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Tribal experiences and lessons learned in riparian ecosystem restoration

Ronald K. Miller’, James E. Enote*, and Cameron L. Martinez3

Abstract.-Riparian ecosystems have been part of the culture of land use of native peoples in the Southwest for thousands of years. The experiences of tribal riparian initiatives to incorporate modern elements of environment and development with cultural needs are relatively few. This paper describes tribal case examples and approaches in riparian manage- ment which may advance discussions of cultural values in resource manage- ment for rural and developing communities such as those on tribal lands in the United States.

INTRODUCTION For many tribes in the arid Southwest, rivers, streams, and springs were, and continue to be, the “Mastamho drove a willow stick into the ground and “center of existence.” Neither the people, nor the drew out the water that became the unique cultures that developed, could survive and with it came the fish and ducks. He gave the without the “lifeblood of the desert”: The people the river and everything along the river. Southwest’s rivers and streams. Whatever grew there was theirs, as he said, and they were the Aha Macave, the Mojave, the people who live along the river.” CENTERS OF EXISTENCE So states the Mojave’s creation story. The story provides background and valuable insight into the Most Southwest tribes still live along the river significance of a particular river to tribal custom courses and depend on them for a wide variety of and culture. This relationship between the Mojave uses. Sharing the Colorado River with the Mojaves people and the Colorado River is further explained are almost a dozen other tribes. Upstream are the on a brass plaque on the Fort Mojave Reservation , the , and the . Down- where the present day states of Nevada, , stream are the , the Colorado River and California meet: Indian Tribes (consisting of four tribal groups), the “For the Aha Macave the river was the center of exist- at Fort Yuma, and the . ence. They practiced a dry farming method, relying on the regular overflow of the Colorado River to Major tributaries of the Colorado River also play irrigate crops planted along the banks. They supple- host to many tribes in Arizona. The White Moun- mented this with wild seeds and roots, especially tain and San Carlos reservations are mesquite beans, and game and fish taken from the separated by the Black River, which as it flows river with traps and nets.“ westward becomes the Salt River. As this river ’ Woodlands Forester, USDI Bureau of Indian Affairs, Phoenix continues downstream, it gives its name to a Area Office, Phoenix, AZ. reservation whose southern boundary it forms: the p Project Leader, Zuni Conservation Project and Department Salt River Reservation, home to Pima and Head for Natural Resources, Pueblo of Zuni, Zuni, NM. Maricopa people. Their reservation also plays host 3 Forest Manager, USDI Bureau of Indian Affairs, Northern to the Verde River, a beautiful river that first Pueblos Agency, San Juan, NM. serves as a centerpiece to the Fort McDowell

198 Indian Reservation. The Verde and the Salt become sions, riparian areas have values which are one on the Salt River Reservation and continues to nonquantifiable. flow westward to form the northern border of the In academic and economic standards, efficient Reservation. This reservation, as its productivity is a desirable goal and riparian areas name implies, is bisected by the flowing waters of are resources with quantifiable values to be pre- the Gila. As the Gila flows out of the reservation served or perhaps shared for multiple uses. These and joins the Salt, it takes its name with it causing values and how they are taken into consideration the Salt River to once again change its name. This are at the center of planning riparian area manage- stretch of the river with its increased flow, ment on Indian lands in the Southwest. in turn, travels through yet another reservation As tribes prepare for the twenty-first century, a and once again gives the reservation its geographic reshaping of tribal capability has begun and new namesake. The Gila Bend Reservation, a district perspectives are coming to light on how riparian actually of the Tohono O’odham Nation, is the last areas will contribute to the needs of tribal peoples reservation the river passes through before con- and the dependent life forms on tribal and adjacent tinuing west to join the Colorado River’s southern lands. There are needs which must be addressed migration. before plans of action can be drawn, and there are Even for Arizona tribes whose present location issues which must be discussed and dealt with may not make the riparian connection obvious, before planning can begin. there is almost always a cultural link. The Ak Chin reservation, south of Phoenix, currently lacks any flowing streams, in part because heavy ground SEEKING A BALANCE water pumping has depleted much of the available water in the area. Historically, however, the Ak A visitor to Indian country will almost certainly Chin were nomadic farmers who followed the be amazed at the ability of tribes to get things done water that made their land arable. Their tribal with their complicated theocratic and democratic name, in fact, means “Mouth of the wash”. governing systems. But things do get done, albeit In , a majority of the tribes center in a different sort of way. Tribes may have differ- along the Rio Grande. The , Tiwa, Towa, and ent languages, customs, and indigenous religions, Keresan settled along the Rio Grande living in but each shares a common thread of belief which close knit communities that the Spanish later assures continuance and sustainability of the named the pueblos of Taos, San Juan, Santa Clara, people. It is within this weave of beliefs that a San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Cochiti, Santo Domingo, fabric evolved which allowed these tribes to live in San Felipe, Santa Ana, Sandia, and Isleta. Other the same areas for centuries before this great Pueblos not directly on the Rio Grande, line tribu- republic was created. As tribes seek a balance taries of the Rio Grande such as the Jemez river between maintaining cultural identity and accept- which the Jemez, Zia, and Santa Ana reservations ing aspects of modern land management, there are all share. Their Zuni cousins settled along the Zuni strategies emerging which are uniquely their own River in western New Mexico. design and strategies which are nearly complete When tribal peoples of the Southwest discuss templates of national standards. In some cases what scientists and land managers call riparian there are hybrids of both systems. areas there is a definite duality in how these areas It is important for non-Indians to understand are defined. For tribes of the Southwest, the heri- that each tribe has a certain way of doing things, tage of land use includes riparian areas and is an much relating to the history and culture of the inherent component in many of these cultures. In deeper religious terms, riparian areas are ex- respective tribe. In the case of riparian lands, there tremely important icons of survival, continuance, is a whole spectrum of possibilities for protection and reverence for societies and people long passed or development, and far more choices than are away. But the esoteric religious knowledge and available on state or federal lands. Case examples importance of riparian areas is also secret and of different tribal approaches to riparian ecosystem private in its meaning and use. In these expres- restoration are described below.

