Americans is immense, as is our responsibility to ensure their fair, equal treatment and honor the commitments we made to their forbears. The Native American community today faces huge challenges that have been ignored by our Government for too long. To help address this disparity, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocates more than $3 billion to help these communities deal with their most pressing needs. In the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, my Administration has proposed over $17 billion for programs carried out by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, and other Federal agencies that have a critical role to play in improving the lives of Native Americans. These programs will increase educational opportunities, address the scourge of alcohol abuse and domestic violence, promote economic development, and provide access to comprehensive, accessible, and affordable health care. While funding increases do not make up for past deficiencies, they do reflect our determination to honor tribal sovereignty and ensure continued progress on reservations across America. As we seek to build on and strengthen our nation-to-nation relationship, my Administration is committed to ensuring tribal communities have a meaningful voice in our national policy debates as we confront the challenges facing all Americans. We will continue this constructive dialogue at the White House Tribal Nations Conference held in Washington, D.C., this month. Native American voices have echoed through the mountains, valleys, and plains of our country for thousands of years, and it is now our time to listen.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2009 as National Native American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to celebrate November 27, 2009, as Native American Heritage Day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

-BARACK OBAMA

APPROPRIATIONS

Congress has cleared for the President’s signature the fiscal 2010 Interior-Environment spending bill and its extension of current stopgap funding. In an unusual display of coordinated bicameral action, both chambers have just approved the conference agreement — the House by a 247-178 vote and the Senate in the same day by a 72-28 vote. The measure carries an extension of current stopgap funding for those government agencies whose spending bills haven’t yet been enacted into law. With the current CR expiring midnight on October 31, the agreement extends that stopgap funding until December 18. The Interior-Environment bill is the fifth of 12 fiscal 2010 spending bills to be enacted into law. Two bills, Defense and Transportation-HUD, are pending formal conference action, and five others have yet to be passed by the Senate. This is good news to Northwest tribes as the bill contains the full $12 million increase in the BIA Rights Protection Account that Congressman Norm Dicks originally inserted in the House Bill.  It also contains the significant increase to BIA’s Hatchery Maintenance Account.  In addition it contains the $50 million mark for the restoration of Puget Sound.

House debate on the Interior-Environment agreement largely focused on the bill’s $32.2 billion discretionary cost. Republicans called the bill’s 17 percent increase excessive, with top GOP appropriator Jerry Lewis of California deeming it “irresponsible, especially in light of the fact that Congress must soon consider legislation to increase our national debt limit — this time to over $13 trillion.” Ranking subcommittee Republican Mike Simpson of Idaho said that “while this conference agreement tackles many challenging issues, it also assumes that more money is the answer to every problem we face.” Noting that the bill received a 13 percent increase last year as well as $11 billion from February’s economic stimulus package, he said, “I just don’t believe that a $4.7 billion, or 17 percent increase, over last year makes sense.” Rep. Norm Dicks, who chairs the Interior-Environment Appropriations Committee, countered that the increase was needed as “a catch-up” after years of being underfunded during the Bush Administration. Dicks said that from 2001 to 2008, when inflation is factored in, funding had decreased by 16 percent for the Interior Department, by 29 percent for the EPA and by 35 percent for non-firefighting activities of the Forest Service. “So this bill had been hammered,” Dicks said. “So I felt this was a restoration budget by the Obama Administration, and this is their first budget on Interior, and I think it was justified in every sense of the word.”

To clear the measure in the Senate, Democrats had to once again garner 60 votes to waive a Senate point of order against the CR extension being added in conference. Republicans in both chambers objected to the Democrats’ inclusion of the CR in the measure, saying it should be considered as a stand-alone measure. Such a point of order was raised and narrowly waived by a 61-39 vote during floor consideration of the Legislative Branch spending bill conference report, which included the original CR. On that vote, Republican appropriators Thad Cochran, R-MS, and George V. Voinovich, R-OH, joined with the Democrats (who lost the vote of Wisconsin’s Russ Feingold) to keep the CR in the legislation. However, after Arizona Republican John McCain raised the Rule 28 point of order against the Interior-Environment conference report for containing the CR, no Republicans came to the aid of Democrats — forcing Democrats to generate all 60 votes on their own. The vote to waive the point of order, and thereby keep the CR in the agreement, was successful via a straight party line 60-40 vote.

The overall FY 2010 Appropriations Process is slowly winding down (although we’ve heard the Senate has scheduled to resume consideration of the CJS bill this week). White not exactly on schedule, it still has the potential to be finished much sooner than in the recent past. Time will tell. The Senate has reordered its work and brought the Energy and Water Appropriation bill to the floor, due in part to a failure to invoke cloture on Senate debate over the Commerce, Justice and Science bill. Congress has now cleared just five of the 12 regular appropriations bills — Interior-Environment, Agriculture, Energy-Water, Homeland Security, and Legislative Branch. Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, D-HA, earlier this week said he believed that this year’s appropriations process, which is likely to include a year-end omnibus of those bills that couldn’t be enacted individually, would be wrapped up by early December. As mentioned, the CJS bill was pulled back. Once it is resolved on the floor it will go through the conference process. The Senate version will be about $600 million higher than the House version. The Commerce, Justice and Science bill will contain new funding for the PST Annex and funding to restore the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund Account, but the current House and Senate numbers vary. The Administration has requested, and the House has included $16.5 million for the PST Annex work, including $7.5 million for the Puget Sound critical stocks work as identified through the Annex negotiations. The House has also included about $10 million for Mitchell Act hatcheries, which benefit tribes through Columbia River fish production. The Senate, however, has only included about $10 million for the PST Annex, far short of the President’s request, and none for the Mitchell Act needs. They will have to sort this out in conference. The Senate has included $80 million for the PCSRF account and retained the past language that guides the fund distribution. The House, however, included only $50 million for salmon (and $10 million for stocks at risk) and clarifying language. Tribes have made their preference for the Senate amount and language well known so now it’s a matter of waiting to see the conference outcome.

JEFFERSON KEEL ELECTED NCAI PRESIDENT

During the NCAI’s 66^th Annual Session in Palm Springs in October, Jefferson Keel, Lt. Governor of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, was elected President. Keel has served as NCAI’s First Vice-President since 2005.”Unity is the only way we will make progress, and I pledge to work together to seize the opportunities that are before all of the Tribal Nations,” Keel said upon being elected. Keel is a retired U.S. Army officer with over 20 years of active service. He earned a bachelor’s degree from East Central University and completed his Master of Science degree at Troy University. He has background experience in social services and tribal health programs. Keel is in his third elected term as Lt. Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. In addition, Juana Majel-Dixon, Councilwoman for the Pauma Band of Mission Indians was elected First Vice-President; Theresa Two Bulls, President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, was elected Recording Secretary; and W. Ron Allen, Chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe was elected Treasurer. NCAI will also conduct the opening blessing of the new Tribal Embassy on Saturday, Nov. 3, 6:30-10 a.m. at 1516 P Street NW in Washington DC (open to tribal member only).  A host of other events is available at www.ncai.org.

ENERGY-WATER AGREEMENT

With the Energy-Water agreement, the hydrogen industry stands to benefit. The conference report would restore $106 million to a hydrogen fuel cell research program that the President Obama tried to slash. And industry backers know just who to thank — Byron L. Dorgan, D-ND, Chairman of Senate Energy-Water Appropriations. He has championed hydrogen fuel cell technology for years, especially since he began earmarking millions of dollars over the past five years for construction of a National Center of Hydrogen Technology at the University of North Dakota. Federal spending on hydrogen fuel cell research soared under Bush. Many scientists — including President Obama’s Energy secretary, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu — question the value of investing in hydrogen fuel cells. They say the expensive, unproven technology would require such a transformation of U.S. energy infrastructure that it is unlikely ever to have an impact on the U.S. auto market.

GET OUT THE RED PEN

The U.S. government has made it official—the cost of change and recovery from the recession is adding more zeroes to the federal deficit. CBO is expected to set the 2009 deficit at about $1.4 trillion and at $9.1 trillion over the next decade, in line with estimates that were made in early October. This is not only the first time the annual deficit has spilled into 13-digit territory, but the number also marks a threefold increase over last year’s then-record deficit of $459 billion. Administration officials pin much of the increase on a recession-driven drop in tax collections, the Wall Street bailout, the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the economic stimulus plan.

INOUYE JOINS BYRD AS ONE OF THREE LONGEST-SERVING SENATORS

Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, D-HA, has joined Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and the late Strom Thurmond, R-SC, in the trio of longest-serving U.S. senators. A senator since 1963, Inouye won praise for his work in the chamber and for what Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, called a “remarkable American story.” “Daniel Inouye may be the only American who saw with his own eyes the smoke from Pearl Harbor and the black smoke that rose from the Pentagon on” the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill. Several senators touched on Inouye’s early life — teenage volunteer helping out after the Pearl Harbor attack, war service in Europe that cost him an arm. Inouye “fought for our country while fellow Japanese-Americans were being interned in our country,” said Daniel K. Akaka, D-HA. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-NJ, said he, Akaka and Inouye are the Senate’s three remaining veterans of World War II. Senators also noted Inouye’s work over the years as a lawmaker on behalf of the military. He is a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor as well as many other distinguished citations. McConnell said that Inouye earlier this month traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan. “It was an arduous journey for anyone, let alone a senator who has served so long,” he said of Inouye, who is 85. Inouye’s term of Senate service on Thursday passed that of the late Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who had served 46 years, nine months and 19 days. Senator Inouye has, of course, also had a highly distinguished career from the perspective of the tribes, have spoken on behalf of the tribes on hundreds of occasions in committees and the Senate floor. He has visited tribes throughout the country and stood with them through thick and thin, earning tribal honors far exceeding those of any other American politician in history.

WARMING UP

The Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee is holding its first hearing today on a global warming bill, with a witness list that includes Energy Secretary Chu, Interior Secretary Salazar and Transportation Secretary LaHood. Sen. John Kerry, D-MA, said the legislation he sponsored would lead to higher energy costs in the short run but will create jobs and help protect national security. Among the critics Kerry will have to try to appease is Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, who said this morning that while climate change was a serious issue, “we also can’t afford the unmitigated effects of climate-change legislation.”

CRUISE SHIP ACT INTRODUCED

Congressman Sam Farr, D-CA has introduced the “Clean Cruise Ship Act,” a bill aimed at limiting damage caused by cruise ship pollution. The legislation will strengthen the Clean Water Act to create coastal zones where cruise ships are prohibited from dumping waste, strengthen current waste treatment standards and increase surveillance to ensure compliance by the industry. The bill was also introduced in the Senate by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL. “Big cruise ships make for big pollution, it’s an unavoidable truth,” Rep. Farr said following the bill’s introduction. “Unfortunately, responsible disposal of that waste hasn’t always been a given. The cruise ship industry is way overdue to take responsibility for its actions. It’s ironic that the cruise industry relies on a clean ocean and pristine coastlines for its livelihood, but doesn’t put in the effort to sustain them. This carelessness must not be allowed to continue.” Laws currently allow cruise ships to dump untreated sewage three miles from shore, a danger to health, environment and economy. Rep. Farr’s legislation would increase the anti-dumping zone to 12 miles from shore and would require waste treatment beyond 12 miles. The bill also creates an observation and monitoring program.

“A recent report on the cruise industry’s environmental performance clearly shows that not all companies are making an equal effort to safeguard the ocean waters on which they depend,” Rep. Farr said. That report card, issued by Friends of the Earth, ranks the major cruise companies according to their efforts to reduce their environmental footprint. It is available online at http://www.foe.org/cruisereportcard. “If the whole industry followed the positive lead of some of the higher-scoring cruise companies, this law wouldn’t be necessary. Since they haven’t, Congress must take action to protect our waters.”  NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank, Jr. said, “Hopefully this act will help protect our ocean and coastal waters and the communities that use them by the cruise industry’s irresponsible dumping. Of course, we’d prefer that any waste being dumped into the ocean be fully treated. But, by introducing this bill, Congressman Farr may continue his long and substantial legacy as a champion for our oceans.”

MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT HEARD

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, chaired by Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo, D-GU, has conducted an oversight hearing on the implementation of the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 2006 (PL 109-479). The Subcommittee explored the progress made by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Regional Fishery Management Councils in setting annual catch limits and accountability measures to end overfishing and rebuild overfished fish stocks, as required by the MSFCMA.  The hearing focused on how annual catch limits are set, efforts to improve the type and quality of information that informs management decisions, and successes and challenges of implementing annual catch limits and accountability measures. Visit the Committee’s Web site at http://resourcescommittee.house.gov to access witness testimony.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON WATER AND POWER

The Subcommittee on Water and Power held an oversight hearing on “Water Management and Climate Variability: Information Support at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Bureau of Reclamation.”  The USGS and the Bureau of Reclamation are responsible for the collection and management of water resource data.  The National Research Council recently completed their review of the USGS water management program and has identified specific recommendations for ensuring data integrity and accessibility.  The oversight hearing focused on whether the agencies are collecting the right information and whether it is adequate for use by water managers and the general public.  Visit the Committee’s Web site to access witness testimony.

SENATE STILL APOLOGIZING

The Senate has voted, again, to apologize to Native Americans for historical injustices. The Native American Apology Resolution has been attached to a defense appropriations bill, extending a formal apology from the US to tribal people nationwide. It aims to make amends for years of “ill-conceived policies” and acts of violence against Native Americans by U.S. citizens. It also asks President Obama to “acknowledge the wrongs of the US against Indian tribes” to encourage healing. The President was asked earlier this year by grassroots groups to apologize specifically for atrocities carried out on Indians who attended boarding schools, often forcibly. Obama has not yet said if he will take such action. The Senate resolution does not authorize or serve as a settlement of any claim against the U.S., and it does not resolve many challenges still facing Native Americans. Comparable legislation has been introduced in previous sessions of Congress, even passing the Senate in 2008, but no bills have been signed into law.

HOPI’s/NAVAJO’s vs. ENVIRONMENTALISTS

The battle waged against a major coal company by Hopi and Navajo activists and against large environmental groups by tribal officials has intensified the conflict playing out in northern Arizona over the control and use of cultural and natural resources.  The Hopi tribal council, challenged in political infighting, said the Sierra Club, National Resources Defense Council, National Parks Conservation Association, Grand Canyon Trust, and “on-reservation organizations sponsored by or affiliated with the groups, are no longer welcome on the reservation.” The announcement triggered sharp prepared responses from opponents of wider strip mining atop Black Mesa, an area sacred to traditionalists. The ousted organizations were singled out for reportedly asking EPA to study Navajo Generating Station’s possible contribution to smog over the Grand Canyon, raising red flags about economic loss if the plant were to close. A controversial expanded mining permit approved last year ensures a coal supply for the plant’s continued operation. The Hopis are trying to clear the hurdles blocking a life-of-mine permit to continue the destructive surface mining activities which have already destroyed an untold number of archaeological sites, burial grounds, rock art, and cultural resources.”

Tribal efforts were successful in the restoration of the Pacific Salmon Treaty funding for FY09 in its entirety ($1.772m)–a significant accomplishment with a coordinated effort from the NWIFC delegation, Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission and Chairman Ron Allen.  A lot of credit for this success goes to Mary Jane Miller of the BIA Central Office who was able to secure these funds and OMB support, a challenging task. With the restoration of these funds, the FY ’09 BIA Fish and Wildlife Fund is at the FY ’08 level, with the exception of a $500,000 increase for hatchery maintenance.

NOAA’s approved spending plan included an increase to $80 million for the PCSRF in FY09, (the previous amount was $67 million), which will likely result in an increased tribal allocation. The State of Nevada is now being added to the mix to get salmon into the Owyhee watershed.  Bringing Nevada into the picture, which should have little impact on funding in other states, was essentially a result of a deal between Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA and Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV. The original authorizing language has also changed. Previously the language provided funds to support salmon habitat restoration, salmon stock enhancement, salmon research and supplementation activities.  New language is more directed toward providing funds to support ESA, tribal treaty fishing rights and habitat restoration.  This will probably affect Alaska more than other states.

FISH AND WILDLIFE AND THE STIMULUS BILLS The following additions, among others, are currently included: Department of Agriculture: $50 million for watershed rehabilitation programs; NOAA: $400 million for habitat restoration and mitigation activities; Fish and Wildlife Service: Additional $300 million for projects on National Wildlife Refuges, National Fish Hatcheries, etc.; BIA: $500 million for critical deferred maintenance projects: EPA: An additional $8.4 billion for State and Tribal Assistance Grants for Clean Water State Revolving Funds under title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, etc.; Forest Service: Additional $650 million  for reconstruction, capital improvement, decommissioning, and maintenance of forest roads, bridges and trails; alternative energy technologies, removal of fish passage barriers, watershed projects, etc.

OBAMA’S FY ’10 PRIORITIES One of President Obama’s priorities in his FY ’10 budget is, as he says, to “lay the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity.” To help achieve that, he is proposing major investments in clean energy (as well as education and health care). “We invest in the renewable sources of energy that will lead to new jobs, new businesses, and less dependence on foreign oil,” he said recently. “And that’s what clean energy jobs and businesses will do all across America.” For more information, click on this link to his March 24 news conference:         http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51253&id=15806-5461912-f7ucBJx&t=4

With Congress pushing back against his proposals for energy and other matters, President Obama is taking a bend-but-don’t-break posture. He will compromise on certain details if he must, but not on the heart of his key initiatives. His strategic retreats are a nod to political reality. He is angling to avoid confrontations he probably can’t win, but to sacrifice no more than is absolutely necessary. On energy, for instance, influential Democratic lawmakers have joined Republicans in opposing Obama’s bid to reduce greenhouse gases through a program that would let companies buy and sell a limited number of permits to pollute. “When it comes to cap and trade,” the president said, using the proposal’s nickname, “the broader principle is that we’ve got to move to a new energy era. And that means moving away from polluting energy sources towards cleaner energy sources. I think cap and trade is the best way,” Obama said, but he stopped well short of insisting on it.

OCEANS 21, (H.R.21) Five years after the Pew Environmental Group and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy issued reports saying the oceans are sick-enough time for significant hypoxia and toxic problems, massive fish kills and runaway acidification to compound, it appears to some that Congress may finally be poised to take some definitive action.–a statement made by Chris Mann, Director of the Campaign for Healthy Oceans for Pew’s Ocean 21 program a year ago. It was then that the U.S. House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans marked up the Ocean Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act (OCEANS 21). “To date, this bill represents the most comprehensive package of ocean conservation reforms recommended by two blue-ribbon panels. OCEANS 21 establishes a national policy to protect, maintain and restore the health of our marine ecosystems. It creates a process by which federal, state and local government (did not mention tribal) agencies can better coordinate their activities to achieve goals and milestones for improving ocean health.” He said the bill also gives NOAA, for the first time, a clear, statutory mission to carry out ocean observation, research and conservation.

“For too long, decisions affecting our oceans have been made with little regard for the health and productivity of the broader marine ecosystem. OCEANS 21 will change that,” Mann said that in April, 2008. More recently he said, “Oceans provide us the beaches and waves that Americans flock to all year round. But they also feed the world, regulate our climate, provide jobs and transportation, produce oxygen and shelter half of the world’s species. Most of us never even see below their surface, but our oceans are in a silent state of collapse. We drill them for oil and pollute them with waste. We change their temperature and chemistry through global warming and ocean acidification. We’ve pushed 75 percent of the world’s fisheries to or beyond the limits of sustainability, and 90 percent of large ocean predators have simply disappeared. Marine scientists have called the changes we are seeing in our oceans “the rise of slime”-where jellyfish, algae and bacteria take over ocean areas that no longer contain and can no longer support other forms of life. But although our oceans are in trouble, right now we have no comprehensive, national law to protect and restore them. Instead, they are managed by 140 different laws and 20 different agencies, each with diverging goals and conflicting mandates.  To save our seas, we need a Healthy Oceans Act similar to the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.” Not long ago, Pew commenced a national campaign to encourage people to get their congressional representatives to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill, and as a result, Oceans 21 currently has 40 co-sponsors. (Although 15 of them are from California and three are from Oregon, none are from Washington.)

Now a word of some caution–Oceans-21-the Oceans Conservation, Education and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act, may be legislation in many ways long past due, but it does have some particular focus on fishing and it does propose a national network of marine protected areas. Tribal participation in the legislation may be advisable and/or needed, to assure protection of tribal fisheries management interests as well as assure tribal participation in research, monitoring and other aspects of both contemporary and traditional science related to the protection and restoration of ocean health.

ENERGY DEVELOPMENT ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF The fight to protect marine habitat goes on. The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources and the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife has held a joint oversight hearing on “Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf and the Future of our Oceans.”  The purpose of the hearing was to examine how offshore energy development can co-exist with healthy, productive oceans.  Witnesses discussed efforts to plan and site future offshore oil and gas and renewable energy installations within the larger context of ocean planning (often referred to as Marine Spatial Planning).  Ironically, the hearing coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 24, 1989.  Witnesses did discuss the lingering effects of that disaster, as well as other environmental concerns associated with offshore oil and gas production. Visit the Committee’s Web site to access witness testimony.

CHARGES AGAINST TED STEVENS DROPPED

The government has dropped corruption charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-AK, because prosecutors withheld potentially exculpatory evidence from his lawyers. Stevens, who was convicted in late October on charges of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts and favors on Senate financial disclosure forms, had not yet been sentenced. “I always knew that there would be a day when the cloud that surrounded me would be removed,” Stevens said. “That day has finally come.” Defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan said the case provided “a warning to everyone. Any citizen can be convicted if prosecutors are hell bent on ignoring the Constitution and willing to present false evidence.”

PUBLIC LANDS SERVICE CORPS ACT

Chairman Rep. Nick Rahall, D-WV and National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-AZ, have introduced the “Public Lands Service Corps Act of 2009″ (H.R. 1612), legislation intended to help repair and restore public lands, while employing and training thousands of young Americans and promoting a culture of public service.  The legislation would expand and reinvigorate an existing program, the Public Lands Corps, by modernizing the scope of corps projects to reflect new challenges – such as climate change – adding incentives to attract new participants, and paving the way for increased funding.  Visit Congressman Grijalva’s Web site to view the press release with additional information.

REP. DICKS: JUST PAYING HIS DUES?

Congressman Norm Dicks, D-WA, was in the news recently for getting questionable campaign checks from two supporters in Florida, a golf-club marketer and a wine steward. Details weren’t clear but the Floridians may have posed as lobbyists. Or they may have been conduits for too much campaign cash. The FBI’s on the case. Although it’s doubtful he did anything illegal, accepting funds from contributors so far away might raise a few eyebrows. But, as many know, that’s the way Congress works. It’s a fundraising machine. The heads of influential committees are expected, almost required, to raise as much money as possible from people they scarcely know. He’s literally got to pay his dues. As the chairman of a congressional subcommittee, Dicks is supposed to pay at least $250,000 in biennial dues to the group charged with electing Democrats to the U.S. House, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Last election Dicks paid $300,000-as much as on his own re-election. Higher-ranking leaders, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, owe dues up to $800,000. The fee for backbenchers starts at $125,000. (It ain’t cheap being a Congressman, especially when you start climbing the leadership ladder.)

LUBECHENCO CONFIRMED TO HEAD NOAA Oregon State University professor Jane Lubchenco, one of the nation’s most prominent marine biologists, has been confirmed as the head of NOAA. Lubchenco, a conservationist who has devoted much of her career to encouraging scientists to become more engaged in public policy debates, is also a vocal proponent of curbing greenhouse gases linked to global warming. The appointment marks a shift for NOAA, which oversees marine issues as well as much of government’s climate work. She has criticized the agency in the past for not doing enough to curb overfishing.

DORGAN SEES NO QUICK FIX FOR LAND-TO-TRUST RULING Don’t expect Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND to rush through a fix to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.  Dorgan, the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, plans to hold a hearing on the decision, which restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were “under federal jurisdiction” in 1934. But a spokesperson said a solution won’t be coming soon. Tribes want Congress to amend the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 so that all tribes can benefit. But opponents could use a fix to try and limit tribal rights.

