F&W Report Outline
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Colville Tribe’s Fish & Wildlife Report (2012 - 2013) Mission: The Fish & Wildlife Department’s overall goal is to maintain and protect viable populations of native and desired non-native species of fish and wildlife, and their supporting habitats, while providing sufficient numbers to meet the cultural, subsistence, recreational and economic needs of the tribal membership. IT’S BEEN ANOTHER EXCITING YEAR for the Colville Tribes and the membership on several fronts. We have six Colville tribal members attending college to prepare for a career in fisheries management. Two students are completing their final year at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon and will earn their Fish Culturist degree. Four other tribal members are attending college to obtain their four year degree in fisheries management. To date, we have had three Colville tribal members graduate from Mount Hood Community College with their Fish Culturist degree. All three are now working at the Chief Joseph Hatchery. In terms of other success, we had a bountiful salmon fishing season in 2012. About 15,000 sockeye were harvested at the mouth of the Okanogan River, where it runs into the Columbia River. Approximately 3,000 summer Chinook were harvested and the natural-origin summer Chinook were released. The Chief Joseph Dam tail race fisheries were limited due to construction of the new hatchery, but still yielded decent numbers. In addition, we were able to put aside approximately 6,000 sockeye and summer Chinook into the freezer this summer. This will allow us to meet the needs of our Colville tribal members throughout the winter months for ceremonies, funerals and/or celebrations. In the wildlife area, we have documented wolves throughout the Colville Reservation and North Half. There are pros and cons with any predator, so the Colville Tribes Fish and Wildlife (CTFW) Department is working to implement a wolf management plan. The draft plan will be out soon for public input. The resident fish staff have been working to reduce the predation of walleye and bass on our native stocks of rainbow trout and kokanee. This is in the area of Sanpoil River and Lake Roosevelt. It was estimated that 93% of the juvenile rainbow and kokanee were being eaten while migrating to Lake Roosevelt. In the Twin Lakes area, the oxygenation project on North Twin Lake has proven to be successful in increasing the oxygen levels in the summer months. The staff is now gearing up to extend the project to South Twin Lakes. This work will help to improve rainbow and brook trout survival rates. Thank you all for your continued interest in Fish and Wildlife activities, Joe Peone, (Former) Fish & Wildlife Director The Colville Tribes’ Fish and Wildlife (CTFW) Department has grown to over 100 employees with four divisions (Administration, Wildlife, Anadromous and Resident Fish Divisions). The department was established in 1976 to restore, preserve, protect and perpetuate fish and wildlife resources under the jurisdiction of the Colville Tribes. CTFW is responsible for managing fish and wildlife populations and habitats to meet the cultural and subsistence needs of the Colville membership, while assisting various federal and state entities with meeting mitigation obligations required under the Northwest Power Act and Federal Endangered Species Act. CTFW participates in regional policy discussions to ensure that the Tribe’s position on resource issues is presented to and understood by all tribal, state, federal and local entities. The department has office locations in Inchelium, Omak, Spokane, Bridgeport, Wenatchee and Nespelem, Washington. Administration Division has many supporting roles such as: Student Training and Development - the department’s current growth is placing demands on leadership that are greater than at any point in its history. To address these demands, the department is making a strategic investment in a leadership development program to grow leaders at all levels within the department. The Salmon Culturist Training Program and the Management Intern Program are examples of programs designed to grow these leaders. Policy Analysis - the office of policy analysis (“OPA”) provides policy support to the department’s staff. The policy analysts serve as liaisons and tribal advocates in multiple interagency forums relating to anadromous and resident fisheries, wildlife, and natural resources, including jurisdiction and management. OPA staff makes policy recommendations to the CTFW Director on a full range of issues including, but not limited to, Columbia River salmon recovery, strategy development, complex regulatory requirements, administrative rules and policies of multiple external agencies, relevant state and federal legislation, and regulatory developments that may impact the Tribe’s fish and wildlife interests. Public Relations - works with the media and helps raise awareness and build community support for Fish and Wildlife activities by preparing articles, newsletters, brochures, presentations and fact sheets. Much of this information is posted to the Tribe’s website, sent to local and regional news media, and distributed at the many public events we participate in. You can see our staff at tradeshows, local school and community events such as Earth Day, Kids Fest, Trippin’ with the Triploids Fishing Derby, Sunflower Fest and more. Each year in June, we host the annual First Salmon Ceremony and invite the community to attend. Sales and Customer Service - handles customer requests, greets a wide variety of visitors, and educates the public on CTFW regulations for walk-in or call-in customers. Our staff issues fishing and hunting licenses, regulation books and permits for tribal and non-tribal members. Staff works with local vendors to sell permits on our behalf. All hunting and fishing regulations are posted on the tribe’s website at www.colvilletribes.com Contract development – consists of managing and coordinating multiple and varied contracts for the CTFW program, ensuring compliance with established administrative and financial policies, procedures, and sound business practices. The contract staff is the point of contact for resolution of any contracting related issues. They also develop and maintain an effective records management system for all contracts received. Financial/Accounting Support – Participates with program strategic planning, forecasting, and setting objectives and assists with developing and managing a complex annual operating budget in excess of $30 million. Staff directly administers a significant number of contracts, grants and subcontracts. Provides technical accounting expertise, develops and adapts fiscal policies and procedures to comply with tribal and federal funding requirements. Wildlife Division The Wildlife Division emphasizes management of tribal priority species and habitats of conservation concern, and those properties acquired under wildlife mitigation agreements for the Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee hydro-electric projects. This focused management approach will also benefit those species not specifically addressed in management planning by providing and securing abundant quality habitat throughout the Reservation and the usual and accustomed lands. Division goals: The Wildlife Division focuses on: Providing suitable habitat in sufficient quantities, distributed across the Reservation, to meet the life requisites and ensure sustainability of those wildlife species utilized by tribal members for subsistence, recreational, and cultural uses Implementing resource management strategies which contribute towards recovering populations of Threatened and Endangered species, and to preclude listing of sensitive and candidate species Effective participation in integrated resource management planning and decision making to ensure that the Tribes’ Holistic vision pertaining to biodiversity is achieved Bighorn Sheep Project – The CCT Wildlife goal was to re-introduce bighorn sheep into the Hell’s Gate Game Reserve by 2008 and re-establish a self sustaining bighorn sheep population on the Colville Reservation by 2015. Over the past three years, a total of 113 California bighorn sheep have been transplanted into the Hell’s Gate Game Reserve, with current population estimates expected to be between 125 to 150 bighorns. The success of this project has been the culmination of seven capture and transplant efforts, which have been closely coordinated between the CTFW, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Leading Edge Aviation and their aerial capture crew. Both ground and aerial capture techniques were used to obtain the surplus bighorns from three existing populations within Washington State: the Tieton and Clemens populations, located west of Yakima, and Mt. Hull, located north of Tonasket. Another goal of the division has been to increase the overall health of the Omak Lake population through ongoing disease testing, genetic analysis and monitoring mortality. In the winter of 2012, the Omak Lake sheep population increased by 18 ewes. Wolf Program – This year, CCT Wildlife biologists have captured and collared three gray wolves, two in June (a young female and male) and another in September (adult female) to monitor their movements and define home ranges. They have also been surveying the membership/public over the last year to get a feel for what the public believes should happen regarding wolves on the reservation. According to Randy Friedlander, interim CTFW director, the survey showed that 60% of the tribal membership wants