199 FORT MOJAVE AND COLORADO RIVER ZUNI INDIAN RESERVATION INDIAN TRIBES In the remote plateau and canyon country of Tribal members on the Fort Mojave and Colo- west central New Mexico, the Zuni Tribe has rado River Indian Reservations still extensively use created a unique program of watershed restoration the Colorado River. It provides an ever present and riparian conservation based on Zuni cultural source of irrigation water for their extensive values and assessments of geomorphic processes. agricultural fields, a home for the many species of The work began as a result of a law suit brought wildlife that utilize the river corridor, and a tourist against the United States for improprieties related magnet for water-based recreational activities. to trust responsibilities. The river also provides favorable mesic habitat The case was eventually settled out of court in for plant species having important significance 1990 and a substantial trust fund was established from which interest would fund watershed resto- both ecologically and culturally. Mesquite is ration and sustainable development of Zuni re- especially valued as it supplies wood for sources in perpetuity. cradleboards, beans for food, and is used in combi- In late 1991, the Zuni Tribe established the Zuni nation with arrowweed in funeral pyres for tradi- Conservation Project to lead a program of tional Mojave cremations. Willows provide mate- watershed restoration and resource development rial for basket making. Historical documentation, which includes riparian restoration. Based on oral tradition, and legends all point to the many interviews with religious leaders, farmers, live- cultural connections the tribe has with the river stock growers, and other land users, attention to and those plant and animal species tied to the the culture of Zuni land use became the scope and riparian ecosystem. mission of Zuni’s efforts in environmental restora- Two recent fires (Spring, 1995) which burned an tion and land use planning. estimated 90% of Fort Mojave’s mesquite were By 1993, the Tribe had completed a plan of devastating to the tribe. A fire rehabilitation team action for sustainable resource development in the was mobilized to immediately prepare a plan to format of the United Nations Agenda 21 docu- reestablish mesquite on the most suitable sites. The ment. The U.N. Agenda 21 serves a blueprint for rehabilitation team’s concerns covered the entire sustainable resource development and was as gamut of possible natural resource degradation negotiated for several years among over 140 resulting from the fire but, at least on tribal land, nations. Zuni’s version of Agenda 21 was created the overriding concern was the loss of mesquite using a participatory approach among Zuni land because of its cultural importance. Restoration users. In the course of the law suit against the efforts will focus on reestablishing this important United States, Zuni elders and religious leaders tree on tribal land. gave depositions and interviews on behalf of the In the meantime, on the Colorado River Indian Tribe detailing an image of Zuni lands hundreds Reservation, a comprehensive plan has just been and even thousands of years ago. Zuni riparian completed to establish a 1,042 acre riparian wilder- areas were described as being more extensive, ness preserve and recreation area. Plans for the abundant with species diversity. Consequently, area include widespread revegetation with native enthusiasm to restore Zuni riparian areas grew. riparian plant species, control of exotics such as The challenge for the Conservation Project has saltcedar, and maintenance and improvement of a thus become two fold. As a culturally based backwater area for fish and wildlife habitat. Hik- project, riparian areas and species diversity are ing trails, also planned for the area, include a foremost concerns for Zuni religion and consulta- nature trail to educate visitors about riparian tions and planning with religious leaders directly ecosystems, and a cultural trail focusing on Mojave reflect this. As a restoration project, creating a history and way of life. A cultural center and an program to achieve riparian area diversity re- elder’s village are also planned. quired planning on a watershed scale. The Zuni Conservation Project enlisted the knowledge of elders and use of traditional water