NATIVE WOMAN UP FOR TOP POST AT INTERIOR President Obama plans to name a Native woman to serve as the top legal official for the Interior Department, says Secretary Ken Salazar. Speaking to tribal leaders in Washington, D.C., Salazar said the expected nominee is a member of the Navajo Nation. He didn’t mention her name but sources identified her as Hilary Tompkins, a prominent attorney from New Mexico. “We are just now in the process of getting her vetted,” Salazar said at a summit held by the Council of Energy Resource Tribes. Salazar described Tompkins, who was adopted at birth, as someone Indian Country “can be very proud of.” If nominated and confirmed as Solicitor General of the Interior, Tompkins would be making history as the first woman and the first Native American to serve in the post. Tompkins currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she is sharing her experience in tribal-state relations. It’s an area she knows well, having served as chief counsel to Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico from 2005 to 2008 and as his deputy counsel from 2003 to 2005.

EPA: TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS WILL HELP SHAPE POLICIES The new EPA head is reassuring tribes that their voices will help shape environmental policies in the Obama Administration as she announced plans for a fall summit that will bring tribal leaders to Washington. Lisa Jackson, new EPA Administrator, has told NCAI that “the EPA is back on the job” and fully aware of the challenges that affect tribal communities. “Right now, hazardous waste sites and open dumps are rampant in tribal lands exposing their residents to dangerous toxins and possible contamination of land and water,” she said. “Many tribal lands, economies and cultures are being threatened by climate change, from the loss of fish habitats in our rivers and streams.” In the face of these needs, less than 5% of tribes actually implement federal environmental programs.” In urging tribal representatives to join federal efforts, Jackson said she is determined to reach out to the Native community as part of an “EPA-Tribal partnership” that will include a Tribal Leaders Summit in the fall to go with additional funding for drinking water and wastewater facilities and more “green jobs” in Indian Country. To start, she may  move the American Indian Environmental Office from the EPA’s Office of Water, where it has historically resided, to a more prominent place in the head office or as an independent program.

THE SUPREMES RULES AGAINST NATIVE HAWAIIANS The U.S. Supreme Court ruled March 31 in State of Hawaii v Office of Hawaiian Affairs that Congress’ apology for overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 bears no moral, political or legal weight in stopping the state from selling 1.2 million acres of land seized during the illegal regime change before resolving land claims by Native Hawaiians. The state petitioned the case last year after the Hawaii Supreme Court issued an injunction prohibiting the state from selling “ceded lands” held in trust until Native Hawaiians’ claims to the land have been resolved. The Hawaiian court based its decision on the Apology Resolution, passed by Congress in 1993 on the 100th anniversary of the destruction of the Hawaiian Nation. The apology acknowledged the illegality of U.S. actions in overthrowing Hawaii’s sovereign government, creating a “provisional government” and 5 years later passing the Newlands Resolution, annexing Hawaii as a territory. The apology recognized that the Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the US.

OCEAN ACIDIFICATION-IT’S A HUGE PROBLEM Ask a scientist what Ocean Acidification is and he might tell you it’s the name given to the ongoing decrease in pH of the Earth’s oceans, caused by their uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Ask a fisherman and he’ll tell you it means dead shellfish and fish. Lots of them, everywhere. It’s a problem that’s been compounding for a long time, and now it’s compounding far more quickly and vastly than anyone ever thought possible-everywhere-from every ocean in the world all the way up to alpine lakes. There are bills in Congress intended to deal with this huge issue (namely HR 14 and S 173-please see the bills list), or at least to form a research and monitoring plan, to develop strategies to deal with it. However, neither of these bills, intended to plan a  plan to deal with a problem already so prevalent, have moved since January.

PRIORITY BILLS

111th CONGRESS, APRIL, 2009

(Bills are “linked”…however, if links fail, you can also find them and related information at http://thomas.loc.gov/.  High priority bills are in red. Bills marked with an * are old or Public Lawand will not be included in future editions of Federal Update unless there is further action. All input on recommended positions, etc. is welcome.  Bills in italics were in transition plan. For more information, contact Steve Robinson at 360 528-4347,  Srobinson@nwifc.org. )

Bill-Lnk/Brief             Sponsor/Status              Description

As Federal Update reported last month, the FY-2009 just passed Tuesday, but now that the main stimulus has been passed and signed, an outline of the Obama FY ’10 budget has been released with details yet to come.

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FIRST BUDGET (FY ’10)

A spate of testimony from Administration officials has hit the hill regarding President Obama’s FY 2010 budget, with OMB Director Peter Orszag leading the charge on the House and Senate Budget Committees.  The $410 billion Omnibus consists of 9 bills, and Republicans are predictably grumbling that the spending’s too high, the taxes are too high, etc. Enactment will complete the regular appropriations process. Orszag appeared alone before four panels – including each chamber’s budget committee, House Ways and Means, and Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs, where he revealed how the Administration will monitor the money being dispersed through the economic recovery law. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, meanwhile, testified before House Ways and Means and Senate Finance, as well as House Budget. Sen. John McCain, R-AR, and even Obama himself said there were too many earmarks, but called it this year’s business and pledged to get more control of those in years to come. He will sign the Omnibus, despite the earmarks, calling it “last year’s business.”  He said “We want to make sure that earmarks are reduced and they’re also transparent,” he said. Meanwhile, back home, we appear to be getting a whopping $1.8 million cut in Pacific Salmon Treaty dollars and we find ourselves hustling about trying to make ourselves whole through other avenues.

THE OBAMA BUDGET AND THE TRIBES

President Obama’s first proposed budget promises FY ’10 increases for Indian education, law enforcement and health care. Although it may again seem to fall well short on natural resources and environmental management, with the exception of energy re-development it does propose $12 billion for the Interior Department as well as other agencies supposed to coordinate natural resource programs. Also, as indicated below, the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee commended its contribution to natural resource management. In Obama’s own words, his budget seeks to reverse what he called the “misplaced priorities” of the prior administration. He cited “loosened oversight and weak enforcement” of the financial markets amid tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.  ”This is the legacy we inherit–of mismanagement and misplaced priorities, missed opportunities and deep, structural problems ignored for too long. It’s a legacy of irresponsibility, and it is our duty to change it,” said the new President. Rahall said this budget helps get us there.

BUDGET RENEWS PROMISE FOR NATURAL RESOURCES, SAYS RAHALL

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall, D-WV, commended President Obama’s FY 2010 budget proposal for natural resources programs, as the White House embarks on a “New Era of Responsibility” for all Americans. The President’s submitted budget for the Interior Department incorporates principles that have long been advocated by Chairman Rahall. Read more…

Following are some select links from the Presidents Budget message:

President’s Message, Inheriting a Legacy of Misplaced Priorities

Jumpstarting the Economy and Investing for the Future, Conclusion

Department of Commerce, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency

For more information, please see: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/

THAT SINKING FEELING

Still, though, the hits just keep on coming. The Commerce Department reports the economy sank even deeper into recession at the end of 2008 as consumers sharply cut spending. The economy contracted at an annual rate of 6.2%–the biggest drop in a quarter-century. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the nation’s economic activity, and it nose-dived in the last three months of 2008. Spending was down nearly across the board, with Americans cutting back on buying cars, clothes and appliances. Businesses pulled back, too, especially on construction, equipment and computer software. (There weren’t many fish in the rivers either!)

SENATE INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP

Even as the Dow keeps dropping, the jobless lines get longer and the new President fills the new Administration and Cabinet as it hits the road running, the new Congress is shifting some name plates around, too. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs elected its leadership for the 111th Congress February 5. Although Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND was chosen to return for another term as chairman,  Sen. John Barrasso, R-WY, was chosen to replace Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, as vice chair. Murkowski recently stepped down from her vice chair post, but she remains a member of the committee. New members of the committee include Sens. Tom Udall, D-NM, and Mike Johanns, R-NB, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID, returned to the committee after a brief hiatus.

After the election of chair and vice chair, Dorgan outlined the committee’s priorities for this session: Indian health care, law enforcement, tribal recognition reform, housing, education and prevention of Indian youth suicides. “Too often, the First Americans find themselves getting second class health care, housing, education and other services,” Dorgan said in a statement. “We intend to change that.” Following the business meeting, the committee conducted a hearing called “Advancing Indian Health Care.” Testimony was presented from tribal leaders, Indian health experts and advocates who presented ideas on how to develop a plan to improve access to, and the quality of, Indian health care. Many participants called for passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which expired in 2000. Reauthorization cleared the Senate in 2008, but the House failed to take action. The Committee’s calendar, information on members and other information can be found on the committee’s website at www.indian.senate.gov/public . Chief of staff is Allison Binney, 202-224-2251.

BIA ANNOUNCES NEW NATURAL RESOURCES LEADERSHIP TRAINING Apparently not wanting DC, or rather tribes, to be devoid of natural resource/environmental knowledge, the BIA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development George T. Skibine has announced a new effort to recruit and train American Indian and Alaska Native post-secondary students to become Indian Country’s next generation of tribal energy and natural resource management professionals. The Energy Resource Development Tribal Internship Program has been developed through a partnership between the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to help increase the number of American Indians and Alaska Natives who can effectively manage a tribe’s energy and natural resources. “This internship program will offer an exciting opportunity for American Indians and Alaska Natives interested in the science and engineering professions, two fields where they are traditionally under-represented,” Skibine said. “It will also help tribes by developing a cadre of professionals who have the training and expertise to aid them in managing the development of their energy and natural resources.”

“Tribes are being severely impacted by the inadequate number of available American Indian and Alaska Native energy resource professionals,” said CERT Executive Director A. David Lester. “We anticipate that the Native youth of today will play a critical role in Indian Country’s, and the nation’s energy future as they inherit the responsibility for prudently managing tribal resources. Unless deliberate measures such as this internship program are undertaken to prepare them for such a role, however, we fear that many will be lost to other fields of work unrelated to their major fields of study.”  The program, which will be held annually, is slated to begin this summer and run for 10 weeks. For more information about the internship program, contact  ANL at  630-252-4114 or visit ANL’s website at http://www.dep.anl.gov and click on “Tribal Internships.” Information also can be found on CERT’s website at http://www.certredearth.com.  Deadline for applications is April 3, 2009.

SUPREME COURT UPENDS TRIBAL UNDERSTANDING OF LAND INTO TRUST The Supreme Court has ruled in Carcieri v. Salazar that tribes not under federal jurisdiction as of 1934 cannot follow a longstanding land into trust process administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The ruling, which results from a suit involving the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island, is at odds with many tribal, federal and legal understandings of the Indian Reorganization Act. Tribal and federal lawyers said the decision will likely lead to legal questions over the validity of tribal lands taken into trust since the IRA was passed in 1934. Tribes not acknowledged until after 1934 with pending or future fee-to-trust applications will now have to prove they were under federal jurisdiction in 1934. The decision could result in several states filing lawsuits trying to gain lands that have been taken into trust for dozens of tribes recognized after 1934. Attempts would likely prove unsuccessful, as lawyers have noted that the federal Quiet Title Act does not allow challenges to federal land acquisitions after the fact, except in limited circumstances that do not appear applicable in this case.

PROPOSED GATHERING POLICY WOULD REQUIRE PERMITS IN U.S. FORESTS When tribal ancestors signed treaties with the US, gathering rights were clearly protected under the law. A policy that could affect that gathering in federal forests is now under consideration by the U.S. Forest Service-which has received 140 comments on its most recent version of the national policy on Special Forest Products. Comments requiring permits for all but tribal gatherers should be encouraged, even though the deadline for comments has passed. Comments from individuals, as well as tribes and tribal organizations, should remind agency officials of the importance of gathering rights to tribal traditions. The new Chief of the Forest Service will be the ultimate decision maker on whether to change the policy to address tribal members’ concerns. Comments should be sent to: Chief Abigail Kimbell,  USDA Forest Service, 1400 Independence Ave. SW,  Washington, D.C. 20250. Comments can also be submitted by e-mail to akimbell@fs.fed.us.  For more information on the proposed policy, visit www.ciba.org or contact Jennifer Kalt at jkalt@ciba.org.  For tips on writing effective comment letters, visit the National Network of Forest Practitioners website.

OBAMA NAMES LOCKE COMMERCE SECRETARY President Barack Obama has named former Washington Governor Gary Locke as Commerce Secretary, a third try to fill the critical Cabinet position as he battles to put the brakes on one of the country’s worst economic recessions. Obama tapped Locke, praising him as a public servant who shares the president’s economic vision and who had grown to political prominence from humble, immigrant beginnings. “I’m sure it’s not lost on anyone that we’ve tried this a couple of times. But I’m a big believer in keeping at something until you get it right,” Obama said. His two earlier choices for the post dropped out – New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in the face of questions about a donor and Republican Sen. Judd Gregg after a change of heart about working for a president from the opposition party – well before the Senate had a chance to confirm them. Among other assets named in Locke’s appointment to head the 40,000 employee agency are his great trade familiarity with China as well as other countries of the Pacific Rim, as well as his familiarity with the fishing industry.

HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE AND OFFSHORE DRILLING Rep. Nick J. Rahall, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, opened a series of oversight hearings on offshore drilling in February by saying, “Two weeks ago, Ted Danson, Philippe Cousteau and others provided testimony to the Committee predominantly in opposition to expanded drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf. Yesterday, representatives of coastal States reminded us that there are more than simply pro and con sides to this issue.  Today, rounding out the debate, we will hear from some of the titans of America’s oil and gas industry. As I have stated repeatedly, I am not opposed to new drilling.  There were no invitations to Northwest tribes to provide testimony to the February hearings. Washington Delegation Member Rep. Jay Inslee is on the committee. For more information, click on:  www.resourcescommittee.house.gov .

CANTWELL CALLS FOR NEAH BAY RESCUE TUG A catastrophic oil spill in Puget Sound would deal a crippling blow to both the environment and the economy of Washington state, according to Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA. Joining State Rep. Keven Van De Wege in a recent press conference in Olympia, the senator took the time to participate in a press conference emphasizing the need for a rescue tug at Neah Bay year-round. Van De Wege (D- Sequim) is sponsoring HB 1409, counterpart to Senate Bill 5344 (sponsored by Senator Kevin Ranker, D-San Juan)-both have passed their houses. The bills would require certain vessels, such as oil tankers, cargo vessels, and cruise ships, to fund a rescue tug that would be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to respond to incidents. Senator Cantwell, who is pursuing rescue tug legislation in the U.S. Congress, praised legislators for taking action this session to protect Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Hood Canal and the Coast from a devastating oil spill. Others who attended the press conference agreed that Washington’s maritime economy makes a permanent rescue tug a necessity. Each year, more than 15 billion gallons of oil pass through the Strait of Juan de Fuca- on tankers, barges, freighters, Navy vessels and cruise ships.

BILLY FRANK TESTIFIES ON CLIMATE CHANGE NWIFC Chairman testified to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, chaired by Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-AR on climate change on March 3 regarding “How Climate Change is Affecting Tribes and What Can Be Done About It.” Frank told members of the committee tribes are hit first and hardest by the impacts of climate change because their cultural resources, foods, water, medicines-”everything that makes us who we are-is hit first and hardest. We live on the oceans and on the rivers. We work hard to protect our people and our resources: But tribes still too often find themselves ignored by their federal trustee, and the states and counties allow people to move in on our lands and overharvest our cultural resources.” Now we fear the impacts of the poisons that fill our  rivers and seas. He said effects of climate change vary from storms to low summer river flows, and called for Congress to uphold the Secretarial Order on the Endangered Species Act, implement salmon recovery plans and support treaty-protected rights, work with tribes on a national energy policy to address climate change, involve tribes in climate change solutions such as carbon offsets and habitat protection and reach out to tribes as governmental partners in addressing the climate change challenge.

PRIORITY BILLS

111^th CONGRESS, MARCH, 2009

(Bills are “linked”…however, you can also find them and related information at http://thomas.loc.gov/. Old bills in 8 pt Italics were identified in transition plan. High priority bills are in red.)

Bill-Lnk/Brief             Sponsor/Status              Description

Negotiators for Congress and the White House worked to narrow differences on an economic stimulus bill on Wednesday in hopes of clearing a bill for President Barack Obama’s signature by week’s end.

After unofficial talks stretching into the late evening on Tuesday, officials announced a formal meeting of negotiators for mid-afternoon in the Capitol.

Democratic aides said that Obama’s negotiating team had prevailed in restoring some lost funding for school construction projects during talks Tuesday, and had also increased aid to state governments above the $39 billion approved in a compromise with a handful of Senate GOP moderates.

Obama’s “Making Work Pay” tax credit would be reduced from $500 per worker to $400, with couples eligible for an $800 credit, instead of $1,000, a Democratic aide close to the talks said. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are private.

Earlier Tuesday, the Senate sailed to approval of its $838 billion economic stimulus bill, but with only three moderate Republicans signing on and then demanding the bill’s cost go down when the final version emerges from negotiations.

Negotiators were working with a target of about $800 billion for the final bill, lawmakers said.

“That’s in the ballpark,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said of the $800 billion figure late Tuesday.

APPROPRIATIONS

The FY-2009 bill is still outstanding and will likely/hopefully be taken up after the stimulus issue is resolved.  The bottom line is that government is still operating on the six month Continuing Resolution that is due to expire in early March. Northwest tribes have some things riding in the Omnibus Bill that hopefully will come through.  If not the Omnibus fails, then a year long CR will be needed to enable us to use FY-08 enacted funds for the budget scheme for the year. As it is, there are three issues in play: the FY ’09 appropriations, the Administration’s FY ’10 budget and our FY ’10 strategy. Natural resource issues have not been addressed in the stimulus package to date, though there might still be some hope in conference for some dramatic change-so far, the honest analysis for tribal natural resources is not positive, although it has been a bit of a zoo in the halls of Congress, which the following articles help describe. The Obama Administration has sent positive vibes to Indian Country, but whether the rubber will meet the road in the tribal natural resource arena definitely remains to be seen.

OBAMA OPPORTUNITIES

This year, unlike many in the past, some very significant opportunities exist due in large part to the election of President Obama and a new and more democratic leaning 111^th Congress, though the republicans have made it clear that they intend to be heard. The “up” changes have transformed government from being the “problem” into being a big part of the solution, although partisanship has reared its ugly head, along with an ugly economy and some unfortunate circumstances, e.g, back tax problems with some of the chosen cabinet members, to possibly create a short “honeymoon” for the Obama Administration. Nonetheless, hopes continue to run high that tribes may finally have an Administration smart enough to have the words tribe, natural resources and environment in its vocabulary. (One of the challenges that could materialize, in fact, is that the word “environment” and those who swing it around may do so without much focus on the fact that treaties are by Constitutional law, the supreme law of the land. President Obama has made it clear that reconstruction of the American economy will emphasize “green” technology-which is a good thing-as long as those advising him remember that he also promised to respect the sovereign rights of the indigenous people, and that these rights are based on the right to fish, hunt and gather.

In concert with the many changes in the nation’s capitol, Northwest tribes (in concert with Great Lakes tribes) have moved natural resource budget and policy issues forward in a coordinated way. As a result, Northwest tribal issues have moved front and center as the new year has begun. Northwest federal transition efforts have dovetailed neatly with the annual budget and appropriation process. Identifying problems is one thing, however; making them a reality is another. Thus, a strong, ongoing strategy is needed. Four foundation elements exist from which to build the Northwest tribal FY 2010 federal appropriation strategy: 1) A good list of funding needs developed for the FY ’09 funding cycle-likely to be similar in FY’10; 2) A coordinated NWIFC/CRITFC tribal budget paper has been constructed which supports new funding for the BIA tribal rights protection account; 3) Information has been provided to BIA and others regarding possible tribal natural resource spending under the economic stimulus program package being considered by the administration and congress and 4) A professionally published transition document that helps tell the tribal story.

Principle objectives include: Enhancing the Western Washington Fisheries Management base by $12 million; building earmarks for TFW of $1.74 million, PST of $1.8 million and Mass Marking of $2.4 million into the FY ’10 President’s budget; seek new tribal shellfish management funds of $4 million and new tribal groundfish management funds of $1.5 million; support the PST Chinook Annex funding request of $97 million; seek new wildlife management funds of $5 million; support the PCSRF fund to the highest achieved level of $110 million; seek$1.5 million for hatchery maintenance/rehabilitation and $3.34 for hatchery reform; seek $62.9 million for EPA gap funding; seek $500,000 in new tribal EPA funding in FY ’10 and $3 million in FY ’11; seek $3.2 million for water resource planning; seek $2 million for tribal participation in the Puget Sound Partnership and $2.57 million in the Coastal Ecosystem Initiative. All of this means a number of trips to Washington DC, coalition building, etc.

THE NEED FOR STIMULUS

“Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the essential.”

-President Obama comment to Senate Republican critics of his stimulus legislation.

(Democratic leaders have pledged to have legislation ready for Obama’s signature by the end of next week.)

Each time economic numbers come out, the bull whose horns President Obama has eagerly snagged seems to get bigger and bigger and the idea of a presidential honeymoon seems more and more distant. A Commerce Department report just issued reports the economy shrank at a 3.8 percent pace in the final quarter of 2008, the worst showing since the early 1980s-but it wasn’t the worst of the news. Economists said they expect the current quarter, which ends March 31, will turn out to be the worst quarter for this recession. Some economists say they think the economy is shrinking by about 5 percent. Cutbacks in spending were evident across the land, as personal and commercial consumers kept their hands on their wallets. Spending on everything from cars to clothes dipped and overseas sales of U.S. goods seemed to dry into dust. House Minority Leader Boehner was quick to spot an opportunity, using the report to bash congressional Democrats for their handling of the economic stimulus package. “Democrats have taken a go-it-alone approach and produced a trillion-dollar package heavy on government spending but light on jobs,” he said. The question echoes in the minds and hearts of many. Is this a time for party politics?

In the Senate, there are plans for a make-or-break vote on its $820 billion stimulus plan. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the events provide “another chance for the president to talk directly to the American people” about why the stimulus plan is necessary. The two parties demonstrated some wide philosophical gaps on how to address an economic downturn that worsens by the week. Many say the focus needs to be on addressing what they say are the root causes of the recession: housing and financial services. Many have worried that the Senate’s economic stimulus bill fails to adequately address those and other “root causes of the economic slowdown.” Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, defended the Obama proposals in their entirety but added that if republicans have amendments to improve the bill democrats would support them. “The unemployment claims reached 4.8 million . . . the highest on record, and the claims were 588,000 last week,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA. “This underscores the need for us to pass, and pass quickly, boldly the recovery package that passed the House.” Whether heads and hearts can come together remains to be seen, as does the true value of the stimulus package itself.

Those chatting outside of Congress often say Obama’s economic stimulus plan is in trouble. Conservative talking points are dominating the media’s coverage and it’s clear that there’s lots of misinformation around. All this, despite the fact that, as The Nation writes, “If enacted, the economic recovery plan will be one of the biggest and boldest pieces of progressive legislation in the past forty years.” According to advocates, the bill: Creates or saves 3 million to 4 million jobs in the next two years; averts “literally hundreds of thousands of teacher layoffs (doubling funding for the Department of Education); creates 500,000 green jobs and doubles clean energy production and immediately helps the unemployed get affordable health insurance. Underscoring the all-too-often political nature of some critics is their tendency to single out tiny fractions of the bill, such anti-smoking programs (less than one-ten-thousandth of the spending) and make it appear to be the centerpiece of the bill. And so, partisanship does go on. Yet many experts, even John McCain’s economic adviser, estimates that without the stimulus, unemployment would top 11% by 2010, the highest level since the Great Depression-outside of Indian Country that is.

TRIBES GET SOME ATTENTION, GENERALLY SPEAKING

The U.S. House of Representatives approved an $819 billion economic stimulus package along party lines that included nearly $3 billion for Indian Country programs. H.R. 1 will now go to the Senate, where a similar amount has already been approved for inclusion in the stimulus package. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., has announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee had approved $2.8 billion in funding for improvements for Indian health services, education, roads and bridges, water, public safety, and housing. (Included in the appropriation is about $274 million in Bureau of Reclamation tribal water projects; $40 million in Bureau of Indian Affairs irrigation construction and repair; $25 million in BIA dams improvement; and $120 million in Safe Drinking and Clean Water Revolving Funds (the Secretary to fund the tribal set-aside under these revolving funds). Could this be a sign of things to come?

THE OBAMA BUDGET

Unfortunately the new Obama budget will not be submitted as early as promised. Obama’s budget officials say their budget for 2010 won’t be submitted until late March or April.  Rather like President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Obama intends to release a broad budget framework in mid-to late- February with his full blown detailed budget to come later.

