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The Tribes are back

Interior officials to reestablish working relationship with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the FWS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - What better way to ring in the New Year than to rekindle a relationship with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. On Friday, December 29, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Dale Hall and Associate Deputy Interior Secretary Jim Cason, announced their intention to reestablish a working relationship between the FWS and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation for the management and operation of the National Bison Range.

"The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are pleased to see that the U.S. Interior Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working to re-establish an Annual Funding Agreement with the Tribes to perform activities at the National Bison Range. This represents a positive step forward for the partnership, which the Tribes have long endeavored to create. We were shocked by the recent action of the regional office of the Fish and Wildlife Service to terminate negotiations towards a new agreement, and even more shocked to see in the news media the unsupported allegations made about the Tribes by a regional FWS spokesperson," the Tribes stated in release from its communications director Rob McDonald.

The Tribes further stated: "We appreciate the observations of Mitch King, the Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Mountain Prairie Region, who made the following statement about the Tribes in September: "I have worked directly with the CSKT's Wildlife Program and I rank them among the best in tribal programs and as good as many state Fish and Wildlife agencies. I have no doubt that the CSKT Wildlife Program can do a good job in managing the National Bison Range. The 2005 Accomplishment Report should not be construed as a negative report. That report was developed as a tool for use in identifying strengths and weaknesses during the first year of a very complicated agreement. It has been very helpful in that regard and both the Tribes and the Service have taken steps to address identified problems. Many have misused this report by focusing solely on the weaknesses in the report and ignored the successes. I am confident that the CSKT management activities at the Bison Range will continue to improve and that this partnership will be a success."”

The Tribes were the first Indian nation in the United States to establish a Wilderness Area located in the Mission Mountains, a prime habitat area for grizzly bears. The Natural Resources Department also manages Big Horn sheep in tribally designated areas.

Under the agreement, the FWS will continue to manage the range as a national wildlife refuge. The tribes will undertake field and maintenance work, animal care and related duties on the range. The NBR is completely encompassed within the Flathead Reservation in northwestern Montana.

In 2005, following the requirements of the Tribal Self-Governance Act, the FWS entered into an Annual Funding Agreement (AFA) with the Tribes to perform certain non-managerial functions on the range during Fiscal Year 2006. The Act instituted a permanent self-governance program at the Interior Department, under which certain programs, functions, services and activities of the Department are eligible to be planned, conducted, consolidated and administered by a self-governance tribal government.

The intention to create a new relationship announced on Friday envisions an AFA for fiscal year 2007 containing substantially the same terms as the 2006 AFA. An earlier process to phase-in full tribal management of the refuge will be suspended at this time.

"We must seek to build the foundations for future management in a way that fulfills all of the Department's obligations - to the refuge, to tribes, and to the American public," Scarlett said.

In addition, Scarlett, Hall and Cason have agreed:

• to draft a National Bison Range operations plan that will clearly spell out the mission, goals, objectives and tasks envisioned for the range for the next five years;

• that senior Interior officials, including Hall and Cason, will travel to the range to discuss management issues and concerns with FWS employees and the tribes' employees;

• to continue acting on Equal Employment Opportunity complaints that have been filed and seek appropriate personal relief for legitimate grievances;

• to retain an ombudsman to work at the range to assist the senior Interior officials in identifying and effectively resolving any problems or conflicts related to the management and operation of the range;

• to undertake the drafting of a decision document that would critically examine all long-term options for the most effective management of the range.

"We are pleased to see that the Service's arbitrary action to terminate our negotiations and agreement have been reconsidered and we very much look forward to working with the Service and the Department to build a stronger partnership at the Bison Range. We believe we can work together to continue to benefit the Bison Range, its bison and other natural resources. The Tribes would like to thank all of those in our local community, as well as those around the country, who have expressed their support for our presence at the Bison Range," stated the Tribes. Cason is the Department official who performs the duties of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs until a new assistant secretary is confirmed.

CSKT have managed several programs within the Interior Department, such as Mission Valley Power; the utility for 20 years and the Department of Interior's Safety of Dams for many years. They have successfully managed the Department of Labor's Kicking Horse Job Corps Center on the reservation since 1970. Kicking Horse was the first all-Indian Job Corps Center contracted from DOL's Employment and Training Administration.

The Flathead Indian Reservation is home for approximately 5,000 Salish and Kootenai tribal members who live on the reservation with an additional 2,000 members who reside throughout the United States and Canada. The Tribes are the largest employer in Lake County with approximately 1,200 employees, many of which are not tribal members.

The Tribes most recent endeavor includes successfully launching the new full-service bank, the Eagle Bank in Polson.