TROUBLE IN RIVER CITY

Faced with questions over non-payment of back taxes, Thomas Daschle, President Obama’s pick for Health and Human Services, has withdrawn his name from consideration. Daschle’s nomination drew praise from Indian Country leaders who felt he would have a better understanding of the health issues facing tribal governments. As a senator from South Dakota and as someone who had served on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Daschle had advocated for more health spending in Indian Country. He was with Obama throughout the campaign, and was a strong advocate for acknowledgement of tribal sovereignty.

Daschle wasn’t the first sign of trouble in President Obama’s cabinet appointments. Unfortunately, another proven friend of the tribes, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson had withdrawn from his pending appointment as Commerce Secretary even before the Obama Inauguration, citing the distraction of a federal investigation into ties to a company that has done business with his state. Richardson stated unequivocally that he and his administration had acted properly in all matters, but that he had concluded the investigation would delay the confirmation process. President Obama’s Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner was approved, but not without a controversial hearing during which he apologized for what he called “careless mistakes” in failing to pay $34,000 in taxes earlier in the decade when he worked at the International Monetary Fund. More recently, the White House accepted the withdrawal of Nancy Killefer’s nomination to be deputy OMB director and the executive branch’s first chief performance officer. When she was nominated, the AP reported that the District of Columbia government had filed a $946.69 tax lien on her home for failure to pay unemployment tax on household help. She paid the lien five months after it was filed. The administration and Killefer had not answered questions about the tax error. There was even controversy over the selection of Larry Echohawk to head BIA, though Senator Daniel K. Inouye, D-HA, himself rose to Echohawk’s defense. “To those who have expressed these doubts, I would suggest that you might consider the personal qualities that a man or woman brings to public service, rather than placing too much emphasis on what he or she has had to do or say in their former official capacities.”

STOCKING THE CABINET

It’s official. President Obama has announced that Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH is his choice for Commerce secretary. (Food and Water Watch, a fringe environmental organization objected to the choice, calling Gregg a strong supporter of offshore aquaculture which it claims threatens marine ecosystems.) The announcement presumably means Democratic Gov. John Lynch has agreed to nominate a Republican to fill the Senate seat, since Gregg apparently said he wouldn’t take the job if it would give Democrats a filibuster-proof 60th vote in the Senate.

KING COUNTY EXEC TO HUD

King County Executive Ron Sims is going to D.C. to take a job as deputy secretary, No. 2, at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sims is going to Washington, D.C. intending to take a job as deputy secretary, No. 2, at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He needs Senate confirmation. Rumors of his departure have been swirling for months. Sims, a big picture guy, is a passionate booster of mass transit and environmental policies, and has not been shy about supporting many tribal policies. The son of a preacher from Spokane, many have considered him one of the most articulate public officials to serve in the Northwest in recent history.

HOH TRIBE: MOVING TO HIGHER GROUND?

The Hoh Tribe is making a bid to move – not just a few houses but their entire village – to higher ground. If passed as expected, a bill scheduled to be introduced in Congress will award 37 acres of nearby Olympic National Park to the Hoh tribe and allow members to consolidate and place into permanent trusteeship other new lands they have purchased. The move would double the size of the reservation and place its inhabited areas well out of the way of damaging tides, floods and tsunamis.

THE HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE-IN REVIEW

So who’s taking charge of natural resource committees in Congress these days. On the House side, the House Committee on Natural Resources is being chaired by Rep. Nick Rahall, D-WV, chairing 49 member committee with quite a few familiar names on it, such as Rep. George Miller from California and Neil Abercrombie from Hawaii. The Washingtonians onboard include a democrat, Jay Inslee, and a republican, Cathy McMorris (Rodgers). Chairman Rahall has expressed delight at the makeup of the new committee, and he’s been keeping them busy. When it came to conducting hearings on offshore drilling, for example, the effort to make up for the shenanigans of yore resulted in a number of all-night commitments and the hearings are just getting started….groups invited to testify so far have been comprised largely of tourism, environmental and fishing groups-no tribes. However, they’re expected to go well into March. In January, Chairman Rahall introduced a joint resolution invoking the Congressional Review Act to overturn the highly controversial gutting of ESA, pushed through by the Bush Administration during its waning days in office.  H.J. Res. 18 seeks to overturn the last-minute action by the Bush Administration to do away with the ESA’s cornerstone Section 7 consultation process, a move that essentially gives federal agencies an unacceptable degree of discretion to decide on their own whether or not to comply with the law. He has also called for the replacement of the current U.S. Commissioner to the International Whaling, amid growing criticisms that holdover political appointees of the Bush Administration were  proposing to dismantle the current worldwide ban on commercial whaling.  To stay connected with committee  live and archived video and audio webcasts, consult:  http://resourcescommittee.house.gov.

On the Senate side, a primary committee of interest to tribes, including natural resource-related issues, is the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, chaired by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D, ND. He, and other such members as Sens. Daniel Inouye, Daniel Akaka, Tim Johnson, Tom Udall and John McCain have all championed various tribal issues through the years. The only Washingtonian on the committee is Sen. Maria Cantwell, a senator whose accolades in Indian Country may have been in somewhat short supply overall, but who does have some related credentials, such as her current fight to keep a year ’round rescue tugboat at Neah Bay.  The Committee, while still getting organized, should proved to be a good focal point for tribal natural resource business, although it will be necessary to assure that treaty harvest rights and protection are fully considered as important environmental issues are considered.  Tribes have history of opposing offshore drilling because they realize the destruction that can be caused by an uncontrolled drilling industry. Thus, it is no doubt good news that the committee will continue its full oversight hearings on the issue well into March. The next hearings will be Feb. 24 and 25, both at 10 a.m., in the committee’s hearing room  1324 Longworth Office Building (witnesses are still TBA). For more information, stay tuned to Federal Update, or check into http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php.

IT DOESN’T HURT TO REVIEW

To view Obama’s pledge on tribal sovereignty, the trust responsibility and other principles in his tribal platform, click here: Preserve Sovereignty and the Trust Responsibility.

PRIORITY BILLS

111^th CONGRESS, FEBRUARY, 200

Bill-Lnk/Brief             Sponsor/Status              Initial Recomm./Description

The election of a new president, the appointment of a new cabinet and the changing face of Congress are all good news to the tribes, and to everyone else who cares about a healthy environment and sustainable economies. But, for FY 2009, the tribes still face a funding crisis that threatens their ability to support their basic fisheries management responsibilities, and thus threatens their treaty and indigenous rights and sovereignty. They are experiencing a serious erosion of their base natural resource management funding, which since 1975 has been included in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Resources Management, Wildlife & Parks, Rights Protection Implementation account and in the Self-Governance Compacts account.

With the level of base funding now being provided, tribes can no longer effectively manage their treaty protected resources

The base fisheries management funding now being provided to the tribes, adjusted for inflation, is less than it was 30 years ago. Yet their management responsibilities have greatly increased. The initial base contract funding under P.L. 93-638 to implement relevant federal court cases and to protect trust resources was established at a level to cover the minimal responsibilities initially identified by the courts as necessary management functions. Since 1975, the management responsibilities required of the tribes have increased exponentially. Also, tribes have taken on collaborative conservation initiatives working with all governments and citizens in the region to address many difficult resource management problems.

Yet, base funding has stagnated and inflationary costs have eaten away at the buying power of existing funds, so tribes have had to cobble together funding from other sources to meet their basic management responsibilities. These sources are inadequate as they are usually program and project-specific and not sustainable from year to year. The funds have not been built into the base, so tribal programs have been forced to rely on annual funding commitments—an ever difficult task in tough budget times.

THE SOLUTION

The solution is to increase the annual funding amounts provided by BIA through the Resources Management, Wildlife & Parks, Rights Protection Implementation account and the Self-Governance Compacts account to restore buying power to a level commensurate with management responsibilities. This means an annual increase of $12 million for NWIFC and its member tribes and $4.5 million for CRITFC and its member tribes. It also means the amounts now being provided to tribes for reoccurring programs (but not included in the base) should now be included in base line items. Examples are the Washington Timber-Fish-Wildlife, Mass Marking and Salmon and Steelhead Habitat Inventory and Assessment Programs.

HEAL NATURAL RESOURCES, HEAL THE ECONOMY

Northwest fisheries resources are in trouble and it is clear that this hurts the economy. As more species are listed under ESA more businesses fail and more jobs are lost. It’s time to do business differently. The co-management relationship between the tribal, state and federal governments is critical to success in this region. The tribes have recognized the value of working collaboratively with everyone who lives and works here to craft solutions that will strengthen both natural resources and the economy. But without adequate funding support for the tribal management infrastructure this vision can not be realized. “The policies of the Bush Administration have driven the tribes’ ability to continue to be effective co-managers to the brink of collapse. Reinvesting in this infrastructure means more jobs will be created that will allow the tribes to reinvigorate their collaborative efforts, and that will once again help move this region’s natural resources and economy towards recovery. In preparing for his presidency, all the signs are that Barack Obama understands this, and is ready to do something about it. He is listening to tribal requests during his transition, and Northwest tribes have been working through their commissions to present their requests in a united fashion,” said NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank, Jr.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT TEAM NAMED

President-Elect Barack Obama has named his Energy and Environment team, saying, “The future of our economy and national security is inextricably linked to one challenge: energy. The team that I have assembled here today is uniquely suited to meet the great challenges of this defining moment. They are leading experts and accomplished managers, and they are ready to reform government and help transform our economy so that our people are more prosperous, our nation is more secure, and our planet is protected.”

Obama’s choice for Interior Secretary will be Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar.
The appointment will round out Obama’s environment and energy team, which includes Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy; Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator; Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality; Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change; and Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. Obama said he is not the first leader to promise dramatic efforts on climate change and American energy independence, but “this time must be different,” he said. “This is not a challenge for government alone – it is a challenge for all of us. The pursuit of a new energy economy requires a sustained, all-hands-on-deck effort because the foundation of our energy independence is right here, in America.”

The following link provides an ongoing update of Obama appointments, with background information, plans and programs, courtesy of The Seattle Times:

Obama builds a new administration

TRANSITION/TRIBAL REQUESTS

Like Obama, Northwest tribes have been getting the ball rolling for the next administration before it begins. Tribal leaders have conducted meetings with NWIFC & CRITFC staff to develop plans to share regarding natural resource priorities and issues. On November 26, a list of such issues was presented to the Obama transition team. Following is a brief glimpse of those issues.

Tribal Sovereignty/Trust Responsibility: Brief background statements were provided and it was pointed out that the Bush Administration has done nothing to help Northwest tribes recover from cuts in TPA funding, flattening of the base, etc. Actions called for include restoration of the BIA funding base, prompt appointment of good Assistant Secretaries of Indian Affairs and Policy Management and Budget, adoption of policies supporting tribal leadership in salmon management and support for a tribal fish and wildlife act.

Federal/Tribal Infrastructure: Funding cutbacks have been seriously problematic under the Bush Administration, even as tribal fisheries management responsibilities have grown, e.g., Northwest tribes have supported efforts to reform hatcheries for over 30 years, yet capital funding for reform has been limited or non-existent. Funding attrition is crippling salmon restoration efforts. Since 2002, funding for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery has dropped 40% from $110 million annually to $66.5 million. Bush’s FY 2009 budget recommends a further reduction to $35 million. It also contains about a 25% cut ($3.8 million) in the Mitchell Act hatchery programs, and eliminates other critically needed programs to protect and enhance northwest fisheries. Many federal agencies depend on tribal collaboration to protect treaty resources and restore fish and wildlife. Tribal fishing boats have been docked or sold off because the resource can no longer provide a reliable living. Actions called for by tribes include development of a cross-department budget approach to salmon restoration in collaboration with tribes to increase effectiveness of federal investment and reduce delays; restoration of funding BIA Rights Protection, PCSRF, Mitchell Act and other key salmon programs; full funding of hatchery reform and capital infrastructure needs; funding of harvest management and emergency response programs; and incorporation of budget funding for the Timber, Fish and Wildlife program.

Water: Degraded water quality and quantity in Northwest rivers and streams are among the greatest threats to tribal natural resources. Climate change exacerbates these issues. Protection and restoration of tribes’ water rights continue to be a critical policy priority. The Obama administration is being asked to establish dedicated staff/funding for tribes to continue or begin negotiations for water right settlements; provide direction and leadership in the region to support necessary water quantity and quality needed to properly implement ESA salmon recovery; coordinate water and watershed conservation; fully implement TMDLs for the Columbia River, Puget Sound, and tributaries, and establish water quality standards to protect Indian health.

Climate Change: Natural resources management, climate change and energy independence are linked in the Northwest as we manage hydro power and energy demands to safeguard salmon and other species. A national fish-compatible energy policy should be developed to address climate change. Tribes must be involved in climate change solutions, as governmental partners.

Endangered Species: Under Bush, the ESA Secretarial Order of 1997, intended to harmonize federal treaty duties, trust responsibility and ESA has fallen by the wayside. Tribes are asking Obama to reinstate the terms of that Secretarial Order.

Pacific Salmon Treaty Implementation: The 2008 PST negotiations of trans-boundary, Chinook, coho, and southern chum agreements are completed and the US and Canada are conducting domestic consultation processes on the agreements. The proposed Chinook Agreement requires both countries to secure funding for implementation. State and tribal PSC Commissioners are working to secure additional funds. The Northwest Congressional Delegation is committed to the agreement and has recommended additional funding in the FY 2010 budget for the State and Commerce departments.

PRIORITY BILLS

DECEMBER, 2008

EXECUTIVE POLICY ON LEGISLATION AFFECTING FISHERIES:

Legislation affecting fisheries likely to resurface in the 111^th Congress. Among others, proposals may include these or similar bills:

FY2009 Appropriations (Continuing Resolution is through March 6, 2009)

S.1870 The Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, would amend the Clean Water Act to, among other things, replace the term “navigable waters” with the term “waters of the United States,” defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.

S.3036 The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, would direct EPA to establish a program to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases by, among other things, establishing a federal greenhouse gas registry, for which certain facilities must report information regarding fossil fuels and GHGs produced and consumed; and specified quantities of GHG emission allowances, which must decline for each year 2012 to 2050. Latest Major Action: 7/8/2008 Senate floor actions. Status: Returned to the Calendar.

S.3552 The National Fish Habitat Conservation Act. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, is intended to treat the causes of fish habitat decline by restoring healthy waterways by leveraging the efforts and funds of Federal Government agencies, state and local governments, conservation groups,fishing industry groups, and businesses and building partnerships aimed at addressing the nation’s biggest fisheries problems and fostering fish habitat conservation efforts , using a bottom-up multi-state approach of habitat improvement. The Act authorizes $75 million annually to be directed toward fish habitat projects supported by regional Fish Habitat Partnerships, based on the North American Wetlands Conservation Act model, and establishing a multi-stakeholder National Fish Habitat Board charged with recommending projects to the Secretary of Interior for funding.

S.3608, The Salmon Stronghold bill. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, would establish a volunteer Salmon Stronghold Partnership program intended to complement the PCSR Fund in protecting wild Pacific salmon by proactively maintaining rivers (or salmon strongholds) by enhancing federal, tribal, state and local governments, public and land managers, fisheries managers, power authorities and NGO organizations. (In introducing the legislation, Sen. Cantwell said, “It is time to increase funding to recovery efforts, but also focus on prevention. It is time to adopt the kind of comprehensive solution that can solidify wild Pacific salmon’s place in American culture for generations to come.”) Latest Major Action: 9/26/2008. Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

H.R. 1907 The Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act, sponsored by Jim Saxton of New Jersey. This bill would direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a program to protect the environmental integrity of undeveloped coastal and estuarine areas. It would authorize the Secretary to make grants to coastal states with approved coastal zone management plans or National Estuarine Research Reserve units for the purpose of acquiring property that will further the goals of an approved Coastal Zone Management Plan or Program, a National Estuarine Research Reserve management plan, or a regional or state watershed protection plan. It would prohibit any more than 75% of the funding for any project under this Act from being derived from federal sources. It would reserve 15% of program funds for acquisitions benefiting the National Estuarine Research Reserve and authorize the acquisition of land and interests in land from willing sellers to improve the conservation of, and to enhance the ecological values and functions of, coastal and estuarine areas to benefit both the environment and the economies of coastal communities, and for other purposes. Latest Major Action: 10/2/2008 Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar.

H.R. 2421 The Clean Water Restoration Act, sponsored by Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, would clarify the original intent of Congress to protect all waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act. Current Status: The House Committee on Oversight and Government. Latest Major Action: 4/16/2008, House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee Hearings Held.

H.R. 5263 The Encouraging Collaborative Restoration of Federal Forests Act, sponsored by Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, would encourage collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes on federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service through a joint Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. Forest Landscape Restoration Act – Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program to select and fund ecological restoration treatments for priority forest landscapes. It sets forth provisions concerning the eligibility criteria for, and nomination and selection of, collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals for carrying out such treatments. It requires the Secretary to establish a scientific advisory panel to evaluate, and provide recommendations on, any proposal with respect to the strength of the ecological case of the proposal for landscape restoration and the proposed restoration strategies; and whether the proposal is likely to achieve reductions in long-term wildfire management costs. It authorizes the Secretary to establish a technical advisory panel to evaluate, and provide recommendations on any proposal with respect to whether the proposal is likely to reduce the relative costs of carrying out treatments resulting from the use of woody biomass and small-diameter trees and to provide local economic benefit. It establishes the Collaborative Forest Landscape Fund, to be used for paying up to 50% of the cost of carrying out ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System land for each proposal selected. It requires: (1) creation of implementation work plans and budgets to implement proposals; (2) submission of annual reports on the accomplishments of selected proposals; (3) use of a multiparty monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process to assess the ecological, social, and economic effects of projects implementing proposals; and (4) submission of reports every five years on the Program. Latest Major Action: 7/10/2008 House Subcommittee on Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry Hearings Held.

H.R.5451 The Reauthorizing Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, sponsored by Rep. Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, would amend the CZMA to authorize appropriations for grants under provisions relating to administration of a state’s coastal zone management program, resource management improvement, coastal zone enhancement, and national estuarine reserves. It would authorize the use of amounts in the Coastal Zone Management Fund for expenses incidental to the administration of the Act and, beginning in FY2009, the portion of amounts appropriated to carry out provisions relating to administration of a state’s coastal zone management program and resource management improvement to be retained for use in implementing coastal zone enhancement grant provisions. Latest Major Action: 6/4/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.

H.R.5741/( S.3231), The High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, would amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks. House Natural Resources; Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Latest Major Action: 7/9/2008 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

[H.R.6186.IH], The Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act, sponsored by Rep Edward Markey of Massachusetts, would among other things direct EPA to establish a program to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases by amending the Clean Air Act and establishing a federal greenhouse gas registry, for which affected entities must report information regarding fossil fuels and the gases produced, consumed, or sequestered (including specific quantities of emission allowances, which must decline for each year 2012 to 2050 and an emission allowance transfer system for specific covered facilities that emit more than 10,000 carbon dioxide equivalents in a year). Latest Major Action: 6/12/2008 Referred to House subcommittee on Energy and Environment.

H.R.6537, The Sanctuary Enhancement Act of 2008, sponsored by Rep. Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, would amend the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to require that the sanctuary system consist of national marine sanctuaries authorized or established by an Act of Congress (in addition to sanctuaries currently designated by the Secretary of Commerce) and marine national monuments. It sets forth the system’s mission and requires the Secretary to prepare, maintain, and update an ecological classification of the nation’s marine environment and an identification of maritime heritage resources as a national inventory of marine eco-regions and maritime heritage resources under U.S. jurisdiction. It also requires the Secretary to strive to include in the system by 2030 sites that will incorporate a full range of the nation’s marine eco-regions and rare and unique marine habitats, and a full range of maritime heritage resource areas. It modifies various requirements regarding the designation and implementation of marine sanctuaries and it expands the list of prohibited activities. Latest Action: 7/24/2008 Hearings Held by the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans.

H.R.6689, The Chinook Nation Restoration Act, sponsored by Rep. Brian Baird of Washington, would restore Federal recognition to the Chinook Nation and makes the Chinook Tribe and its members eligible for all services and benefits provided by the government to federally recognized tribes regardless of the existence of a reservation or the location of residence of any member on or near any Indian reservation. Provides that, for purposes of the delivery of federal services to enrolled members, the Tribe’s service area shall consist of specified counties in Washington and Oregon. Latest Major Action: 7/31/2008 Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources.

[S.2301.IS ] The Native American Fish and Wildlife Management Act, solely sponsored by Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii (introduced 4/7/2004) was intended to improve the management of Indian fish and wildlife and gathering resources. Among numerous other things, it would have required the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Tribal Fish and Wildlife Resource Management Program and the Alaska Native Fish and Wildlife Resource Management Program to conduct specified activities in support of the tribal administration of resources. It would have directed the Secretary, upon the request of an Indian tribal government, to conduct a survey of the reservation or traditional use area of that tribal government to assess actual needs regarding management of fish and wildlife resources and the development of Fish and Wildlife Resource Management Plans by Indian tribal governments and Alaska Native fish and wildlife organizations (or alternatively, by the Secretary) and for plans to cooperatively govern the management and administration of tribal or Indian fish and wildlife resources by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribal government. It would have required the Secretaries of the Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture to review the management of resources in regional resource management and traditional use areas and called for augmentation of resources to meet needs as appropriate. Latest Major Action: 7/21/2004 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

Notes: The bills described above are those which have been discussed to date in tribal leadership transition meetings, and are by no means the only bills of concern that may (or may not) be considered in the next Congress. The needed action is for both the Congress and the new Administration to consult with tribes in developing positions on legislative and policy proposals. Priority bills will continue to be highlighted in Federal Update. For more information online, please consult www.thomas.loc.gov or contact Steve Robinson at srobinson@nwifc.org or (360) 528-4347.

It’s been two years since the Jimmycomelately Creek restoration project was completed. But the work didn’t end then – the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe recently released a 72-page report explaining how the 10-year, $7 million project was started, the challenges it faced and what it took to complete it. And more importantly, it provides suggestions on how to deal with large-scale, multi-agency restoration projects.

Not a technical report, the document, Jimmycomelately Ecosystem Restoration – Lessons Learned Report, spells out the ups and downs of the project in an interesting and readable format.

“It’s a good tool for a community group, non-profit or an agency looking to do a restoration project, or even a college student interested in habitat restoration,” said Byron Rot, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s habitat program manager and a co-author of the report.

The idea for restoring the 15.4-square-mile ecosystem started in late 1996, following a massive rainstorm that flooded the creek, Old Blyn Highway and Highway 101 near the tribal center. Within days, discussions began about how to correct the resulting chronic flooding and habitat problems. These conversations evolved into what became the “The Jimmy Project.”

During the eight years it took to complete the four-phase project, the tribe and their major partners on the project, including local property owners, Clallam County Conservation District, Clallam County, Washington Departments of Transportation and Fish and Wildlife, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, restored the creek and its estuary to a more natural state. Work included diverting and rerouting the creek back to its historic path, removing remnants of an old log yard and restoring the estuary, and replacing two small culverts with a new bridge on Highway 101 to allow for proper flooding and fish and wildlife passage.

Lessons Learned is broken down into 14 sections, detailing the work that was put into every step, including partnership development, communication techniques, engineering and design, property acquisition, permitting and monitoring of the finished product. Each chapter ends with a Lessons Learned section, recommending how to approach the challenges of each step and what could have been done differently.

The report can be found on the tribe’s Web site at www.jamestowntribe.org, under “Programs”- “Natural Resources” – “Jimmycomelately Restoration.”

-END-

For more information, contact: Byron Rot, Jamestown S’Kallam Tribe habitat program manager, at (360) 681-4615 or brot@jamestowntribe.org; or Tiffany Royal, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, information officer, at (360) 297-6546 or troyal@nwifc.org.

“We’ll be running at full capacity this winter and spring,” said Blake Smith, enhancement biologist for the Puyallup Tribe. As in most hatcheries, more than 90 percent of the eggs will survive to be released, translating into 1,000,000 juvenile hatchery salmon swimming out into the Puyallup River early next summer.

“When they return as adults in a few years, these fish will be a big part of fisheries for both tribal and non-tribal fishermen providing increased opportunity,” Smith said.

The hatchery features nearer to nature rearing ponds that mimic natural salmon habitat with tree root wads and gravel. These features help young chinook develop better survival skills.

“Fish born in the wild develop instincts that help them find food and avoid being eaten,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, this isn’t something we see a lot of in hatchery fish raised in featureless cement ponds. The more salmon learn to survive in the wild, the more hatchery fish that will return to the river in a few years.”

In addition to releasing fish from the hatchery itself, the tribe also uses the young fish from Clarks Creek to repopulate the upper Puyallup River watershed. Each spring, the tribe trucks thousands of juvenile chinook to three acclimation ponds in the upper Puyallup. “This stretch of river has been open to salmon since 2000 when a fish ladder was built around Electron dam,” Smith said. “By putting juvenile chinook up there, we’re giving the run up there a jump start.”

Now that the facility is working at full capacity, there will be more hatchery fish available for harvest in the lower river, away from where wild chinook congregate. “If there are more hatchery fish to catch in the lower river, fishing pressure moves away from where wild fish are,” Smith said. “Getting wild chinook into the upper watershed to spawn is a priority for the tribe.”

(END)

For more information, contact: Blake Smith, enhancement biologist, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, (253) 845-9225. Emmett O’Connell, information officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwifc.org

Tribal technicians, volunteers and school groups are clearing a five-acre infestation of reed canary grass along the creek, allowing coho salmon to access important habitat on James Tucker’s property. The volunteers and school groups are organized by the tribe’s Stream Stewards program, the Nisqually River Education Project and the Pierce Conservation District.

The tribe is using a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation paired with funds that Tucker is receiving from the Natural Resources Conservation Service to buy and plant native plants that will eventually out-compete the invasive grass.

The lower five miles of Tanwax Creek is infested with reed canary grass that blocks salmon migration and spawning. Imported to the area as cattle feed decades ago, reed canary infestation is a common obstacle for salmon in small streams.

When Tucker bought the property four years ago, he began immediately trying to remove the reed canary grass, but was never been able to get a handle on the problem. “I wanted to try to restore the wetlands down there,” Tucker said. “This is the property that I have; I might as well try to make it better.”

After initial mowing, volunteers will plant a variety native trees and shrubs that will eventually prevent the grass from growing back. Tribal employees and volunteers will periodically visit Tucker’s property to check the plants and mow the area if needed.

Coho salmon will especially benefit from increased access to habitat in Tanwax Creek. “Coho habitat is pretty limited in the Nisqually watershed,” said David Troutt, natural resources director for the tribe. “Coho prefer these kinds of small tributaries to the main river, like Tanwax Creek.”

A similar project on nearby Muck Creek has kept a stretch of that creek free of reed canary grass for several years. “We’ve seen a resurgence of salmon in Muck Creek, mostly because fish been able to access habitat that had been blocked by this grass,” Troutt said.

“The more habitat we can bring back and protect for salmon, the more salmon we’re going to see coming back each year,” Troutt said. “We’re glad when we can help a landowner make that happen.”

“It’s been excellent working with the tribe, they have a lot of capability and flexibility to get things done,” Tucker said. “It seems like when they see something they want to get done, they go after it.”

(END)

For more information, contact: David Troutt, natural resources director, Nisqually Indian Tribe, (360) 438-8687. Emmett O’Connell, information officer, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwif.org

Three tribes – Squaxin Island, Nisqually and Puyallup – have treaty-reserved rights to fish in Chambers Bay. The tribal fishery at Chambers Bay focuses on a strong run of hatchery chinook.

“Future fisheries depend on their being enough fish in the hatcheries each year,” said Chris Phinney, fisheries management biologist for the Puyallup Tribe.

The tribes are closing their fishery because of a lower than expected return of chinook to a Tumwater hatchery, which is effecting the regional supply of chinook eggs. “If they aren’t getting enough fish back at one hatchery, it causes problems at other hatcheries,” Phinney said.

“Because of widespread habitat loss and degradation throughout the region, tribal and non-tribal fishermen almost always have to depend on hatchery salmon,” said Joe Peters, harvest management biologist for the Squaxin Island Tribe. “It’s in the best interest of all fishermen that the combined tribal and state hatchery system is healthy.”

(END)

For more information, contact: Chris Phinney, fisheries management biologist, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, (253) 845-9225.

The Puyallup Tribe is one of the tribal co-managers of the South Rainier herd. Tribal hunters harvest less than 10 percent of available elk in the total South Rainier herd. “There is already enough harvest on this herd,” said Barbara Moeller, wildlife biologist for the Puyallup Tribe. “The elk population in the Cowlitz Valley is too small to support more hunting, especially antlerless hunting.”

Since 2003, the Puyallup Tribe has taken the co-managers’ lead in monitoring and studying the South Rainier herd. The tribe recently completed a four-year effort to develop a more accurate method of estimating the herd’s size.

“Information on the herd that we’ve gathered points to a population that is much smaller than previous estimates,” Moeller said. “The herd can certainly sustain hunting, but we should err on the side of caution. Once you reach the point where an elk herd can’t sustain itself, you’ll see a very dramatic population crash.” The tribe has also placed VHF and GPS collars on a study group of elk and plans to compile a more comprehensive report on the herd.

“Elk trampling a garden is not a good reason to doom an entire herd,” said Fred Dillon, the tribe’s Natural Resources Policy Representative. “These decisions should be based on clear scientific evidence, not public relations.”

The State is required by its own guidelines to pursue non-lethal means first in response to problem animals. “It looks like their first proposal was to expand hunting,” Dillon said.

“Instead of more hunting, a better tactic would be to protect elk habitat so the animals have plenty of room and food when they come down from the hills in the winter,” Moeller said. The tribe has taken the first steps in creating an elk reserve in the valley by purchasing 45 acres of bottom land for elk.

“This is an elk herd that needs more habitat, not more harvest,” Dillon said. “The best way to ensure the health of this important population is to make sure there is enough food and space for them to live.”

(END)

For more information, contact: Barbara Moeller, wildlife biologist, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, (253) 841-0377. Emmett O’Connell, information officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwifc.org

“The sediment from that landslide is still working its way through the river system,” said John Konovsky, environmental program manager for the Squaxin Island Tribe. “It has a relatively high proportion of minute dirt particles that continue to hinder coho reproduction.”

In January 1990, a huge storm hit the Deschutes River blocking an old culvert under a logging road. The resulting landslide sent tons of hillside sediment into Huckleberry Creek, a headwater tributary to the Deschutes.

“Huckleberry Creek used to be a major coho factory in the Deschutes watershed,” Konovsky said. “That slide wiped out all of the coho rearing there and the population has never recovered.”

Coho production in the 1980′s was typically around 80,000-90,000 smolts per year, but in the early 1990′s, it crashed. “Certainly marine survival has played a major role,” said Scott Steltzner, fisheries biologist for the tribe. “But the sudden decline in local habitat conditions is also a strong contributing factor.”

Salmon need cool, oxygen rich water in which to spawn. “High levels of fine sediment in spawning gravel smother freshly laid eggs,” Steltzner said.

New forest practice rules initiated since 1990 would likely help prevent the same type of catastrophic landslide that is still impacting watershed health and wiped out the upper Deschutes River coho. “The rules that allowed this to happen have changed, but we’re still encountering the after-effects of this slide,” Konovsky said.

“While floods, landslides and sediment are part of the natural cycle of a river, the 1990 landslide was an unnatural event,” Konovsky said.

The state Department of Ecology (DOE) is currently looking at the river to decide how to improve spawning conditions for coho. A technical report is expected later in the year.

“We’ve been feeling the impact of this landslide for nearly 20 years,” said Andy Whitener, natural resources director for the tribe. “For now, we’ll have to make sure we do everything else we can to re-establish good spawning and rearing habitat.”

(END)

For more information, contact: John Konovsky, environmental program manager, Squaxin Island Tribe, (360) 432-3804. Emmett O’Connell, information officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwifc.org

“The tribe is going to be off the water more this year to reduce impacts on returning chinook, and this gave more opportunity for sport fishermen,” said Chris Phinney, the tribe’s salmon fisheries management biologist. The cuts by the tribe were agreed to last spring during the tribal and state salmon fisheries management process.

The Puyallup Tribe has been reducing its in-river chinook fishery for the past several years to protect returning wild chinook. This is the second year the tribe will have no directed chinook fishery.

Sport anglers on the Puyallup are required to release wild chinook, decreasing impact to the stock. “This kind of selective fishery works best in places like the lower Puyallup River where there are a lot of hatchery fish and very few wild fish,” said Phinney. Tribal and state co-managers estimate that more than 80 percent of the chinook returning to the Puyallup this year will be hatchery fish. “With that large numbers of hatchery fish available, it’s easy for sport fishermen to sort wild and hatchery fish.”

“Unlike in saltwater mixed stock areas where there are dozens of stocks present, terminal areas like rivers are very effective places to have selective sport fisheries,” he said.

Unlike sport and non-treaty commercial fishermen who can chase productive runs of salmon around the region, tribal fishermen are bound by treaty to fish only in certain areas. “The Puyallup Tribe has an inherent interest in seeing more salmon return to the Puyallup River because this is our home river,” said Herman Dillon, Jr., chair of the tribe’s fish commission. “If salmon don’t return here, we lose an important part of our way of life.”

“Fisheries have been constricted because the wild salmon we’re trying to protect don’t have much habitat to return to,” said Dillon. “The first step in ensuring there are strong salmon fisheries in the future is making sure there is good habitat for salmon.”

(END)

For more information, contact: Chris Phinney, harvest management biologist, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, (253) 845-9225. Emmett O’Connell, information officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwifc.org

House subcommittees have approved appropriations bills that would provide $27.9 billion in discretionary funding. That would top the current level by 4.9 percent increase, or $1.3 billion and Bush’s request by 8.2 percent, or $2.1 billion. The full committee is set to take up the bill on June 18. Programs that benefit tribes would receive the “single largest increase” in the bill, according to Congressman Norm Dicks, chairman of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies subcommittee. Among other increases, the Dicks bill would allocate $2.4 billion to the BIA, an increase of 5.2 percent. It would also provide: $7.8 billion for EPA, a 5 percent increase over FY 2008; $850 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (pays for improvements at sewage treatment plants), a 23.4 percent increase; $2.6 billion for the Forest Service, not including firefighting programs, a 4.3 percent increase; $3 billion for fire accounts at the Forest Service and Interior. House Republicans expressed reservations about moving ahead on this year’s appropriations process before finishing the fiscal 2008 war supplemental. They also used the opportunity to debate the rising costs of gas and oil, saying their votes are all going to be energy-related this year. The panel rejected an amendment to allow exploration between 50 and 200 miles off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico. There likely will be more energy amendments at the full committee markup, scheduled for June 18. Outside of the drilling debate, Republicans agreed with Democrats on the need to spend more than Bush has requested. Ranking Member Todd Tiahrt, R-KS, said he was grateful to Dicks for the attention paid to the critical needs of Indian Country.

WAR FUNDING

This past month, the U.S. House voted to cut off Iraq war funding, calling on a strict timeline to end the war and covering a few other issues. Then the bill got to the Senate, where there was a strong vote for blank-check war funding. But, in the end, the Senate stripped out all the readiness restrictions and timelines and voted to continue funding a war without end. There are efforts to get these measures restored. If that doesn’t happen, war funding may again be a major hurdle standing in the way of more adequate funding for discretionary domestic spending. The House will have to take up this bill when representatives get back from Memorial Day recess.

BIA SEARCH GOES ON…..MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE AGENCY

With just eight months left in the Bush administration, the Interior Department continues to search for a new leader of the BIA. But in the meantime, Deputy Secretary P. Lynn Scarlett, the second-in-command at Interior, assigned the duties of the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs to a longtime employee. George Skibine, a member of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, who took over the post when former BIA head Carl Artman left office. The move means Skibine holds yet another title at the BIA. In addition to his normal job as head of the Office of Indian Gaming Management, he has been acting as the agency’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development since 2004. For several months during the Bush administration, Skibine even served as acting principal deputy assistant secretary, the second-highest post at the BIA. The never-ending changes — which at one point left the BIA without a leader for more than two years – has continued to disappoint Sen. Byron Dorgan, S-ND, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. "Mr. Artman was the third assistant secretary under this administration and the third to resign. And for two years during this administration, there was no assistant secretary. Now I wonder how long it will take to get another assistant secretary. I think this is undermining the interests of Indian tribes across this country and I’m very upset about it."

JUDGE GIVES INTERIOR APPROVAL TO GET BACK ONLINE

More than six years after being knocked offline as part of the contentious Indian trust fund lawsuit, the Interior Department has been given approval to reconnect all of its systems to the Internet. Judge Royce Lamberth, who has been removed from the case, ordered the disconnect in December 2001. A court investigator found that billions of dollars in Indian trust funds were at risk to computer hacking. Since then, most of Interior’s agencies, offices and bureaus were given permission to get back online after they demonstrated their systems were secure. But there were some key holdouts — namely the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of Special Trustee, the two agencies that deal most with Indian Country. Judge James Robertson, who inherited the case in December 2006, was initially reluctant to order the systems back online. As he considered the Bush administration’s request to reconnect, he was concerned that Interior hadn’t shown that the BIA, OST and the remaining entities were secure. He denied the motion most recently in May of last year. But he now says it was "clear" that a ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals limited judicial oversight of information technology matters. Concluding that it wasn’t his role to "weigh IT security risks" at the department, he now says sworn declarations submitted by government officials indicate Interior has complied with federal law.

FARM BILL PERSPECTIVES

The 2008 Farm Bill conference report has been passed by significant majority. The conference report authorizes nearly $300 billion worth of USDA programs over the next 5 years. After nearly two years of work on the bill, it will likely become law despite an expected veto by Bush. He disagrees with the overall cost of the bill and the methods of crop payments, arguing that too much money is spent on farm subsidies for rich farmers. The conference negotiators lowered the income ceiling at which payments cease, but not to the $200k level Bush wanted. Nevertheless, both chambers strongly supported the bill, and voted accordingly. House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-MN, hopes the bill will become law by the end of the month. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-AR, has blasted both parties in Congress for showing "incredible disregard for the public treasury and for the public interest" by voting for the farm bill. McCain says he would veto the bill if he were president, even though lawmakers have votes to overturn that action. As president, he said, "I will seek an end to all agricultural tariffs, and to all farm subsidies that are not based on clear need. I will veto any bill containing special-interest favors and corporate welfare in any form."

On the other hand, Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs touts Indian provisions in the farm bill. He says Indian Country will benefit from provisions in the farm bill recently passed by the Senate. Dorgan said his committee worked on several of these provisions in H.R.2419. Among others, he says it will help tribes improve and expand their conservation efforts. Tribes have been included as eligible entities or partners and tribal lands are given special status in the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement and Reserved Rights Pilot Program, the new Conservation Stewardship Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program.

Dorgan also says the bill addresses dietary problems in Indian Country by promoting food assistance programs that purchase traditional and locally-grown foods, such as bison meat (“The Secretary is authorized to purchase bison meat for the distribution program and, where practicable, purchase at least 50 percent of the distributed food from traditional and locally-grown foods produced by Native producers”). The Senate version of the bill expands tribal access and use of national forest lands and products for cultural and burial purposes. It also reauthorizes tribally-controlled c
olleges and universities and expands extension services at these institutions. It helps tribes reduce fractionated farmland for individual tribal farmers, and authorizes the Secretary to make and insure loans to eligible purchasers to purchase unencumbered fractionated, non-trust land.

STATE DOE CHALLENGES FERC

The Washington Department of Ecology has filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to protect the state’s role in federal licensing procedures for energy projects. The petition asks the court to clarify federal law regarding a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision. In December, FERC sidestepped the established licensing procedure by granting a conditioned license to Finavera Renewables, superseding decisions from other federal and state agencies with authority in the federal licensing process. Finavera proposes a wave energy project at Makah Bay off the Washington coast. FERC denied Ecology’s initial appeal of the Finavera conditioned license in March. Ecology argues that federal law does not allow FERC to offer a conditioned license in advance of obtaining input and consideration from the other agencies with a regulatory role in the licensing process. Today’s petition would permit the federal court to determine if FERC’s action is consistent with federal law. Ecology requests the court confirm the existing requirements of federal law by declaring that FERC does not have authority to issue conditioned licenses.

Ecology claims responsibility under the federal Clean Water Act and Coastal Zone Management Act to authorize that project proposals can be undertaken without harming water quality or sensitive shoreline areas. The agency reviews applications and can write conditions into the approvals to ensure any potential impacts are avoided or minimized. Historically, agencies with responsibility for protecting water quality, shorelines, fish and other environmental resources review and decide upon applications before FERC issues a final license. That did not happen in this instance.

S 2191, THE LIEBERMAN-WARNER BILL

Climate Change is now being referred to by many as perhaps the most pressing environmental issue of our time, affecting all regions, nations and tribes in current and future generations. To date, federal legislation related to climate change has failed to address tribal interests and concerns, even though the impact of climate change on tribes is and will likely be more severe than to other governments and people due to their location and their direct dependency on natural resources to sustain their health, culture and economies. The Lieberman-Warner bill, or the National Climate Security Act was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on May 20. It appears that it’s too late to expect passage this year. However, there are substantial efforts already being applied by bill sponsors, tribes across the nation and environmental organizations to pass it next year. Essentially, the bill as written requires EPA to establish a greenhouse gas registry, and an emission allowance transfer system for facilities that import petroleum or coal-based transportation fuel or chemicals. It sets emission allowances for 2012-2050, with a declining cap on allowable greenhouse gases.

The U.S. Climate Action Partnership formed last year didn’t take a position on the bill, although nine of its members – including General Electric, Alcoa and four star utility companies – signed a letter to senators backing the legislation. The letter, also signed by big environmental groups, says: "Prompt action on climate change is essential to protect America’s economy, security, quality of life and natural environment." But other members of the coalition known as U.S. Cap, most visibly Duke Energy, a coal-burning utility, are strongly opposed. They point to the fact that it’s going to translate into significant electricity price increases. President Bush remains opposed to any meaningful climate change legislation, of course, and House Democrats have been slow to act. Add to that a backdrop of rising gasoline prices and a sluggish economy, and it’s easy to conclude that things will have to change before the legislation will stand much of a chance. As for corporate support, it is significant that a key purpose of the bill is to put a price on the emissions of greenhouse gases, as a way to speed the transition to a clean-energy economy and slow down global warming.

Tribal set aside provisions that were proposed do constitute a promising work in progress. The two tribal set-aside provisions that Senators Lieberman and Warner had written into S 2191 would provide direct tribal access to resources provided without requiring “treatment-as-a-state” status. The bill would have enhanced the direct relationship of tribes to the federal government on climate change-related issues. These issues played strongly in climate change sessions held at the recent NCAI Mid-year Session in Reno.

Federal Priority Bills List for June, 2008

Bills seeing recent action, along with brief descriptions, dates of action and status Please address thoughts and/or questions to Steve Robinson at srobinson@nwifc.org (360 528-4347).

S.1578.RS Title: A bill to amend the Non-indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to establish vessel ballast water management requirements, etc. Sponsor: Sen Inouye, Daniel K., D-HA (introduced 6/7/2007) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 3/3/2008 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 589.

S.1620 Title: A bill to provide the Coast Guard and NOAA with additional authorities under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, to strengthen the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, etc. Sponsor: Sen Cantwell, Maria, D-WA (introduced 6/14/2007)  Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 6/14/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

H.R.1769 Title: To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation on endangered Columbia River salmon, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Baird, Brian, D-WA (introduced 3/29/2007) Cosponsors (5) Latest Major Action: 8/2/2007 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

H.R. 1771 (Baldwin): To assist in the conservation of cranes by supporting and providing, through projects of persons and organizations with expertise in crane conservation, financial resources for the conservation programs of countries the activities of which directly or indirectly affect cranes and the ecosystems of cranes. “Crane Conservation Act of 2007“ Latest Major Action: 5/22/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Ordered to be reported (Amended) to the Environment and Public Works Committee.

S.1892.RS A bill to reauthorize the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2008. Sponsor: Sen Cantwell, Maria, D-WA (introduced 7/26/2007) Cosponsors (5) Committees: Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Senate Reports: 110-261 Latest Major Action: 2/5/2008 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 568.

S.2284 Title: An original bill to amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to restore the financial solvency of the flood insurance fund, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] (introduced 11/1/2007) Cosponsors (None) Related Bills: H.R.3121
Latest Major Action: 5/13/2008- Returned to Senate Calendar.

H.R.2400 : To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish an integrated Federal ocean and coastal mapping plan for the Great Lakes and coastal state waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone, and the Continental Shelf of the United States, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 5/21/2007)      Cosponsors (5) Committees: House Natural Resources; House Science and Technology; Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Latest Major Action: 7/24/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

H.R. 2419

Title: To provide for the ntinuation of agricultural programs through fiscal year 2012 purposes. Sponsor: Rep Peterson, Collin C. [MN-7] Cosponsors: None. Related Bills: H.RES.574, H.RES.1189, H.R.5957, H.R.6124, S.163, S.2302
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 110-234 [GPO: Text, PDF]
House Reports: 110-256 Part 1; Latest Conference Report: 110-627 (in Congressional Record H3409-3700) Note: The House and Senate passed H.R. 2419 over veto, enacting 14 of 15 farm bill titles into law. On 5/22/2008 the House passed H.R. 6124, a new bill containing 15 farm bill titles.

S.2670 Title: A bill to amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to ensure adequate funding for conservation and restoration of wildlife, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Johnson, Tim, D-SD (introduced /27/2008) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 2/27/2008 Referred to Senate Committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment

S.2739 (Sen. Bingaman) – Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.

Title: Related Bills: S.2179, S.2180, S.2483, S.2616 Latest Major Action: 5/1/2008 Presented to President. Makes amendments to various public laws, including the National Trails System Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998, the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996, the Oregon Resource Conservation Act of 1996, the Reclamation and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Steel and Aluminum Energy Conservation and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003. Status: This bill became Public Law No: 110-229.

H.R.2830, the Coast Guard Authorization bill. This legislation provides for a study of “regional response vessel and salvage capability for Olympic Peninsula Coast, Washington.”  It also contains a provision prohibiting the discharge of ballast water in national marine sanctuaries.

Title: To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2008, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and title 18, United States Code, to combat the crime of alien smuggling and related activities, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Oberstar, James L. [MN-8] (introduced 6/22/2007)      Cosponsors (2) Related Bills: H.RES.1126, H.R.2399, S.1892
Latest Major Action: 4/28/2008 Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar.

H.AMDT.969 to H.R.2857 Amendment to add an Energy Conservation Corps, which would seek to address the nation’s energy and transportation infrastructure needs while providing work and service opportunities. Sponsor: Rep Inslee, Jay . D-WA, (introduced 3/6/2008)
Latest Major Action: 3/6/2008 House amendment agreed to. Status

H.R.3891 Title: To amend the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of Directors on the Board of Directors of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Sponsor: Rep Brown, Henry E., Jr. [SC-1] (introduced 10/18/2007) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 5/21/08, Passed Committee on Environment and Public Works.

H.R. 3981 Title: To authorize the Preserve America Program and Save America’s Treasures Program, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13] (introduced 10/29/2007) Cosponsors (56) Related Bills: S.2262 Latest Major Action: 4/24/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held. Among other things, this bill would establishes the Preserve America Program, under which the Secretary of the Interior, in partnership with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, shall provide competitive grants to specified entities to support preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education, and historic preservation planning activities. It sets forth provisions regarding the designation of communities, tribal areas, and neighborhoods as Preserve America Communities.

H.R.5171 (S.240 ) Title: To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992. Sponsor: Rep Costa, Jim [CA-20] (introduced 1/29/2008) Cosponsors (6) Latest Major Action: 2/15/2008- Placed on Legislative Calendar.

H.R.5451 : To reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 2/14/2008) Cosponsors (14) Committees: House Natural Resources Latest Major Action: 6/4/2008- Passed by Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife & Oceans to Committee on Natural Resources.

H.R.5469 Title: To provide grants for the revitalization of waterfront brownfields. Sponsor: Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28] (introduced 2/14/2008)  Cosponsors (20) Latest Major Action: 2/15/2008 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

H.R.5608 Title: Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments Act. Sponsor: Rep Rahall, Nick J., II [WV-3] (introduced 3/13/2008)      Cosponsors (1) . Latest Major Action: 4/9/2008- Hearing held by the House Committee on Natural Resources. To establish regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials in the development of Federal policies that have tribal implications, to strengthen the United States government-to-government relationships with Indian tribes, and to reduce the imposition of unfunded mandates upon Indian tribes.

H.R.5618 : To reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 3/13/2008)    Cosponsors (10) Committees: House Natural Resources Latest Major Action: 5/21/08- Heard by Subcommittee on Energy & Environment.

H.R.5741 : To amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 4/9/2008)      Cosponsors (9) Committees: House Natural Resources. Latest Major Action: 6/4/2008- Passed Subcommittee by Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife & Oceans to Committee on Natural Resources.

A special fishing season for tribal elders takes place next month. From June 10 to June 13, the river will be open for elders to fish for ceremonial and subsistence use from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.

Chris Phinney, harvest management biologist for the Puyallup Tribe’s Fisheries/Hatchery Department, explained the rules in place. This special fishing season is open only to Puyallup Tribal members aged 50 and older. There will be no helpers allowed and no exceptions to the rules, he said. “They have to be tribal elders to be on the river.”

…

“This year there will be plenty of fish,” Chris Phinney said. A decision was made to provide this special season for elders. “The elders deserve a crack at them first. They fought for this right,” he remarked. “It is a pretty big deal. I am excited for the elders.”

All of the fish have tags implanted in their noses. Chris Phinney said staff from the department will be on the river during the hours of fishing to collect samples.

He stressed that the fish caught are not to be sold for commercial use; they are for ceremonial and subsistence uses.

The blame game is raging between Bush and Congress as various budget deadlines are essentially ignored. Bush and Congress are accusing each other regularly of failing to listen to proposals and fixes for everything from failing to respond adequately to the energy crisis to the slumping economy. There’s a cut of about $1.8 in the Pacific Salmon Treaty appropriation, similar to last year, and the budget still fails to include Timber-Fish-Wildlife/Forests and Fish funding.

House/Senate budget talks continue and budget leaders hope to reach agreement on a fiscal 2009 budget resolution soon. There are no consequences for having failed to meet the April 15 deadline. But most everyone would rather avoid having to resort to a “deeming resolution” to set a limit — something the two chambers have done in the past when Congress was unable to agree on a final budget. Under the Budget Act, the House may consider spending bills on the floor starting May 15, even if a final budget hasn’t been adopted. If lawmakers do not reach a budget agreement and must “deem” discretionary spending limits for the year, don’t be surprised if each chamber handles it differently. Under the 1974 Budget Act, the annual budget resolution sets an overall level of discretionary appropriations for the year which appropriators then split up among the 12 individual bills. These allocations help facilitate the appropriations process by creating limits on discretionary spending that can be enforced on the House and Senate floors through budget points of order. In the absence of a final budget, lawmakers use deeming resolutions to create those budget enforcement parameters. In the past, the House has preferred to deem its entire budget resolution, while the Senate has focused mostly on setting a discretionary spending limit.

ARTMAN RESIGNS, SENATOR DORGAN DISAPPOINTED

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND, the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, says he’s disappointed by the recent resignation of Interior Assistant Secretary Carl Artman. Dorgan helped push Artman's nomination through the Senate. But after a little over a year on the job, Artman says he will be leaving his post as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs on May 23. "The position was vacant for two years, now it's filled for one year. Now it's going to be vacant again," Dorgan said at a hearing on energy development in Indian Country. "The BIA is not a well-run organization in any event. I had high hopes that Mr. Artman would come in and be very helpful … but this is a huge disappointment." Artman, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, has not given a reason for leaving. Prior to being nominated for the assistant secretary post, Artman served as associate solicitor for Indian Affairs at Interior.

The next in line for the post, at least in an acting capacity, would appear to be Majel Russell, a member of the Crow Tribe of Montana who serves as the principal deputy assistant secretary at the BIA. But she has not kept a permanent office in Washington, D.C., preferring instead to travel back and forth from Montana. So it’s possible that Jim Cason, associate deputy secretary at Interior, could get the nod. He was delegated all of the duties of the assistant secretary after the resignation of entrepreneur Dave Anderson, a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe Indians from Wisconsin, in February 2005.

LIEBERMAN-WARNER GLOBAL WARMING ACT

In mid October, Senators Joseph Lieberman, I-CT, and John Warner, R-VA, introduced America’s Climate Security Act of 2007, S 2191. After years of ignoring global warming, the U.S. Senate seemed to finally be considering legislation to cap greenhouse gas pollution. However, national environmental organizations quickly tagged the bill as “Pork for Polluters.” Friends of the Earth says the bill lavishes up to $1 trillion on industries responsible for global warming in the first place, and in return asks for reduction targets well below what scientists say are necessary. FOE says that although some positive changes have been made since the introduction of the bill, it continues to give up to a trillion dollars to the fossil fuel industry. Other entities have said the bill is better than nothing, which is what the federal lawmakers have delivered so far.

The bill creates a regulatory system that caps the amount of global warming emissions covered entities can emit. The cap is gradually reduced over a period of time leading into 2050. Under a cap, emitters must obtain permits, or allowances, from the federal government that are equal to their global warming emissions. The total amount of pollution allowances available to polluters is equal to the total amount of global warming emissions permitted under the cap. Any unused permits may be traded, or sold, to entities requiring more permits. One natural effect of limiting the supply of emission rights through permits, according to FOE, is that it turns them into a vehicle for buying and selling the right to pollute. With current United States global warming emissions totaling more than 7.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases annually, the total economic value of these permits could be tremendous.

A recent survey of economic literature by the Congressional Budget Office suggests that global warming emissions permits could be worth between $5 to $65 per metric ton. FOE uses estimates calculated by Duke University, which indicates that by 2050, the price of one of these permits will increase from $18 to $100 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. The Lieberman-Warner bill caps global warming emissions from about 86 percent of the economy, potentially reaching a reduction target of emission to 60 to 65 percent of U.S. emissions below current levels. A cap initially set at this emissions level would create permits worth over $5 trillion throughout the program’s lifetime, using the average value per ton of carbon, as identified by EPA and Duke University.

DEVELOP IN HIGH RISK ZONES?

The full U.S. Senate has considered legislation, S.2284, that would offer subsidies for development in the very environmentally-sensitive areas that face the most dramatic impacts from global warming. Debate centered on the Flood Insurance and Modernization Act of was at least temporarily halted on May 2 when a motion to consider the bill, sponsored by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-CT. This legislation would clearly have a significant impact on how development decisions are made in coastal areas and natural floodplains, and that would have a significant impact on fish and wildlife. It’s anticipated that these areas will feel the worst impacts of global warming with sea level rise, intensified hurricanes, and increased flooding. Several controversial amendments were debated, including schemes that would: 1) Subsidize insurance in high risk and environmentally sensitive areas; 2) Waive requirements for participation in the flood insurance program for people living behind unsafe Army Corps of Engineer’s levees, etc., and 3) Add wind damage insurance that provides incentives to build in catastrophe prone and environmentally sensitive zones. The original bill was intended to amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to restore financial solvency.

The concept of subsidizing construction in areas such as New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina and, for that matter, along the Chehalis River in the aftermath of the December floods, is worrisome. Obviously, displaced homeowners need help; however, rebuilding in the same areas demonstrates a lack of regard for their safety in the future, as well as the health of watersheds and the fish and wildlife they sustain. The fact is that it is important to discourage development in high-risk areas to avoid such impacts as sea level rise, intensified storms, increased floo
ding, etc. Actions in Congress (as well as the state legislature) do not indicate that much has been learned from the horrific experiences of intensified storms which scientists say are linked to climate change.

PATHWAYS UPDATE

For the past 3 state legislative sessions, seed money has been granted to support the Tribal Water “Pathways” Project, which is a tribal initiative to explore alternatives to water adjudication. Working with the US Institute on Environmental Conflict Resolution and the Department of Ecology, the funding has been used to facilitate related planning processes, work with the state Department of Ecology and clear the path for supportive federal legislation. The three pilot tribes include Tulalip, Quinault and Jamestown-S’Klallam.

The Clark Group, a DC-based facilitator supporting tribal water interests in Washington D.C. via a contract with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission funded with the Pathways state seed money, has advised the coordination team to secure congressional introduction of a related bill by this summer. This schedule would boost the chances of securing a committee hearing later this year or early in 2009. Being introduced in the 110th Congress and achieving a committee hearing by the first quarter of 2009 could boost the possibility of passing legislation during the 2009-2010 congressional session. The Pathways project, which has been supported by NWIFC Commissioners, could help keep a foot in the door in cooperative water management as the resource dwindles due to overuse by out-of-stream interests. Strictly a volunteer process for participants, Pathway’s flexible NEPA-like approach must gain support of all participants for any water management agreements developed, and would have the force of law upon being adopted.

WILD SKY WILDERNESS BILL PASSES CONGRESS

After a very long wait, and a yeoman effort, Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA, and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-WA have seen Washington's Wild Sky Wilderness Area become reality through H.R.886. Sen. Murray’s count of the days since the effort began reached 3,405. The 106,000-acre wilderness is in the front range of the Cascades, north of the U.S. 2 Stevens Pass highway. It reaches from the north fork of the Skykomish River, a few hundred feet above sea level, to the 6,200-foot summits of Mounts Merchant and Gunn above Index.

Wild Sky sets precedents for protection. The 1984 Washington Wilderness bill omitted lowland virgin forests in such places as the west fork of Cady Creek. The Henry M. Jackson Wilderness Area protected peaks above Monte Cristo, the Columbia Glacier and alpine meadows and along the Cascade Crest. But its boundaries featured big dents for big trees. Wild Sky fills in those dents. The goal was to achieve a wilderness where salmon spawn and families can wander through the ancient forest. The debate over Wild Sky featured none of the past wilderness battles during which, for instance, lines of logging trucks showed up in Wenatchee to oppose the then-proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area. "We not only passed a wilderness bill, we created a new model of how to create a wilderness bill," Larsen said.

An original proposal for 132,000 acres of wilderness was cut to 106,000 acres. Land used by snowmobiles was deleted from the bill. Yet, a powerful opponent did appear — Congress. Twice, the Senate gave unanimous approval to Wild Sky, only to see the legislation blocked by former House Resources Committee Chair Richard Pombo who proposed a "compromise" to excise low valleys and big trees. Murray and Larsen didn’t buy it. When Pombo was defeated for re-election in 2006, the House promptly passed Wild Sky. But the bill ran into another foe, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, who put a hold on it. After months of delay, Murray succeeded in dislodging it.

INTERFERING WITH THE SCIENTISTS

More than 800 U.S. EPA scientists reported some form of political interference in their work in the last five years, according to a survey of EPA staff by the Union of Concerned Scientists. UCS sent out some 5,500 questionnaires to EPA scientists and received some 1,580 responses. More than half the respondents asserted they had experienced political meddling of one kind or another in their work. Those most likely to report interference worked in offices involved in writing regulations or conducting risk assessments. Industry groups and the White House Office of Management and Budget were cited repeatedly by the EPA scientists as sources of pressure. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to EPA Director Stephen Johnson recently warning of a hearing on the UCS survey results next month. "These survey results suggest a pattern of ignoring and manipulating science in EPA's decision making," Waxman wrote.

REVERSING PROTECTIONS AGAINST DIRTY FUELS?

The 2007 energy bill includes a provision that prevents federal agencies from contracting to purchase liquid coal and other "dirty fuels," such as tar sands and oil shale, that produce more global warming pollution than conventional gasoline. But now dirty fuel supporters in Congress have introduced legislation that would repeal this provision that will help fight global warming, and energy companies are poised to market dirty fuels to the government at the first opportunity. The Air Force, for instance, is already pushing for a new liquid coal plant on its Malmstrom base in Montana. Liquid coal produces twice the global warming pollution of conventional gasoline. Relying on liquid coal fuel also would increase the harmful effects of coal mining, which means more mining in the Rockies and more mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. Investing in liquid coal is also financially unsound: while even under the most optimistic scenarios liquid coal could replace no more than 10 percent of our oil use, these plants would cost over four billion dollars each to build. It may be timely to encourage members of Congress to oppose legislation such as HR 5656 or any other legislation intended to repeal the dirty fuels provision of Section 526 of the 2007 energy bill.

FARM BILL, H.R.2419: To Veto or Not to Veto, That is the Question

Farm bill negotiators have released conference details of the Farm Bill they plan to bring to the House and Senate and urged President Bush to change his mind about vetoing it. Most funding would go for domestic and internal food assistance. The bill does address two key Bush requirements: Stay within a negotiated $10 billion increase over the baseline and use an extension of customs user fees as an offset, thus avoiding a tax increase. Among other items, the bill sets a $1 million cap on the adjusted gross income of conservation payment recipients. Bush wants stricter caps on commodity payments, but has not proposed a stricter cap on the incomes of conservation payments recipients. The bill will likely top $300 billion over 5 years. Bush faces a tough fight to sustain his veto, with key senators campaigning to convince him to change his mind.

Federal Priority Bills List for May, 2008

Bills seeing recent action, along with brief descriptions, dates of action and status Please address thoughts and/or questions to Steve Robinson at srobinson@nwifc.org (360 528-4347).

S.1578.RS Title: A bill to amend the Non-indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to establish vessel ballast water management requirements, etc. Sponsor: Sen Inouye,
Daniel K., D-HA (introduced 6/7/2007) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 3/3/2008 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 589.

S.1620 Title: A bill to provide the Coast Guard and NOAA with additional authorities under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, to strengthen the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, etc. Sponsor: Sen Cantwell, Maria, D-WA (introduced 6/14/2007) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 6/14/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

H.R.1769 Title: To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation on endangered Columbia River salmon, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Baird, Brian, D-WA (introduced 3/29/2007) Cosponsors (5) Latest Major Action: 8/2/2007 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

H.R. 1771 (Baldwin): To assist in the conservation of cranes by supporting and providing, through projects of persons and organizations with expertise in crane conservation, financial resources for the conservation programs of countries the activities of which directly or indirectly affect cranes and the ecosystems of cranes. “Crane Conservation Act of 2007“ Latest Major Action: 4/30/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.

S.1892.RS A bill to reauthorize the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2008. Sponsor: Sen Cantwell, Maria, D-WA (introduced 7/26/2007) Cosponsors (5) Committees: Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Senate Reports: 110-261 Latest Major Action: 2/5/2008 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 568.

S.2284 Title: An original bill to amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to restore the financial solvency of the flood insurance fund, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] (introduced 11/1/2007) Cosponsors (None) Related Bills: H.R.3121
Latest Major Action: 5/7/2008 Senate floor actions. Status: Measure laid before Senate by motion. Senate Reports: 110-214.

H.R.2400 : To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish an integrated Federal ocean and coastal mapping plan for the Great Lakes and coastal state waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone, and the Continental Shelf of the United States, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 5/21/2007) Cosponsors (5) Committees: House Natural Resources; House Science and Technology; Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Latest Major Action: 7/24/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

S.2670 Title: A bill to amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to ensure adequate funding for conservation and restoration of wildlife, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Johnson, Tim, D-SD (introduced /27/2008) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 2/27/2008 Referred to Senate Committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment

S.2739 (Sen. Bingaman) – Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.

Title: Related Bills: S.2179, S.2180, S.2483, S.2616 Latest Major Action: 5/1/2008 Presented to President. Makes amendments to various public laws, including the National Trails System Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998, the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996, the Oregon Resource Conservation Act of 1996, the Reclamation and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Steel and Aluminum Energy Conservation and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003.

H.R.2830, the Coast Guard Authorization bill. This legislation provides for a study of “regional response vessel and salvage capability for Olympic Peninsula Coast, Washington.” It also contains a provision prohibiting the discharge of ballast water in national marine sanctuaries.

Title: To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2008, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and title 18, United States Code, to combat the crime of
alien smuggling and related activities, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Oberstar, James L. [MN-8] (introduced 6/22/2007) Cosponsors (2) Related Bills: H.RES.1126, H.R.2399, S.1892
Latest Major Action: 4/28/2008 Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar.

H.AMDT.969 to H.R.2857 Amendment to add an Energy Conservation Corps, which would seek to address the nation's energy and transportation infrastructure needs while providing work and service opportunities. Sponsor: Rep Inslee, Jay . D-WA, (introduced 3/6/2008)
Latest Major Action: 3/6/2008 House amendment agreed to. Status

H.R.3891 Title: To amend the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of Directors on the Board of Directors of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Sponsor: Rep Brown, Henry E., Jr. [SC-1] (introduced 10/18/2007) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 4/1/2008. To Committee on Environment and Public Works.

H.R. 3981 Title: To authorize the Preserve America Program and Save America's Treasures Program, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13] (introduced 10/29/2007) Cosponsors (56) Related Bills: S.2262 Latest Major Action: 4/24/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held. Among other things, this bill would establishes the Preserve America Program, under which the Secretary of the Interior, in partnership with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, shall provide competitive grants to specified entities to support preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education, and historic preservation planning activities. It sets forth provisions regarding the designation of communities, tribal areas, and neighborhoods as Preserve America Communities.

H.R.5171 (S.240 ) Title: To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992. Sponsor: Rep Costa, Jim [CA-20] (introduced 1/29/2008) Cosponsors (6) Latest Major Action: 2/1/2008 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

H.R.5451 : To reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 2/14/2008) Cosponsors (14) Committees: House Natural Resources Latest Major Action: 2/28/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

H.R.5469 Title: To provide grants for the revitalization of waterfront brownfields. Sponsor: Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28] (introduced 2/14/2008) Cosponsors (20) Latest Major Action: 2/15/2008 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

H.R.5608 Title: Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments Act. Sponsor: Rep Rahall, Nick J., II[WV-3] (introduced 3/13/2008) Cosponsors (1) . Latest Major Action: 4/9/2008- Hearing held by the House Committee on Natural Resources. To establish regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials in the development of Federal policies that have tribal implications, to strengthen the United States government-to-government relationships with Indian tribes, and to reduce the imposition of unfunded mandates upon Indian tribes.

H.R.5618 : To reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 3/13/2008) Cosponsors (10) Committees: House Natural Resources Latest Major Action: 4/30/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Ordered to be reported.

H.R.5741 : To amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (
introduced 4/9/2008) Cosponsors(9) Committees: House Natural Resources. Latest Major Action: 4/16/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

The Puyallup Tribe of Indians counts outgoing salmon with a smolt trap in the lower Puyallup River, enabling them to estimate the productivity of the entire watershed. A smolt trap is a safe and effective way to capture and count juvenile salmon. Smolt refers to the term “smoltification,” a physiological process juvenile salmon undergo that allows them to migrate from fresh to salt water.

According to recently analyzed data, fewer than 10,000 wild chinook migrated from the Puyallup watershed last year, down from a peak of 60,000 fish in 2005. On the other hand, over 100,000 pink salmon have left the system so far this year.

“There are only a few places where chinook can spawn throughout the Puyallup watershed, so one flood can do terrible damage to an entire run,” said Russ Ladley, resource protection manager for the Puyallup Tribe. “But, if we get lucky and have good weather, salmon production can go way up.”

Historically, floods were not as damaging to juvenile salmon. “Development and urbanization have changed the watershed so much with diking and paving that even minor flooding can do incredible damage to young fish,” Ladley said.

South Prairie Creek near Orting and the upper Puyallup River watershed near Mt. Rainier are the two remaining strongholds for chinook spawning in the watershed. “There are only a few places where development hasn’t ruined good spawning habitat,” Ladley said.

Low numbers of juvenile chinook migrating out to the ocean this year will mean even fewer adult chinook returning three and four years from now, leading to restricted fisheries. “Chinook fisheries on the Puyallup, even fisheries on abundant hatchery stocks, are driven by the number of wild chinook returning in a particular year,” Ladley said. Puyallup River chinook are part of the Puget Sound stock listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act.

“To sustain strong chinook runs from year to year, the fish need habitat to support them,” Ladley said. “In the past few years the tribe has worked with partners throughout the watershed to restore habitat for juvenile salmon, but those projects have only covered a fraction of the entire watershed.”

(END)

For more information, contact: Russ Ladley, resource protection manager, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, (253) 845-9225. Chris Phinney, harvest management biologist, Puyallup Tribe, (253) 845-9225. Emmett O’Connell, information officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwifc.org.

The Puyallup Tribe’s smolt trap report is available here.

The Squaxin Island tribe, concerned about salmon in the Johns Creek watershed near Shelton, has asked the state to halt drilling of new wells in the area.

The tribe filed a petition with the state Department of Ecology, saying wells are drawing water that normally would flow into the creek during summer.

“If summer flows were just at the minimum required, we would see 20 percent more spawning habitat available for summer chum salmon,” John Konovsky, environmental program manager for the tribe, said in a statement.

More information, including the petition itself, is available here.

“Summer flows on Johns Creek are already below the minimum required by state rules to protect salmon spawning” said Jim Peters, chairman of the Squaxin Island Tribe. “The responsible thing to do is for everyone to stop new water withdrawals and figure out what’s really going on with the creek, especially because the impact of over 270 exempt wells drilled in the last 25 years has never been quantified.”

The tribe is filing the notice under a provision of state law that closes a watershed from future withdrawals if not enough information is available to justify those withdrawals. Development of a groundwater model as proposed by the Tribe and the city of Shelton would have answered many of the questions surrounding Johns Creek, but funding for the model was denied by DOE.

Some winter rainfall seeps into the ground and provides both drinking water and summer stream flow for Johns Creek. Because wells draw water from the same aquifers that discharge into Johns Creek, when these wells are pumped there is less water in nearby streams for fish. “A groundwater model could have been used to identify where and when water can be taken from wells that would have little or no impact on stream flows,” said John Konovsky, environmental program manager for the Tribe.

Johns Creek is home to a small and fragile population of summer chum that is being harmed by increasingly low water levels. “If summer flows were just at the minimum required, we would see 20 percent more spawning habitat available for summer chum salmon,” Konovsky said.

The approximately 13,000 acre watershed northeast of Shelton has been the center of recent economic and residential development efforts. “We simply don’t know how much water is available for people to use near Johns Creek,” Peters said. “You can’t just assume there is enough there for development to happen, you have to do the science first.”
The Tribe expects the Department of Ecology to respond to the petition within the 60-day period required by law. “We’re watching Johns Creek wither away because water is a finite resource,” Peters said. “We need to make sure we know what we’re doing.”

(END)

For more information, contact: Jeff Dickison, Assistant Natural Resources Director, Squaxin Island Tribe, (360) 432-3815. John Konovsky, Environmental Program Manager, Squaxin Island Tribe, (360) 432-3804. Emmett O’Connell, Information Officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304.

PDF file of the petition sent to Department of Ecology
PDF file of a map of the area in question.

SEATAC (April 10, 2008) – The tribal and state salmon co-managers have crafted a package of fisheries that will protect weak wild runs of coho and chinook salmon throughout Puget Sound and coastal Washington. The co-managers agreed on a conservation-based fishing package that protects weak wild runs by focusing efforts on abundant hatchery runs.

“While the picture for chinook is overall pretty good this year, some fisheries needed to be trimmed from last year’s levels to protect weak chinook runs to some rivers,” said Lorraine Loomis, fisheries manager with the Swinomish Tribe and lead negotiator for the treaty tribes.

A low run of Stillaguamish chinook in particular forced the salmon co-managers to constrain some fisheries this year. “In Puget Sound salmon fisheries are constrained by how many wild fish are returning in any given year,” Loomis said.

Ocean fisheries are also constrained based on weak stocks. “We understand what California and Oregon are going through with the health of their freshwater systems,” said Russ Svec, fisheries program manager for the Makah Tribe. “We could be facing the same situation in the future up here and we’re working with our co-managers to restore and protect salmon habitat. But, we’re not there yet, so in the future we’d like to work towards resolving habitat problems that limit our access to ocean fisheries.”

“We worked through tough issues by listening to everyone’s needs and coming up with a good overall package,” Loomis said. “Not all fishermen are getting what they want, but the most important thing is the salmon get what they need.”

“We started this year with a dialogue between tribal and non-tribal fishermen on the condition of our fisheries and salmon habitat,” said Terry Williams, Fish and Natural Resource Commissioner for the Tulalip Tribes. “As the process evolved, we had to get past the ‘me first’ argument for particular fisheries and craft a plan that was best for the salmon.”

“We will have low returns of wild fish for the foreseeable future because natural salmon production has been lost to damaged and vanishing habitat,” said Billy Frank Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

“You can’t make mistakes when planning fisheries that might impact weak wild runs, so we approach this very cautiously,” said Frank. “The salmon are too important. If we err, it must be on the side of conservation and letting salmon reach the spawning grounds.”

The Seattle PI’s environmental blog also wrote about the Weekday show here.

You can listen to the entire show here, but here’s a bit of what Dave said:

Tribal and nontribal fishermen may have their differences in background and culture, but they share a passion for telling fish stories.

“We all, as fishermen, get that bug in the springtime,” said Ray Fryberg, fisheries manager for the Tulalip Tribe in Northern Puget Sound. “When you get that seaweed smell from the beach, you know its time to clean up the boat and get ready to go.”

Late Tuesday afternoon, more than 50 people involved in negotiating this year’s salmon seasons in Washington state took a two-hour break from the technical discussions. For the first time in about 15 years, they sat together around a table and spoke of their love for salmon.

…

Curt Kramer, a retired state biologist and self-professed troublemaker, said he recalls fishing trips with his grandfather, and now he’s teaching his grandchildren to fish.

“I want to remind people in this group that we are not enemies; we are allies, natural allies,” Kramer said. “We have a passion for fish. I have seen this process work. When we stand shoulder to shoulder, we almost always win the day.”

The process he mentioned is known as North of Falcon, because it involves setting salmon harvests among all fishers — tribal and nontribal, sport and commercial — in an area from Cape Falcon in Oregon to the Canadian border. State and tribal managers may bicker at times, but they know that a serious disagreement will lead to a painful legal battle.

The entire piece is well worth the read (find it here).

This is the second time in recent months that leaders from the treaty tribes in Western Washington sat down with their counterparts in the natural resources world. Back in November, the commissioners of the NWIFC and the WDFW met for the first time in years..

The salmon population in the Hylebos Creek is growing thanks to the work of students at Spring Valley Montessori School in Federal Way.

Every year for nearly 20 years, students at Spring Valley annually raise salmon from eggs to fingerlings, then release them into a creek that feeds into the Hylebos. The salmon are about two inches long when they are released.

…

Staff at Spring Valley contacted state and local officials for help. The Puyallup Indian tribe provides a tank and salmon eggs each year. Third- and fourth-grade students feed the fish and watch them grow.

“It was pretty fun,” said fourth-

grader Nicholas Crossman. “We got to feed the fish. We got to look after them. We tried not to forget to feed the fish.”

Students learned about the different stages of a salmon’s life and how to be good environmental stewards, Crossman said.

“We learned that pollution can kill a lot of fish and other marine wildlife… Even plastic can kill fish,” he said. “We learned a lot about how reducing pollutants can give the salmon a better chance at surviving.”

A Puyallup Tribe biologist told school officials that 15 percent of the 500 salmon released each year make it back to the area to spawn, Kayihan said.

“It’s a beautiful craft,” said resource technician Dave George Krise of the Squaxin Island Tribe as the Travelift approached to hoist the tribe’s new barge from the shipyard to the boat haven.

With the boat at the dock, still suspended over the water, Jay Brevik, president of Lee Shore Boats Inc., stood at her bow with a bottle of champagne.

“I got the privilege of breaking the champagne bottle,” said Brevik, since Krise had already ceremonially blessed it with burnt sage in the Native American tradition.

Both traditions welcomed Lee Shore Boats’ first aluminum barge.

Brevik says that this project is a significant departure. Lee Shore Boats specializes in conventional mono-hulled boats. “We’re very proud of the quality. Everyone is just marveling that we can build a boat like this from aluminum.”

Riprap speeds the river’s flow, eliminating resting areas important to fish. It prevents rivers from creating natural logjams that are important in creating diverse fish habitat. Adding riprap is like putting a straitjacket on the river. It eliminates natural bends, eddies and pools that help control flooding while providing spawning and rearing habitat for fish.

Tourism and fishing are dual economic engines on the north Olympic Peninsula. Keeping the road open at the expense of fish habitat ultimately takes money from the region’s fishing-based economy. The twin pressures of increased flooding and decreased habitat easily could put Hoh River fish populations in a decline from which they cannot recover.

Read the entire thing here.

Note: This is a “short” 60-day Session, scheduled to end on March 14 (although there has already been significant discussion on “The Hill” about trying to wrap things up early. The first bill cutoff deadline is February 8. Between now and then you can expect hundreds of bills to be introduced, many of which should prove interesting. A copy of the Session Cutoff schedule is attached to the email version of this newsletter, and reminders of cutoffs will be provided during Session.

PRIORITY BILLS
Once again, NWIFC will distribute Priority Bills Lists, intended to help keep tribes informed of specific bills being introduced. Note that hearings on many of these bills are already being conducted. Now is the time to contact your legislators to weigh-in on these bills. Remember that the fate of most is essentially decided before public hearings are held. See the end of this newsletter for the current Priority Bills List. As Session continues, our intent is to provide recommendations on the top priority bills, based on our analyses and on directions we receive from member tribes. If at any time there is unforeseen disagreement with any such position, please notify Steve Robinson immediately. (Thanks!)

HOT SHEETS
Legislative Hot Sheets will also be issued to NWIFC member tribes each week, to help make it easier to identify hearings and work sessions key to tribal natural resource management and related issues. The Hot Sheet for this week has already been distributed to tribes.

CONFERENCE CALLS SCHEDULED
Once again this year, NWIFC will host weekly “Fridays at 3″ conference calls between tribes and the Department of Ecology. These will commence on January 25 (not this week, but next) and will continue as long as there is interest. Also, feel free to touch bases with Steve Robinson before or after that call for briefings sans DOE. If there is enough interest, additional conference calls will be scheduled as required. Note: State Representative Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, Chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, has requested an opportunity to “meet” with the tribes each week. Efforts are currently underway to determine the best way to achieve that.

“LOBBYISTS”
Many tribes employ their own lobbyists, many of whom are geared toward issues other than natural resources and the environment. However, in many cases they also take an interest in natural resource-related issues. For the tribes to put their best, united, foot forward in the Legislature, it’s important to coordinate our efforts. If you haven’t already done so, please contact Steve Robinson to inform him of the name and contact information for such representatives. (Thanks!)

LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND/ROSTER, ETC.
Attached to the email version of this newsletter, please find a link to the Olympian’s Legislative Special Section. This section includes some valuable tools, including a full roster of the members of the Legislature, a list of committees with membership, information on parking at the Legislature, a State Capitol map, etc. We hope you find this useful. We can also provide information about the passage of a bill, legislative leadership or anything else you request. A copy of “How A Bill Becomes A Law” is attached to the email version of this newsletter, fyi.

BACKGROUNDING THE LEGISLATORS—JANUARY 21, 2008
In addition to other information provided to legislators during Session, NWIFC always provides a lunch or dinner session intended to provide members of the Legislature some special background information about the tribes related to natural resource management. This year the approach is a little different. NWIFC is teaming up with Salmon Defense to present the new docu-drama “Shadow of the Salmon” in the interest of providing a primer/reminder to the state’s lawmakers about tribal perspectives on the environment. The film will show in House Hearing Room B of the John O’Brien Building, at noon on January 21 (Martin Luther King Day). All legislators, staffers and members of the Capitol Press Corps are being invited. All tribes are also encouraged to attend. Lunch will be provided.

SOME BILLS AND ISSUES
One primary concern going into this year’s session stems from the flood damage in several Washington counties this past month. Already a few legislators have asked what’s more important—people or salmon. While there are obvious needs for relief, support and reconstruction related to the flood, there will be an ongoing need to be wary of those taking advantage of the “opportunity” to reduce protections for fish and wildlife habitat. One bill pertaining directly to such concerns is HB 2525, ” Allowing for the mitigation of flood damage without obtaining a permit.” This bill, sponsored by Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, would among other things add a new chapter to RCW 77.55 which would exempt reparation activities in any area declared an emergency by the Governor from HPA permits. The Department of Fish and Wildlife would be permitted to “publish nonbinding best management practices related to mitigating flood damage in a manner most beneficial to fish life.”

The question we must concern ourselves with is whether such projects, e.g., dikes, dams, bridges, might go too far. Please view the bill here: HB 2525. Comments on this issue will be appreciated.

In another arena is SB 5938, “Providing a unified means for handling both Indian and non-Indian graves and cemeteries,” will apparently be heard on January 22 (watch for next week’s Legislative Hot Sheet for final confirmation of time and location). Some tribes are gearing up to testify on this important legislation already. More details to follow. (This bill really only gives requirements for reporting but that’s more than currently exists.)

“Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks came through for us Indian people, but really, everyone benefits from the work we do to preserve, protect and restore our natural resources,” said Billy Frank, Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

The omnibus funding bill signed by the President Dec. 20 restores $1.8 million for tribal participation in the Pacific Salmon Treaty. That brings total tribal funding to near status quo funding of $4.1 million. The funding is shared by tribes in western Washington and along the Columbia River, as well as the Metlakatla Indian community in Southeast Alaska.

The PST was negotiated by the U.S. and Canada in 1985 to address trans-boundary salmon management issues. As natural resource co-managers in western Washington, the treaty tribes’ participation in implementing the PST is critical to reaching the shared goals of protecting, sharing and restoring the salmon resource.

Joint multi-year management agreements for chinook, chum and coho are expiring and will be re-negotiated in 2008. Strong tribal participation in the negotiations will help ensure a positive outcome for the salmon and the people of the Pacific Northwest, Frank said.

Also restored as a result of the Washington delegation’s efforts was $1.7 million for tribal participation in the Timber Fish Wildlife agreement. With $2.5 million in state funding, the tribes have recovered near status quo funding of $4.2 million for FY 08.

TFW was born in 1987 and is a national model of cooperative conservation. TFW brings together treaty Indian tribes, state and federal agencies, environmental groups and private forest landowners in a holistic statewide approach to natural resource management that ensures protection for salmon and wildlife while providing for the economic health of the timber industry.

“We thank the delegation for its vision in obtaining this funding for the tribes, especially in this time of tight budget constraints. They realize the need for the tribes to be active participants in the management of Washington’s natural resources, and we thank them for their hard work,” Frank said.

(END)

For more information, contact: Mike Grayum, NWIFC executive director, (360) 438-1181; Tony Meyer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4325.

This round of SRF Board funding was interesting in another way. Five different watershed groups in Puget Sound voluntarily pooled a portion of their grant money to further a 700-acre restoration in the Nisqually River and delta. Everyone recognized the value of this $10-million project, which will increase the amount of estuarine habitat in South Puget Sound by 46 percent. This collaboration on a single project has generated a lot of good will among the watershed groups and, I believe, made them feel more like a family.

Here’s a press release on the same topic.

“Juvenile salmon from all across South Sound use the Nisqually estuary, so restoring it would mean healthier salmon populations for all of our watersheds,” said Amy Hatch-Winecka, salmon recovery coordinator for the Deschutes and Kennedy/Goldsborough watersheds.

Five South Sound watershed groups are tasked with organizing salmon recovery projects within their own boundaries. Funding for the neighboring watershed groups is coming from the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRF Board). The SRF Board process allows local communities to nominate and rank their own salmon restoration projects.

Each watershed group is donating a significant amount toward the restoration project
• The Deschutes River watershed, $300,000
• Kennedy Creek/Goldsborough watershed, $262,000
• Puyallup River watershed, $200,000
• West Sound Watersheds Council (Key Peninsula), $165,000

“Not only did the Nisqually watershed step forward to help this estuary restoration become a reality, but the four other South Sound watersheds are also contributing in a very significant way,” said Jean Takekawa, refuge manager at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. “They recognized this greater good. This is an example of how we can all reach across our boundaries to restore Puget Sound.”

The Nisqually watershed organization is also putting $1.5 million allocated through the SRF Board process toward the estuary restoration. “Typically, these local watershed groups fund projects within their own watersheds,” said Jeanette Dorner, salmon recovery program manager for the Nisqually Tribe. “But, we have decided that pooling our resources here makes the most sense.”

In addition to Nisqually River chinook and steelhead, both listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, salmon from across the South Sound use the Nisqually estuary. For example, over a quarter of the tagged juvenile salmon sampled during a four-year study of juvenile fish in the Nisqually estuary were from other watersheds in the Sound including the Puyallup, Minter Creek on Key Peninsula, and the Deschutes River.

Levees around 700 acres of former estuary will be torn down, allowing the tide to inundate a former cattle ranch that is now the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. This restoration is in addition to a 140-acre project by the Nisqually Tribe. The Nisqually estuary is one of the last large estuaries in Puget Sound that can still be so fully restored. Most large estuaries, such as the Puyallup River in Tacoma or the Duwamish in Seattle, have been converted into deep-water industrial ports.

(END)

For more information, contact: Jean Takekawa, Refuge Manager, Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, (360) 753-9467. Jeanette Dorner, salmon recovery program manager, Nisqually Indian Tribe, (360) 438-8687. Emmett O’Connell, South Sound information officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwifc.org

Thank you for reading this. Sometimes I think if you didn’t read this no one would. But you do. I know this because you send me the most wonderful cards and letters. For example, lately I was accused of presenting a one sided view of American history where the Native Americans helped the first European settlers in the new world only to be repaid for their kindness by being “wiped off the map.”

The reader(s) complained that this scenario ignores the fact that the Indians were savages known for scalping people, sometimes when they were still alive.

That’s got to hurt however, I should point out, the Indians did not invent the practice of scalping. Back in the dark and distant days of our history, scalping was a common practice of many different races, creeds and colors. White men were known to scalp Indians to claim the bounty. Which begs the question, who were the savages?

The Indians of the North Olympic Peninsula never scalped anyone. They were head hunters! Despite this fact, the historical records of the earliest pioneers tell how their survival often depended upon the kindness of the Indians in providing food, shelter, transportation and intelligence in what was a raw and dangerous wilderness.

There could be many reasons for this beyond the natural hospitality of the Native American culture.

There was trade. The Europeans wanted furs, gold and women. The Indians wanted metal, alcohol and gun powder.

The resulting clash of cultures gave us the treachery and slaughter of the fur trade. With the extinction of the sea otter the fur trade died out. This did not stop successive waves of American pioneers from coming here seeking free land.

American claims to the North Olympic Peninsula could not be validated until the Indian ownership of the land was extinguished. That’s where the treaties came in. Once the Indians were put on to reservations, their lands could be thrown open to homesteaders.

In return for their lands, the tribes were granted the rights to fish, clam and whale as long as the sun would shine and the grass would grow etc.

At the time these resources were seen as inexhaustible. Since then however, the fish have become endangered, the clams have been polluted and whale watching has replaced whaling as an industry. This leaves many of us wondering who is to blame for our natural resources becoming endangered?

As a fishing guide, you’d think I would be the first to blame the Indians for the endangered fish. And why not? The Indians gill net the rivers. Every dead wild steelhead in a gillnet is one less I can catch. Every wild steelhead I catch and release is one more the tribes can net and kill as the result of the lost opportunity clause of the Boldt decision.

Our fish are the casualties of a war where both sides tried to kill as many as they could simply because they could. The fish that are left are being plundered by a cabal of government employed environmental carpetbaggers pandering junk science as an excuse for responsible management.

It would almost be too easy to blame the tribal nets for the poor fishing except for one thing. Two things actually, the lower Quinault and Sooes Rivers. They are managed by the tribes exclusively for gill net fishing and yet they can provide the best sport fishing we have.

What do these two rivers have in common? The State of Washington has nothing to do with them.

Think about that the next time you blame the Indians for the fishing.

Segment A:

Segment B:

In their current forms, both the House and Senate proposals top Bush’s request for BIA. They both include $7 million for the shellfish settlement, but from there they differ. The House figure is $4 million over the President’s request, but still short of restoring budget cuts. There will have to be a compromise on this amount with the Senate, as well as earmark strategies. The Senate bill includes an earmark for TFW/FFR of $1.74 million and $1.8 million to restore the Pacific Salmon Treaty Implementation dollars cut in Bush’s request. Neither bill includes mass marking monies, but Rep. Norm Dicks says he will see that the BIA provides funding to the tribes for this project. The bill doesn’t add funding for hatchery maintenance/rehabilitation. It reduces the forestry account that supports SSHIAP, but tribes have been assured by the BIA that SSHIAP will continue to be funded. The House bill includes $15 million for the Puget Sound Partnership in EPA’s budget, but the Senate only has $1 million. The Senate has included $90 million in the Commerce bill for the PCSRF, while the House bill has only $65 million.

To view the status of appropriations bills, click on http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app08.html.

BUSH PROCLAIMS AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH
Even if Bush’s proposed budgets fall well short of meeting tribal natural resources management needs, he apparently thinks of tribes in November. On Halloween Day, he issued a proclamation declaring November as National American Indian Heritage Month. "American Indians and Alaska Natives continue to shape our nation by preserving the heritage of their ancestors and by contributing to the rich diversity that is our country’s strength. Their dedicated efforts to honor their proud heritage have helped others gain a deeper understanding of the vibrant and ancient customs of the Native American community. We also express our gratitude to the American Indians and Alaska Natives who serve in our Nation’s military and work to extend the blessings of liberty around the world," the proclamation states. Bush said his administration is "committed to supporting the American Indian and Alaska Native cultures." He also said he is committed to the government-to-government relationship.

PRESIDENT CLINTON: SEE GLOBAL WARMING AS AN OPPORTUNITY
Over the past several months, the U.S. House and Senate have considered numerous pieces of energy legislation, some of which were filled with landmark energy and vehicle efficiency provisions designed to reduce global warming pollution. But right now, passage of final legislation is at a standstill. Nonetheless, in a recent speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Seattle, former President Bill Clinton urged that the fight against global warming be viewed as an economic opportunity. He told the mayors that fighting global warming is a chance to create good jobs and give an economic boost to the middle class, to save cities and residents money with improved energy-efficiency. "It is a godsend," he said. "It is not castor oil that we have to drink. It is in my view, for the United States, the greatest economic opportunity that we’ve had since we mobilized for World War II. And if we do it right, it will produce job gains and income gains substantially greater than those produced in the 1990s when I had the privilege to be president."

GLOBAL WARMING LEGISLATION
Presidential Candidate John Edwards set the pace in global warming for his competitors recently when he came out against the current version of the global warming legislation being pushed by Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-CT (S.280) and John Warner, R-VA (H.R.620). Edwards pointed out that this is the major global warming legislation moving in Congress and it is deeply flawed. The legislation gives away $436 billion worth of pollution permits to corporate polluters in the coal and fossil fuels industries. It gives away 76 percent of carbon credits in the first year. It also sends hundreds of billions of dollars worth of auction revenue back to the coal industry over the years. Instead of rewarding polluters, environmentalists say auction revenues should be used for things like energy efficiency, clean transportation, offsetting the bill’s costs for the poor, and adaptation for a warming planet. They also say the bill fails to adequately address global warming. Scientists say that to avoid catastrophe, we must launch an immediate effort to cut global warming pollution to 80 to 90 percent of 1990 levels by 2050. This bill takes a long time to get started and undershoots the 2050 goal by 20 percent. 

BUSH VETO ON WATER BILL OVERRIDDEN
By a 79-14 vote, the Senate has overridden a veto by Bush, enacting a $23 billion Water Resources Development Act bill into law over his objections. The override had long been expected, since the Senate approved the conference report on the bill by an 81-12 vote in late September. The House voted 361-54 to override the veto, setting the stage for the Senate vote. The WRDA package, H.R.1495, includes Army Corps of Engineers water infrastructure projects from around the country (including the Green/Duwamish and projects in eastern Washington and hundreds of other critical projects throughout the country resulting from hurricane damage, floods and deteriorated wetlands). The incident is reflective of an increasingly confrontational Bush and it may be a sign of things to come from Congress. Bush has used the veto five times. Four of those have been since the democrats took control of Congress in January. Hypocritically, his rationale in vetoing the legislation was fiscal irresponsibility. Rather than admitting to being a pot calling a kettle black, he made the bill part of a broader effort to take on Democratic leaders frequently and more pointedly. The water project legislation originally approved by the Senate would have cost $14 billion and the House version would have totaled $15 billion. Bush and a few Republicans complained that the final version was larded with unneeded pet projects pushed by individual lawmakers – sending the overall cost of the bill much higher. "Only in Washington could the House take a $14 billion bill into a conference with the Senate’s $15 billion bill and emerge with a compromise that costs taxpayers over $23 billion," said White House press secretary Dana Perino.

A.G. APPOINTEE BE CONFIRMED?
The Senate has confirmed Bush appointee Michael Mukasey for U.S. Attorney General. Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy, D-VT, and other members of the committee had expressed grave concerns about the candidate, though Senators Charles Schumer, D- NY and Dianne Feinstein, D-CA followed through on their decision to confirm him. Joined by the republican members of the committee, the two democrats’ votes put Mukasey over the top. The focal issue on the nomination was water boarding—an interrogation technique that human rights groups describe as torture. Mukasey, a former federal judge, had responded to questions about the technique in a vague and non-committal manner. Research conducted by Federal Update revealed very few indicators of how the candidate might approach any tribal issues, beyond some priority placed on intellectual property protection by his current law. A recent editorial by the New York Times held that the Constitution and federal statute are the supreme law of the land—the same supreme law intended to enforce treaties—and that the president is not above this law.

OCEAN AGREEMENT AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW
The West Coast Agreement on Ocean Health, a tri-state governor-to-governor level agreement developed in response to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and Pew Ocean reports, is finally available for review. See the agreement by clicking on the following website link: <http://westcoastoceans.gov/images/clear.gif>. From initial glance, it appears that the interaction with tribes on this agreement has been less than stellar. Although there are apparently good things happening with this agreement, tribal inclusion is almost nil. Tribes are mentioned a few times in the agreement, but they are omitted in several instances where they could be specifically acknowledged, e.g., in science/data sharing, government-to-government relations and direct tribal funding. The agreement is under more intensive review and a response being drafted (the deadline is December 1). NWIFC will share its analysis with tribes in the near future.

NATIVE HAWAIIAN BILL
Some Native Hawaiians have come out against the Native Hawaiian Recognition Act, H.R. 505, which has passed the House by a vote of 261 – 153. The bill is designed to afford Native Hawaiians the same self-governance rights held by American Indians and Alaska Natives. Opponents say it will place Hawaiian governance under the U.S. Department of the Interior.

WEIGHING IN ON THE VALDEZ
The Supreme Court today said it would consider whether Exxon Mobil Corp. should pay punitive damages for one of the costliest oil spills in history. The company was originally ordered to pay $5 billion after the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground and spilled 11 million gallons of oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. A federal appeals court cut the amount in half. In the case it took today, the high court will determine whether the company should pay any punitive damages. The case will be heard next spring.

ON THE FARM FRONT
Schaefer Nominated Agriculture Secretary
Bush has announced his nomination of former North Dakota Gov. Edward Schafer to be his next Agriculture Secretary. Schafer, who served two terms as governor but chose not to run again in 2000, will replace Mike Johanns, who resigned as secretary last month to run for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. USDA has been led in the interim by acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner.

Investing in Washington’s Farmers
Senator Maria Cantwell has announced that the 2007 Farm Bill was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee—a bill that includes strong provisions to benefit Washington state farmers.  Washington farmers grow more than 250 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and specialty crops such as apples, cherries, and asparagus.  The state is ranked first in the nation in the production of these specialty crops which are huge economic drivers, providing for over 50 percent of the state’s agriculture economy. Senator Cantwell said her top priority in this year’s Farm Bill was working through the Finance Committee to make sure that local farmers got “the help they need.”  

HASTINGS BILL: PROTECT KENNEWICK MAN
Recently introduced legislation in the House, sponsored by Rep. Doc Hastings, would protect the opportunity for scientific study of ancient remains such as Kennewick Man. He proposed the legislation in response to a bill quietly approved by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs last month that Hastings said would effectively block the scientific study of ancient skeletal remains discovered on federal lands. "This change, tucked into what is being called a technical corrections bill, is very far from a minor ‘technical correction,’" Hastings said of the Senate bill. "It is a fundamental shift in existing law and would overturn a decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals." In 2004, eight years after the 9,300-year-old bones of Kennewick Man were found on the banks of the Columbia River, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the bones would not be turned over to the tribes. Instead, scientists were allowed to study them. The ruling found that Congress had intended the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, to apply to remains only if a significant relationship could be shown to present-day tribes.

DOI TRIBAL SELF GOVERNANCE ACT
Jamestown S’Klallam Chair Ron Allen was among those who testified on H.R. 3994 on November 8 before the House Resources Committee. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Dan Boren, D-OK, would amend the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to provide further self-governance by tribes. The bill authorizes Interior to enter into compacts with tribes to manage federal programs. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Special Trustee and other Interior bureaus, offices and agencies are covered. Chairman Allen supported the legislation, and described the major benefits Self-Governance has brought to participating tribes. Access his and other testimony at this link: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=54&extmode=view&extid=124 (Click on the names of the individual panel members.) Click on the following link to access the bill itself: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.03994:   

THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY BILL

The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, H.R.505 by Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-HA passed committee and was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on October 26. (The Senate version of the bill, S.310 by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-HA, was ordered reported from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in May.) This legislation addresses the policy of the United States with Native Hawaiians and seeks to provide a recognition process for a Native Hawaiian governing entity. The bills are generating a lot of attention in the nation’s capitol as this is farther than they have ever progressed. The legislation establishes the U.S. Office for Native Hawaiian Relations within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior establishes the Native Hawaiian Interagency Coordinating Group and recognizes the right of the Native Hawaiian people to provide for their common welfare and adopt appropriate organic governing documents.

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Tribal representatives provided an overview of the legal history and importance of the co-manager relationship and the need to continue working together on behalf of fish and wildlife.

Planning for the upcoming salmon season setting process also was a focus of the meeting. Discussion ranged from how to improve communication to a proposal by the state commissioners to assume a more active role in the planning process.

Members of each commission also reiterated the importance of protecting and restoring salmon habitat.

While no meeting date was set, tribal and state commission members said they expect similar meetings in the future.

The meeting can be viewed on TVW at www.tvw.org

Both the House and Senate bills include $7 million for the shellfish settlement, but from there they differ.  The House figure is $4 million over the President’s request, but still short of restoring budget cuts. There will have to be a compromise on this amount with the Senate, as well as earmark strategies.

The Senate bill includes an earmark for TFW/FFR of $1.74 million and $1.8 million to restore the Pacific Salmon Treaty Implementation dollars cut in the President’s request.  Neither bill includes mass marking monies, but Congressman Dicks has said he will see that the BIA provides funding to the tribes for this project. The bill doesn’t add funding for hatchery maintenance/rehabilitation. It reduces the forestry account that supports SSHIAP, but tribes have been assured by the BIA that SSHIAP will continue to be funded.

The House bill includes $15 million for the Puget Sound Partnership in EPA’s budget, but the Senate only has $1 million. The Senate has included $90 million in the Commerce bill for the PCSRF, while the House bill has only $65 million.

The House-Senate Conference for both the Interior bill and the Commerce bill will likely occur in November or early December.  In the meantime, we are operating under a continuing resolution extending monies until November 16. Depending on the veto situation, a budget could be in place soon, at least for Interior. The alternative may be another CR situation, like FY 2007. To view the status of appropriations bills, click on http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app08.html.

BUSH TO PROPOSE BALANCED BUDGET PROPOSAL
President Bush has announced that he will present a five-year budget proposal on February 5, 2008, which will show reducing budget deficits and a balanced budget by 2012. He said the budget will achieve balance while addressing critical needs. He also called for earmark reform and said that his tax relief program has spurred robust economic growth and rising wages. For more information, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/budget/2008/index.html.

OIL SPILL LEGISLATION
Early in the 2007 U.S. Senate Session, Sen. Maria Cantwell introduced legislation to help provide the level of protection needed to avert disastrous oil spills on the coast and in Puget Sound. One Valdez-like spill could prove catastrophic to fisheries throughout the region, and a tug at Neah Bay has kept many such disasters from occurring. Cantwell’s bill, which would provide needed funding for an adequate year ‘round tug, was subsequently folded into the Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill. The Coast Guard reauthorization bill has passed the Commerce Committee and the committee report is nearly done. Once it is done, the report will be sent to the Senate floor for a vote.  But, according to Cantwell aid Jeffrey Waters, there are obstacles to overcome. One of the strongest of these may be opposition from Senator James Inhofe, R-OK.  Senator Cantwell’s main concern is figuring how to deal with this obstacle without compromising too much (or at all) on the bill’s original intent.  Generally, one senator can block a bill, because most things pass the Senate by unanimous consent and do not have to be set for floor time, which is a precious commodity and difficult to get.  If the opposing senator does block the bill’s path to unanimous consent, and the Senate doesn’t give the bill floor time for a floor discussion and vote, the bill may die. Another challenge is that the companion bill in the House apparently has no oil spill provisions.  Rep. Norm Dicks has made efforts, and says he will continue to make efforts to add the oil spill provisions to the House version of the bill—but, so far, to no avail.

INTERIOR COMPUTER SYSTEM INVESTIGATED
DOI’s Inspector General has launched an investigation into a $149 million computer system that could be considered a "profound failure."  In a 131-page report, Inspector General Earl E. Devaney said he became aware of the problems associated with the system while investigating the Minerals Management Service. The agency commissioned the system in 1999 to handle over $8 billion in oil and gas payments on federal and Indian lands. But eight years and $149 million later, the Minerals Revenue Management Support System doesn’t appear to be living up to its goals. Interior employees have complained the federal government, tribal governments and individual Indians have lost millions of dollars because the system doesn’t work as promised.

Some typical employees’ complaints about the system have been that it takes twice as long to complete common tasks and it failed to bill and collect interest from energy companies who drill on federal and Indian lands. MMS managers had a scapegoat though—the Cobell trust fund litigation. In December 2001, a federal judge ordered Interior to remove its Indian trust systems from the Internet due to inadequate security. The disconnect kept the MRM Support System offline for three months. But in interview with the Inspector General, MMS managers repeatedly blamed the litigation for creating a "backlog" of interest bills owed by energy companies. Even after MMS got back on the Internet in March 2002, the Bush administration waited more than four years to address the backlog. The Interior Department has a troubled history with computer systems. In the 1990s, the Bureau of Land Management scrapped a $400 million records system because it never worked properly. BIA has spent more than $40 million on the Trust Asset Accounting and Management System but it’s not working well either. The department’s overall computer system has been rated one of the worst in the government due to lax security. The Bush administration says it has spent over $100 million to improve the Indian trust systems but they remain off the Internet to this day.

ENDANGERED SPECIES TASK CREDIT APPROVED BY FINANCE COMMITTEE
The Senate Finance Committee has approved a new tax credit for property owners who help protect endangered species, marking a rare agreement between property-rights advocates and environmentalists. The credit would offer landowners an incentive to donate conservation easements or take more active steps to restore a species’ habitat. It would fill a gap in the Endangered Species Act by helping to protect critical habitat on private land, said Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-AR, who worked on the bill with Sen. Michael D. Crapo, R-ID. She said it provides a dedicated stream of funding “to the very people who are in the best position to address these challenges, and that’s the owners of private land.”

Chairman Max Baucus, D-MT., said he does not know when the bill will reach the floor. It could be a unanimous-consent candidate because of its broad support, he said. The bill would prevent property owners from claiming tax benefits for actions they were required to take under existing law. It also would make permanent a deduction for conservation easements and extend a deduction for rehabilitating contaminated sites. The only major opposition to the bill had nothing to do with endangered species. It came in response to the committee’s decision on how to pay for the $3.2 billion bill. The entire amount would come from a change in the tax treatment of so-called sale-in, lease-out deals. A 2004 tax law changed the rules for such transactions completed after March 12, 2004. The Senate Finance bill would remove that date and apply the new rules retroactively to all such deals.

The bill also includes a provision sponsored by Ken Salazar, D-CO, designed to help farmers avoid capital gains taxes on water rights, e.g., those who choose to relocate from one part of the state to another and sell one set of water rights to buy another.

MOVES AND CHANGES
Domenici To Retire: Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, 75, has announced that he will not seek re-election to a seventh term. Domenici’s decision is related to his health and not the controversy that followed his acknowledgement that he had contacted former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias about a prosecution and then urged the Bush Administration to fire him, part of a controversy that led to the eventual departure of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Domenici would be the fifth Republican senator to pass on re-election in 2008, joining Sens. John Warner of Virginia, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Larry Craig of Idaho and Wayne Allard of Colorado.

BUT Craig Changes Mind: Sen. Larry Craig, R-ID, says he’s not quitting after all, and that he will stay in the Senate and finish his term despite a Minnesota judge’s ruling that he could not withdraw his guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge in an airport sex sting.
Secretary Johanns: Bush has accepted the resignation of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, a step expected to be followed soon by Johanns’ announcement that he will seek the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel in Nebraska. Bush named Deputy Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner to serve as acting Agriculture secretary.
Rep. Udall:  Tom Udall, D-NM says he will seek another term in the House rather than run for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Pete Domenici. Udall says that while he thinks he could win the Senate election, he could better serve New Mexico by gaining seniority and taking more of the leadership role in "the people’s House." He also said staying in the House would allow him to "assert my authority on the Appropriations Committee."

Gover Selected to Head NMAI: Kevin Gover, Pawnee and former head of the BIA, has been named to direct the National Museum of the American Indian upon the retirement of Rick West. The appointment is not without controversy. Gover fought the Cobell v. Babbitt Trust Case for years in court, contributing mightily to a contempt citation and a $600,000 fine. In his capacity as deputy secretary in charge of BIA, he was the trustee for Indian lands and in charge of responding to an order from Federal Judge Royce Lamberth to produce records and documents of the mineral, timber, and energy earnings of the Indian trust lands. The court was told by the agency that it was diligently gathering the records—at the same time that Interior employees were destroying 162 boxes of pertinent documents in a Maryland warehouse. Also, only two NMAI trustees were part of the Smithsonian’s search that led to Gover’s appointment. The rest of the museum’s board members, including Eloise Cobell, were never informed of Gover’s candidacy, much less his selection until it was publicly announced. Cobell has complained loudly and publicly, saying the Smithsonian had treated the NMAI board (statutorily established as an advisory board) as “wooden Indians,” on display for show but without a voice in the most important administrative decision affecting the museum.

THE POWER OF CONGRESS TO PROTECT WATER RESOURCES
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) has distributed a brief  by Jay Austin and D. Bruce Myers, Jr., Senior Attorneys at the Environmental Law Institute, entitled, "Anchoring the Clean Water Act: Congress’s Constitutional Sources of Power to Protect the Nation’s Water". It says Supreme Court rulings have left serious questions about the breadth of the Clean Water Act’s coverage, prompting Congress to consider legislation (such as the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007) to clarify the Act’s intended scope. Such legislation has raised questions about the bounds and sources of Congress’s power to protect the nation’s waters. This brief identifies the constitutional powers Congress can draw upon to protect waters nationwide—the Commerce Clause and the treaty power, as well as the powers of the Necessary and Proper Clause, combine to give Congress broad constitutional authority to regulate the nation’s waters in a comprehensive fashion. ACS is a rapidly growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers and other concerned individuals.  The issue brief is available online at http://www.acslaw.org/node/5456.

UN ADOPTS DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted on September 13 by the United Nations General Assembly. The vote was 143 to 4 with 11 abstentions. The United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia voted against the Declaration. The declaration makes a unique and much-needed contribution to international human rights standards. While human rights documents generally arise from a tradition that addresses individual rights, the UN Declaration both affirms individual rights and focuses on Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights, such as the rights to traditional lands and resources, the right to be free from genocide and forced relocation and the right to maintain languages, cultures and spiritual beliefs. The declaration emphasizes the rights of Indigenous People to cultivate and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions in keeping with their own needs and aspirations. The Declaration underwent a 25 year debate—longer than any other international agreement in UN history.

Many of the 400 million Indigenous people in the world are amongst the most impoverished and marginalized of people anywhere. Conditions of First Peoples’ lives and cultures frequently go unaddressed. The declaration could create a strong platform and powerful inspiration to address Indigenous Peoples’ longstanding concerns and help ensure the flourishing of indigenous health and economies.

That’s where fish hatcheries like Clark’s Creek Hatchery, owned by the Puyallup Tribe, have made a difference.

In essence, fish hatcheries function as nurseries that protect the vulnerable eggs and baby fish, called “fry,” from predators and inclement conditions until they are larger and better equipped to fend for themselves. Hatcheries incubate thousands of eggs until they hatch, raising the young fry until they are mature, and then releasing them to swim out to the ocean.

The Clark’s Creek Hatchery became operational four years ago. The creek’s location was ideal, as it was a natural spawning place for the Coho to begin with.

Blake Smith, hatchery biologist for the tribe, said during the first year of the hatchery’s operation they released about 100,000 young salmon.

“They’re imprinted at Clark’s Creek, so they return here,” he said.

I was up at the Puyallup Tribe’s Clarks Creek hatchery near Puyallup this morning. They are in the middle of their chinook spawning season right now. In addition to the expected chinook salmon, they’re also seeing a bunch of pink salmon. This is apparently the first time pinks have gone up Clarks Creek in recent memory.

Those pinks (which are all wild) are being passed above the tribe’s hatchery into upper Clarks Creek. In the next few weeks, you will likely be able to see those fish as they swim through Clarks Creek Park in Puyallup. I stopped by on my way home and could see a few pinks close to one of the banks. Clarks Creek is already a great spot to see chum salmon later in the spawning season. Go below the fold for a map to see pinks.

View Larger Map

“The Makah Tribal Council denounces the actions of those who took it upon themselves to hunt a whale without the authority from the Makah Tribal Council or the Makah Whaling Commission. Their action was a blatant violation of our law and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the Makah council said in a Sept. 10 statement.

Tribal representatives traveled to Washington, D.C. to assure the state’s congressional delegation and federal agencies that they were cooperating fully with National Marine Fisheries Service in their investigation of the incident and will also file charges against the men in tribal court.

The tribe legally harvested a single gray whale in 1999 under a federally-approved whale harvest plan. In 2002 a federal court ruled that the tribe had to obtain an exemption from the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The ruling contradicts language in the act that specifically states that it is not meant to abrogate any Indian treaty. The Makah Tribe’s right to whale was reserved in the 1895 Treaty of Neah Bay.

The gray whale was removed from the Endangered Species List in 1994.Their populations are near historic highs. Since 1998, the Makah Tribe has received two five-year quotas to harvest up to five gray whales a year from the International Whaling Commission.

The tribe was in the final stages of obtaining a waiver from the MMPA when the unauthorized hunt occurred. “There are those who say this process should be halted or delayed now, but the unlawful actions of a few should have no bearing on this process and there is no indication that’s the case,” said Micah McCarty, Makah tribal council member. “Our treaty right does not change because of the actions of a few tribal members.”

“The Makah Tribe is a sovereign nation,” said Billy Frank, Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. “Treaty Indian Tribes in western Washington fully support the Makah in their efforts to exercise their treaty-reserved right to whale,” said Frank.

“This waiver process is painfully convoluted and time-consuming. At best, we’ll have a waiver by 2010, but we’re going to persevere,” said McCarty. “We are a law-abiding people and we will not tolerate lawless conduct by any of our members. This incident should not be used to defame the governing body of a treaty tribe.”

(END)

Every year the Puyallup Tribe transfers thousands of juvenile spring chinook from the Muckleshoot Tribe’s hatchery on the White River and raises the young fish in five acclimation ponds in the upper watershed. In some years the Puyallup Tribe transfers as many as 800,000 young chinook in the hopes that some will return as adults.

“Thousands of adult chinook return to the upper watershed of the White River,” said Blake Smith, hatchery biologist for the Puyallup Tribe. “There is a lot of great habitat up here, we want them to take full advantage of it.”

White River chinook have been rebounding from historical lows of only a few dozen twenty years ago. In recent years, those runs have consistently averaging 1,565 a year since 2000. Puget Sound chinook are listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The new larger pond is being built on the Greenwater River. “We know there is good spawning habitat on the Greenwater for chinook, so it’s also a good place to acclimate these young fish so they’ll go back there,” said Smith.

This year the tribe was forced to scatter-plant almost half a million juvenile chinook across the upper watershed. “Scatter planting the chinook isn’t as effective as holding them in ponds for several weeks,” said Smith. “But, with the lack of space, we didn’t have any other options.”

The Puyallup Tribe tracks chinook migrating to the upper White River watershed by counting them as they pass upstream through an adult salmon trap near Buckley and during spawning surveys. The tribe also conducts spawning surveys to determine where the chinook eventually spawn.

“It’s not only important to get adult chinook up here, but also to make sure they have spawning habitat to return to,” he said. “Chinook need good spawning and rearing habitat if they’re going to recover.”

(END)

For more information, contact: Blake Smith, enhancement chief, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, (235) 845-9225. Russ Ladley, resource protection manager, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, (253) 845-9225. Emmett O’Connell, information officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwifc.org.

Juvenile coho salmon are disappearing at an alarming rate before they can migrate out of South Sound, according to a three-year study by the Squaxin Island tribe.

“If we’re seeing this many coho die so soon, Puget Sound is definitely not working the way it should,” tribal natural resources director Andy Whitener said. “This data show the urgent need to find out why these fish are dying and how Puget Sound is ailing.”

…

The study also showed the young fish move around in South Sound and don’t just swim out to sea, said Jeff Dickison, tribal assistant natural resources director. Knowing where fish go could help shape estuary and nearshore habitat restoration projects, he said.

Useful follow-up research would include doing stomach content analysis of potential predators in the late spring migration period, including dogfish and harbor seals, Dickison said.

“That is an incredibly high drop off,” said Scott Steltzner, fisheries research biologist for the tribe. “Three to 4 percent of all South Puget Sound coho survive their entire three-year life cycle. We know that some juvenile salmon die along the way, but there shouldn’t be this drastic of a drop so soon.”

In addition to tagging hatchery coho from the tribe’s netpen facility in Peale Passage, the tribe also tagged and released wild coho from Mill Creek in Mason County. Fifteen receivers arranged between the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and Oakland Bay near Shelton tracked the acoustically tagged coho as they left deep South Puget Sound.

The study shows that fish disappear quickly as they swim north towards the narrows. Most of the tagged coho were detected by receivers near their release point, but only 25 made it halfway to the bridge.

The low number of coho surviving the relatively short journey points to an imbalance in the local ecosystem. “We know that a lot of coho aren’t making it very far, but we don’t know why,” said Steltzner. Possible causes could include a lack of food for the young fish or an over-abundance of predators. “If there aren’t enough fish for the coho to eat, or there are too many fish that eat coho, they aren’t going to have much of a chance.”

In addition to the tagging project, the Squaxin Island Tribe also tracks coho populations using smolt traps and spawning surveys. Smolt traps are devices that allow the tribe to safely capture and count juvenile salmon as they migrate downstream to sea. Spawning surveys are conducted to count returning adult salmon. “We get a good look at these salmon at the both ends of their lives, but what happens in the middle is still a mystery,” said Steltzner.

“If we’re seeing this many coho die so soon, Puget Sound if definitely not working the way it should,” said Andy Whitener, natural resources director for the Squaxin Island Tribe. “You can’t assume that this kind of drastic die off is natural and we know that Puget Sound has been impacted dramatically in recent years. This data shows the urgent need to find out why these fish are dying and how Puget Sound is ailing.”

(END)

For more information, contact: Jeff Dickison, assistant natural resources director, Squaxin Island Tribe, (360) 432-3815. Scott Steltzner, biologist, Squaxin Island Tribe, (360) 432-3803. Emmett O’Connell, information officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwifc.org.

This summer the tribe established an extensive network of more than 50 thermisters – thumb-sized devices that record water temperature at 30 minute increments. “Water temperature is an important part of ensuring strong salmon populations,” said Char Naylor, water quality manager for the Puyallup Tribe. “If the water is too warm for salmon, even just by a few degrees, it can be lethal.” Fatigue and disease are two conditions that have been connected to salmon deaths in warm creeks and rivers.

Chinook salmon and bull trout are especially affected by temperatures because they spend more time in freshwater as juveniles. Both are also listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. “Salmon and trout are especially vulnerable when they are young, it’s important that they have good conditions to thrive,” said Naylor.

“Warm water can be caused by a number of sources, such as low flows or a lack of trees along the bank of a creek,” said Naylor. A river’s physical structure can also affect water temperature. Restoring side-channels and connections to the floodplain is critical in lowering temperatures. This is especially true in the Puyallup watershed, where many of the streams and rivers are diked to prevent flooding.

“If we see a change in water temperature from year to year, we can find out what is causing it,” said Naylor.

High water temperatures can especially be problematic for bull trout in the Puyallup watershed, which spawn and rear for most of their lives in the river’s glacial-fed upper reaches. “When bull trout migrate down to the lower Puyallup, they can run into some pretty warm water, which can be a shock to their system,” said Naylor.

In addition to tracking temperatures throughout the watershed, the tribe is also building a heat source model for the Puyallup River. The model will predict the impact that actions along the river – such as development or logging – will have on water temperature. “With the model, we can look into the future to see how actions down the road will affect salmon,” said Naylor.

“To restore salmon in the Puyallup River, we need to ensure they have clean, cool water,” said Naylor. “If salmon have what they need, such access to the ocean, abundant spawning and rearing habitat and clean water, they will thrive.”

(END)

For more information, contact: Char Naylor, water quality manager, Puyallup Tribe of Indians (253) 573-7851. Emmett O’Connell, South Sound information officer, NWIFC, (360) 528-4304, eoconnell@nwifc.org

The $27.2 billion Interior-Environment measure would cut the EPA’s clean water state revolving fund by 18 percent while boosting funding for most other activities. It would provide $887 million for the clean water fund, $197 million below current levels but $199 million more than Bush requested. House appropriators provided $1.1 billion in their committee-reported bill. That $238 million difference accounts for more than half the additional $448 million the House bill would provide. The draft would meet Bush’s request of $2 billion for National Park System operations. Smaller increases would be provided for other priorities, including the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management. Subcommittee chairwoman Feinstein said $1.1 billion would be provided for wildfire suppression, the 10-year average of actual expenditures. Highlights from the draft Senate bill and report will follow subsequent to the full committee markup.

The total discretionary funding for the Department of Interior is $26.41 billion, compared with Bush’s Request of $25.65 billion. For the National Park Service, it’s $2.46 billion, $98 million over Bush’s request. For USFWS, it’s $1.38 billion, $94 million over Bush’s request. A $9 million increase has been penciled for endangered species over FY 2007 and a $6.5 million increase for habitat conservation. The National Wildlife Refuge System is increased $19 million in the bill. Law enforcement: Increase of $3.5 million over FY 2007 to restore funding for international and domestic illegal wildlife trade investigations. The National Fish Hatchery System and Aquatic Habitats are pegged for an increase of $5.25 million over FY 2007 for Hatchery operations & maintenance and for marine mammals. The BIA proposed budget is $2.27 billion, $42.6 million below FY 2007 enacted level, but $36.8 million above Bush’s budget request. The U.S. Geological Survey would receive $1.01 billion, $27.2 million above the FY2007 enacted level and $35 million above Bush’s request to restore proposed major reductions to base scientific research programs, including the Minerals Resources program, the Water Resources Research Institutes program and Geographic Research.

NORTHWEST APPROPRIATIONS
NWIFC FY08 requests have been submitted to Congress and testimony provided to the appropriations committees. Chairman Norm Dicks’ first major spending bill passed on June 27 after two intensive days of debate. It tops Bush’s request for the BIA budget but because without earmark language it’s unclear how much is included for Northwest accounts. It includes $7 million for the shellfish settlement and $20.6 million for rights protection implementation. But it’s unclear if the amount in rights protection includes all previous earmarks such as TFW and mass marking, or whether it means an increase or decrease from FY07. Clarification has been requested. The bill doesn’t add funding for hatchery maintenance/rehabilitation. It reduces the forestry account that supports SSHIAP, but includes $15 million for the Puget Sound Partnership in EPA’s budget. It’s important to watch these issues as the bills move into conference. The Senate Appropriations Committee has marked both the Interior and Commerce bills. Sen. Murray was able to include earmarks of $1.74 million for TFW and $90 million for the PCSRF. This $90 million mark contrasts with a $67 million mark in the House bill and Bush’s request. The House-Senate Conference for the Interior bill will likely occur in September. If there is no veto a budget could be in place on October 1, at least for Interior. If there is a veto and it’s not overcome, it would jeopardize the budget and possibly result in another CR situation like FY07.

BILLS SEEING ACTION
The following bills, listed on the Federal Bills List, have seen action in the past month: S 1, Transparency In The Legislative Process, by Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV; HR 407, the Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area Study Act sponsored by Rep. Brian Baird, D-WA ; HR 1285, the Snoqualmie Pass Land Conveyance Act, by Rep. Doc Hastings, R- WA; S 278, the Heritage Areas Partnership Act, by Sen. Craig Thomas, R-WY; S 280, Reducing Greenhouse Emissions, by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-CT; S 817, the National Heritage Areas, HR and National Heritage Corridors Act, by Sen. George Voinovich, R-OH; S 1258, the Dam Security Act, by Sen. Maria Cantwell and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s energy bills, HR 3220 and 3221. Brief articles on a few of these bills follow. For additional information, please call Steve Robinson at (360) 528-4347 or email srobinson@nwifc.org or visit the Library of Congress website, http://thomas.loc.gov/.

S 280, GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS
The Reducing Greenhouse Emissions bill would establish a program to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by establishing a market-driven system of greenhouse gas tradeable allowances. It would support the deployment of new climate change-related technologies, and ensure benefits to consumers from the trading in such allowances. The latest action on the bill was July 24, when a hearing was conducted by the Committee on Environment and Public Works’ Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection.

S 1, TRANSPARENCY
The Transparency bill, which has been sent to the White House for signature, would make it far more difficult for any given senator to push consideration of any bill without submittal to either House or Senate conferees. In more technical terms, a three-fifths vote (60 Senators) would be needed to waive the action and the same number of votes to sustain an appeal of a chairman’s decision regarding on a point of order raised under the bill. It also requires, if appropriate, a statement for the Internet, or if the legislation was not reported by a committee, publication in the Congressional Record, that the legislation contains no congressional earmarks or limited tax or tariff benefits. It is a strike against “midnight riders” or other such actions intended to sneak or bully through legislation.

PELOSI ENERGY BILL PASSES HOUSE
The House has passed one of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s energy bill which includes a renewable electricity standard of 15 percent by 2020, strong lighting efficiency standards, increased incentives for investment in renewable energy, and safeguards to protect sensitive public lands from oil and gas drilling. The House failed to vote on fuel economy improvements. The RES requires utilities to obtain at least 15 percent of their power from a combination of energy efficiency and renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass energy by 2020.  

“By passing the renewable electricity standard the House of Representatives has taken a real step forward in enacting the clean energy policies we need to reduce global warming pollution. This shows the House is ready to take strong action on global warming in the fall,” said Karen Wayland, legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council.  “We need this same leadership in the conference committee. By combining a strong renewable energy standard with the Senate’s fuel economy improvements, this Congress can make a serious down payment on preventing the worst impacts of global warming.”

Measures that were not included in the House bill but must be addressed in the conference committee with the Senate to make meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment are: Matching the Senate’s fuel economy improvement provision of 35 miles per gallon by 2020; adequate safeguards to ensure that intensive biofuels production does not result in water pollution, habitat destruction, or loss of forests and a greenhouse gas standard that would require advance biofuels to emit 50% less global warming pollution than gasoline. Unfortunately, Bush has already threatened a veto. He criticized the bill, saying it’s "not a serious attempt to increase our energy security or address high energy costs," but that it would reduce domestic oil and gas production, make the nation more dependent on foreign energy sources and “unfairly” target the oil and gas industries with higher taxes.
Speaker Pelosi, D-CA, has strongly promoted strong action toward curing the nation’s energy glut and says she’ll continue to do so. The House must reconcile the legislation with the Senate, upon returning to D.C. after the August recess, although many of the provisions are similar. Pelosi has made it one of her top priorities to help move the U.S. toward greater energy independence and security as well as develop new technologies, reduced carbon emissions, the creation of “green” jobs, consumer protection, increased clean energy production and modernization of the energy infrastructure. Here legislation also provides a framework to address impacts of global warming on wildlife, lands and coastal areas, and begin to "decarbonize" the tax code by cutting subsidies to oil and gas companies and redirecting the revenue to better use. In total, the bills cut more than $15 billion from oil and gas companies and closes down a tax break for the purchase of SUVs, and then reinvests the funding in renewable energy and energy conservation. At this juncture H.R.3221 is a primary vehicle for these efforts.
OIL SPILL SAFETY
S 2440, a bill introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA, would take strong steps to reduce the risk of catastrophic oil spills in Northwest waters, and would help limit the number of small spills that leak oil into those waters every year. The Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act would build on the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, passed by Congress in response to the devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez spill (a spill that is still a mess, nearly two decades later). A single incident from a large vessel could devastate increasingly fragile marine ecosystems, and smaller spills continue to degrade the coastal environment. Specifically, the proposal would encourage the use of safer vessels, direct the Coast Guard to route vessels around environmentally sensitive areas, and reduce the risk of spills resulting from human error. Locally, it would reduce traffic in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and require a year-round response tug at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. To improve spill response, the legislation would make sure adequate response vessels and equipment are stationed at strategic locations across the country, including along the entire Strait of Juan de Fuca. Since 1964, vessels have spilled approximately 4.8 million gallons of oil in Northwest waters. Of this total, 184,000 gallons were spilled after the Oil Pollution Act. Fifteen billion gallons of oil pass through Northwest waters every year.

YOUNG, STEVENS FACE INQUIRY
Rep. Don Young, R-AK, and Sen. Ted Stevens, R-AK, are under investigation in a continuing criminal probe of alleged political favors for an Alaskan company. Federal investigators are examining whether they accepted bribes or unreported gifts from Alaska’s largest oil-field engineering firm, VECO Corp. They are among the highest-ranking members of either party to come under scrutiny in the wave of public-corruption probes that has swept Washington. In the past year, two congressmen have been sent to prison, a third has been indicted for bribery, and 6 others are under investigation in separate cases. It isn’t known what VECO allegedly may have received in return. The company has been awarded a series of federal contracts since 2000, including contracts to provide logistics support for arctic research. For a decade, former VECO Chief Executive Bill Allen has held fund-raisers for Young in Anchorage every August, known as "The Pig Roast" and records show contributions of at least $157,000 from VECO employees and its political-action committee between 1996 and 2006, the last year the event was held. Young has also faced questions about campaign donations received from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The burly, bearded congressman has been Alaska’s sole House member for 36 years, and is perhaps best known as the architect of the "bridge to nowhere"—a project in a $286 billion 2005 transportation bill he named after his wife, Lu. The proposed bridge to a sparsely populated island off Ketchikan, Alaska, came to symbolize out-of-control congressional spending to fund pet projects by lawmakers in both parties. VECO was acquired in June by CH2M Hill, a closely held Colorado engineering firm, after Mr. Allen, VECO’s former CEO, agreed in May to plead guilty to charges of bribery, conspiracy and extortion. Stevens has publicly said he was asked to retain documents related to the federal investigation of his son, Ben Stevens, and other members of the state legislature, and related to VECO’s role in the remodeling of a family home in Alaska in 2000. Sen. Stevens recently hired a criminal-defense lawyer. He has said he isn’t a target of the Alaska probe and hasn’t violated any law. VECO executives, including Mr. Allen, have been big Stevens supporters as well. Stevens was directly involved in funding contracts with the National Science Foundation, for example, which went to support arctic research. But there is no evidence he sought to influence the award of contracts to VECO, officials at the NSF said. Congressional records show that Stevens on several occasions added extra funding to the budget for arctic research above what the agency sought.

ESA: USFWS MAY RE-EXAMINE DECISIONS
The Fish and Wildlife Service may re-examine the status of animals and plants under the Endangered Species Act affected by decisions by former Interior Department official Julie MacDonald. Director H. Dale Hall is reviewing decisions affecting the status of numerous species. The re-review list includes bulltrout, though it remains to be seen if the effort will affect other Northwest species. There are signs the list will expand, and that the problem runs far deeper than has been indicated to date. MacDonald resigned in May as Deputy Assistant Secretary for fish, wildlife and parks after Interior Inspector General Earl Devaney issued a scathing report saying she had violated ethics rules, edited scientific decisions on endangered species issues, and passed internal agency information to outside parties. Stay tuned.

SENATE WILL STAY UNTIL NOVEMBER, BUT TAKE OCTOBER RECESS
The Senate will not wrap up work this session until mid-November at the earliest, but as a concession, members will get a week-long recess starting Oct. 8, Columbus Day, according to Majority Leader Harry Reid. He has told senators he hopes the body can finish its work for the year by Nov. 16, but if that is not possible, he would reconvene the Senate Dec. 3. Reid also said the Senate would not be in session Sept. 13-14 for Rosh Hashana.

SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI MAKES HISTORY
Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, has been confirmed as the new Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, making her the first woman and first Alaskan to be appointed to the post. Alaska Natives make up 20% of her state’s population. Murkowski recently spoke at the NCAI Mid-Year Session in Anchorage, reaffirming her support in protecting the rights of Indians and Alaska Natives. "On behalf of NCAI, I congratulate Sen. Murkowski on her appointment and look forward to our continued working relationship on behalf of Native people," said NCAI President Joe A.Garcia. "She has proven to be a good friend to Native people and will be an essential component to bi-partisan work on the Committee." Senator John Barrasso, R-WY, who was appointed to replace the late Senator Craig Thomas, R-WY, has also been appointed to the committee.

WORLD CLOCK
Ever wondered how fast population is growing, how fast the Earth’s temperature is rising, how fast oil is being produced, or how many species are disappearing? Click here and check it out: http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf. Click on “now” to start some categories from 0 (if only it were that easy) and click the “?” to check the information sources.)

The presence of huge numbers of pinks has renewed a protracted dispute among the agencies and interests who control the river’s flow and the fish that inhabit it.

“They’ve got a fixed amount of energy and they’re just wasting it beating themselves against the dam,” said fish biologist Russ Ladley, the Puyallup Tribe’s resource protection manager.

He and other tribal biologists predict a massive salmon die-off if something isn’t done to allow the pinks to migrate upriver.

…

The Corps trucks 250 fish at a time to a spot about five miles above its flood-control structure, the Mud Mountain Dam outside of Enumclaw. From there, fish head towards spawning grounds in Huckleberry Creek, the Greenwater and Clearwater rivers and the White’s upper reaches, Smith said.

Ladley and Smith said the Corps has failed the fish.

“They knew months ago they would have a low flow and the trap is not working very effectively,” Smith said.

From the Seattle Times:

A federal judge articulated and reinforced a long-standing deal with Northwest tribes. Sign a treaty that cedes millions of acres, and the right to take fish from healthy runs will be protected. Forever.

…

Frank said the decision was not about turning back the clock and closing freeways, but finding the political will “to bring the salmon back and have a home when they get there.”

A healthy salmon run is a barometer of the environmental health and stamina of Puget Sound and its watersheds. Work to clean up the Sound is getting under way in earnest. Unplugging culverts adds to the to-do list.

Seattle PI: Salmon: State doesn’t get it

Seattle Times: Culvert ruling backs tribes
Seattle PI: Tribes win ruling on salmon
Associated Press: Judge: Wash. must ensure salmon can navigate culverts
Everett Herald: Tribes win federal suit against state over salmon
The Olympian: Ruling could cost state millions

Also, here is a nice summary of how culverts can block fish passage.

The Court hereby declares that the right of taking fish, secured to the Tribes in the Stevens Treaties, imposes a duty upon the State to refrain from building or operating culverts under State-maintained roads that hinder fish passage and thereby diminish the number of fish that would otherwise be available for Tribal harvest. The Court further declares that the State of Washington currently owns and operates culverts that violate this duty.

Here is a pdf of the decision.

More than 500 people stood on the pebbly beach, but thumping drums and ancient songs were the only sounds as four Squaxin Island tribal members carried one coin-bright chinook on a fern-draped cedar plate.

A tribal member eased the ferns out of the way and gently cut two bright-orange fillets out of the gleaming fish.

The carcass — with head, tail and fins intact was returned to the plate and taken back to the tribe’s massive canoe.

Tribal members paddled the canoe well offshore and tenderly returned the carcass to the water.

Once again, the tribe’s timeless ceremony to release the spirit of the first-caught salmon was complete.

After decades of congressional service, Congressman Norm Dicks, D-WA, has submitted his first major spending bill to the House of Representatives as chairman of Interior Appropriations. The bill would hike spending for the environment, national parks and global warming research. In leading floor debate, Rep Dicks said, “Mr. Chairman, I have waited 30 years for the honor of presenting an Interior and Environment bill to the House of Representatives as subcommittee chairman, and I am very proud to present H.R. 2643 as my first Interior Appropriations bill.”

The measure would allocate $27.6 billion for the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Forest Service and other agencies, a 4.3 percent increase over current spending. While Bush’s budget office and some GOP lawmakers have criticized the bill as overly generous, Dicks said spending for national parks and other environmental priorities has been shortchanged for years. “I do not know of one increase in this package which can’t be fully justified based on need or on the ability to spend the money wisely,” Dicks said. Between 2001 and 2007, funding for the Interior Department fell by 16 percent, EPA by 29 percent and the Forest Service non-fire budget by 35 percent.

Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, the ranking Republican on the Interior Appropriations subcommittee, praised Dicks’ handling of the bill. “Norm Dicks has led the committee with a firm and steady hand, and I appreciate the bipartisan approach he has taken as chairman,” Tiahrt said. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-WA, also saluted Dicks, although the two men disagreed on some of the specifics. Hastings said he was concerned that – at a time when federal land agencies are struggling to manage land they currently own – the House bill would provide tens of millions of dollars for the federal government to buy up more land. “This takes private property off of local tax rolls and leaves county governments with a heavier burden to pay for emergency services, roads, and schools,” he said, adding that Congress should reauthorize a program to reimburse rural counties hurt by cutbacks in federal logging before buying more federal land.

Dicks said he was especially proud the bill provides a $223 million increase for national parks, as part of a 10-year, $3 billion effort to restore parks for the 100th anniversary of the Park Service in 2016. The additional spending will support 3,000 new seasonal employees and 590 year-round staff. It would also increase spending for national wildlife refuges by $56 million, or 14 percent. The funding would allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to reverse staffing shortages on hundreds of wildlife refuges nationwide, where nearly 600 jobs have been lost since 2004.

The Senate Side

Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA, says she’s included $2.4 million in a Senate appropriations bill to help tribes support natural resource management and safety. If the bill is passed, tribes statewide would get $1.74 million for TFW, the Spokane and Colville tribes would get $350,000 for Lake Roosevelt management and Upper Columbia United Tribes would receive $315,000 for fish and wildlife management. The money is included in the Senate Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which passed the appropriations committee. Murray, who is on the Senate Appropriations Committee, is standing up to Bush’s recent budget proposals. Murray said she stepped forward to restore the funding so tribes can continue to play a key role as partners in protecting Washington’s natural resource management. More specific highlights will be distributed following the full committee markup, but initial highlights of the Interior bill as marked by the subcommittee include $27.15 billion (chairman’s mark) for DOI overall, approximately $1.5 billion more than Bush’s request; $2.46 for National Parks, $98 million more than Bush; $1.38 billion, up $94 million over Bush; $2.27 for BIA, up $36.8 over Bush; $1.01 billion for USGS, $35 million over Bush (for base scientific research programs) and $1.89 billion for BLM, topping Bush by $76 million.

NOTE: PORTMAN OUT, NUSSLE IN AS WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR

White House Budget Director Portman is resigning and will be replaced by former Rep. Jim Nussle of Iowa, who chaired the House Budget Committee. Nussle lost his last bid for re-election. He lost the Iowa governor’s race in November. Portman, an Ohio Republican, left Congress in 2005 to become U.S. Trade Representative. He took over as Bush’s budget director last year.

OIL SPILL PREVENTION

Senator Cantwell has joined Senator John Kerry, D-MA, in introducing the comprehensive Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act of 2007 (S.1620.IS) to help protect Puget Sound and the outer coast from the threat of a major oil spill. The state legislature and Governor Gregoire chose not to provide funding for a permanent, year-round Neah Bay rescue tug or increased oil spill prevention efforts this past session. Yet a catastrophic oil spill in Puget Sound or on the coast could spell the end of many species already on the verge of extinction. It could also undo many years of hard work to restore habitat. Cantwell’s bill is intended to prevent such an event and safeguard orca whales, salmon, seabirds and other species. Section 111 of the bill codifies and provides funding for the state Oil Spill Advisory Council and Section 206 concerns response tugs. The bill was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on June 14.
SUPREMES SAY ENDANGERED SPECIES NO FACTOR IN CLEAN WATER

A closely divided U.S. Supreme Court has held, 5-4, that the Endangered Species Act does not require EPA to consider listed species when transferring Clean Water Act permitting authority to states. In National Association of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife , the court reversed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on grounds that transferring CWA authority is non-discretionary, and federal agencies need not consider ESA-listed species when taking non-discretionary actions under statutes, such as the CWA, that do not independently require such consideration.

JUDGE SAYS BUSH ADMINISTRATION ERRS ON SPECIES PROTECTION

A federal judge in Seattle recently overturned a Bush policy under which federal agencies considered the numbers of hatchery-bred salmon and steelhead when weighing whether to extend species protections. District Judge John Coughenour ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service erred when it listed upper Columbia River steelhead as threatened instead of endangered. The “threatened” listing was based on a decision by the government to count millions of hatchery fish alongside wild salmon when determining what protections to place on several Washington state runs. Coughenour maintained there is a difference between hatchery and wild fish, and said government policy must be focused on preserving natural life cycles. “Though it scarcely seems open to debate, the Court concludes that in evaluating any policy or listing determination under ESA, its pole star must be the viability of naturally self-sustaining populations in their naturally-occurring habitat,” Coughenour wrote. “To be sure, the inclusion of hatchery fish alongside natural fish … strikes the Court as odd.”

Environmentalists heralded the decision, while a property-rights group vowed to file an appeal.

Against the advice of many scientists, NMFS published its proposed policy for considering hatchery-bred fish in endangered-species listings in 2004, then received more than 27,000 critical comments. Environmental and recreational groups, such as Trout Unlimited, the Sierra Club and Federation of Fly Fishers, filed a lawsuit to reverse the administration’s decision. Sonya Jones, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation, a property-rights group that repeatedly has sued to overturn Endangered Species Act listings, said the group was “quite surprised” by the judge’s ruling. “If this decision stands, it opens up a floodgate of listing decisions,” she said. “One more time, the ESA is used to regulate the use of private property.”

FAMILY FORESTRY CRISIS

Nearly 60 percent of the nation’s forests are privately owned, the majority by families and individuals and most of these owners are 55 or older. A huge swath of forest land is about to change hands as aging landowners pass the land to heirs or buyers. It’s the largest inter-generational transfer of forest land in the history of the U.S. and there are serious concerns about the forest land conversion, subdividing and new development that will result. Forestland is already disappearing at a nationwide rate of four acres a minute. A survey of “next generation family forest owners” recently conducted by the Pinchot Institute for Conservation found that heirs who will inherit the land are often professionals living far away in cities, with weak bonds to the land, and little if any involvement in forest management. High taxes were a top reason heirs cited as deterrents to keeping the land.
GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY
Passing The Buck?

Friends of The Earth, a national environmental organization, says Congress is trying to pass the buck on global warming and energy issues. As currently written, says FOE, legislation coming to the floor in the Senate and developing in the House not only comes up short, it will likely go backwards. FOE called a biofuels bill that Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, and Pete Domenici, R-NM, moved out of committee earlier this session “misguided.” That bill has apparently formed the basis of the major Democratic energy package in the Senate. FOE adds that under pressure from industry, this Senate package is getting worse. Among other FOE objections are inadequate fuel efficiency standards, stripping of EPA’s power to regulate greenhouse emissions, and inclusion of highly polluting liquid coal as an alternate energy source. (Coal-burning power plants emit the most U.S. carbon dioxide at about 40 percent, and cars emit about a third of the total.)
Dozens of Bills Introduced

Will Rogers once joked that everyone complains about the weather but no one does anything about it. With impacts of global warming heating up, the concept of doing something about the weather isn’t a joke anymore. Dozens of bills have been introduced by 110th Congress that, in one way or another, take the issue to task—ranging from bills to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and make big oil companies more accountable to bills focused on the development of alternative energies and gearing up the federal infrastructure to deal with the problem. One bill, aiming to end frustrating debates by once and for all officially acknowledging the existence of the problem, just passed the House by a vote of 272-155. The House also approved an environmental funding bill that would increase federal investments in basic research on climate change and establish a new commission to review scientific questions that need to be addressed. That bill would also beef up EPA funding by $8 billion next year, mainly for water cleanup and clean air programs. Bush has threatened a veto of the $27.6 billion bill, which the Senate has not yet debated. Meanwhile, some stubborn politicos, such as Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe, still refer to global warming as a “hoax.”

A few of the many bills introduced include HR 2338, by Rep. Norm Dicks (referred to the House Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry on June 26) which would establish a federal policy to “use all practicable means and measures to assist wildlife populations in adapting to and surviving the effects of global warming”; S 485 by Sen. John Kerry, D-MA (referred to the Committee on Finance on Feb. 2) to establish an economy-wide global warming emission cap and trade program; S 1389, by Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL (referred to the Committee on Health on May 14) to authorize the National Science Foundation to establish the Climate Change Education Program and HR 620 by Rep. John Olver (referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans on Feb. 7) to reduce greenhouse emissions through market-driven trade-able allowances. There is discussion in both the house and senate about distilling the intentions of a number of these bills into more manageable legislation. The Senate Environment Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, is moving on one such effort—a bill that would place caps on emissions of heat-trapping gases from power plants, cars and factories, a first for the country. Bush opposes mandatory limits on any emissions, saying they would harm the economy. Instead, he has set a goal of reducing the intensity of emissions – as measured against economic growth – by 18 percent by 2012.
CHAIRMAN FRANK WOWS CROWD AT NCAI MID-YEAR

With a record 1,200 tribal delegates in attendance, NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank, Jr. drew a rousing standing ovation at the National Congress of American Indians Mid-Year Session in Anchorage recently and for three days tribal leaders praised his “frank” comments about the environment and tribal rights.

“It’s good that the federal government is paying attention to the needs of tribes in Iraq. But it should first keep its promises to tribes here in this country. The credibility of the nation is at stake. We’ve been ignored far too long, and we’re still being ignored today. Our lands, waters and natural resources are being poisoned. Here in Alaska, 30 percent of the Native people live without running water and electricity. Their villages are being washed away because of global warming. Their natural resources are dying as the permafrost melts and the glaciers disappear. Pollution and habitat destruction are killing our treaty-protected natural resources throughout the country, and the federal government has got to do more to work with tribes to stop it,” said Chairman Frank.

The session, themed “Strengthening Economies and Culture Under the Midnight Sun,” centered around agenda items considered to be of highest priority in Indian Country. In reference to comments by Frank and others, NCAI President Joe Garcia commented, “Tribal leaders are talking and NCAI is listening.” NCAI will convene again in Denver for its 64th Annual Convention November 11-16. At NCAI’s mid-year session next year, a special fund raising event will be held for the Billy Frank Jr. Endowment. That part of the session will be held June 1 in Reno, and will feature an exhibition, dinner and program on global warming. The Billy Frank, Jr. Endowment is a scholarship program to support students seeking bachelor degrees in natural resource management through the Northwest Indian College.

KOMO: Tribes, growers celebrate Puget Sound shellfish settlement
Seattle Times: Shellfish settlement ends years of rancor
The Olympian: Tribes’ accord puts aside years of tension over shellfish harvests
Kitsap Sun: Shellfish Settlement Fails to Resolve All Disputes
Kitsap Sun: One Moment, Two Decades in the Making for Tribes, Growers
KPLU: Treaty Rights Battle Ends With Settlement

“We don’t normally see pinks until well into July, and not in big numbers until August,” said Russ Ladley, resource protection manager for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. “This could mean an even larger run.”

Tribal and state co-managers expect more than 770,000 pinks to return to the Puyallup River system this year. The run has been climbing since 2003 when almost 250,000 pink salmon returned to the watershed. Two years later more than 610,000 came back. Most pink salmon return in only odd numbered years.

The trap on the White River is owned and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers and operated in cooperation with the Muckleshoot and Puyallup tribes.

(END)

For more information, contact: Russ Ladley, resource protection manager, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, (253) 845-9225.

A high resolution, jpeg image of the pink salmon is available. Contact eoconnell@nwifc.org.

Fish counts at the White River fish trap are available at the US Army Corps of Engineers website.