200 control features, as well as a sophisticated array of parameters defined, and financing for long term geomorphic study stations and geographic infor- continuance of the project set in place. mation systems. Before implementing a broad reservation-wide program, a pilot area was chosen where relationships among disciplines involved in RIO GRANDE PUEBLOS the project could be evaluated and relationships with land users examined. As the project pro- To understand the current Rio Grande ecosys- gressed, low impact techniques using hand labor tem, it is important to understand some of its and natural materials have become standard for history. The pueblos along the Rio Grande were watershed and riparian work. In a few cases, already several hundreds of years old when the beavers have been transplanted to sites with Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1540. As in the diminished water levels where they have con- Southwest as a whole, the native people depended structed dams, raising water levels considerably. on the river and its tributaries for all aspects of life. Establishing riparian vegetation has been success- With this dependence and use came changes. Trees ful as well, and efforts are underway to create a local were cut to provide house timbers and fuel. This plant materials center to propagate plants for trans- continuous removal of wood often left areas planting into riparian areas and damaged watersheds. completely devoid of fuelwood and building The work to conserve riparian areas naturally materials for many miles around a pueblo, and requires participation from the land users and may explain why some pueblo settlements were compromises have had to be developed to provide deserted after fifty to one hundred years of habita- alternative watering sources for livestock and in tion. The destructive effect was lessened because some cases wildlife. In this respect, riparian projects populations were relatively low, and in pre-Spanish in Zuni are not discrete projects, but rather involve times, carriage of logs had to be on human shoulders. broad participation of land users and managers. There was, however, considerable erosion in the The Zuni example is a fortunate one in that cultural uplands, and the removal of small stands of timber values contribute to the preservation and conser- in the cottonwood bosques often led to local flooding. vation of riparian areas as inherent necessities for The Spaniards too, were heavy users of wood, and they introduced large herds of domestic sheep. Zuni continuance and spiritual well being. Several keys to developing riparian projects have been These animals, by their close cropping of vegeta- tion in the semiarid Southwest, contributed to learned at Zuni through experience and observa- rapid runoff and soil erosion, especially along tions of other projects with similar cultural based some tributary streams. agendas. Principally, there are seven key areas: By the twentieth century, major water control l Legislation to support efforts systems were in place, a huge increase in human and stock-animal populations evolved, and an l Human resource development and capacity building insatiable urban demand for water began to funda- mentally modify the Rio Grande region. l Appropriate technologies Currently, the Rio Grande pueblos are taking measures to restore their riparian areas and to l Communications in local languages improve the quality of water. These changes have come about with help from some farsighted indi- l Financing for sustained project life viduals at the pueblos of Tesuque, Nambe, Santa l Legal instruments to support the work (codes Clara, San Ildefonso, San Juan, Picuris, and Taos. and regulatory laws) Examples of riparian restoration taking place in three of these pueblos is briefly discussed below. l Cultural significance The process of participatory development for Pueblo of Tesuque riparian lands in Zuni is always evolving. In the first year of the project the issues and needs were The Pueblo of Tesuque is monitoring their broadly defined. By the second and third years, cottonwood-willow bosques along the Rio plans of action were implemented, monitoring Tesuque and associated perennial streams to

201 determine the effects of disturbance on this bio- Pueblo of San Juan logical system from changes in species diversity, ecosystem stability, and biomass. Habitat manage- The Pueblo of San Juan is one of a few tribes in ment decisions for wildlife are frequently made by New Mexico to have a Forest Stewardship Plan. considering a limited set of species, e.g., common This program is a combined federal and state pro- game species or endangered species. Some groups, gram which provides cost-share funds to imple- such as bird species, respond quickly to changes in ment forest conservation practices. As program habitat structure because of their mobility. cooperators, the Pueblo is managing its landbase to Tesuque’s study has already collected data on maintain cultural ties for the benefit of current and these aspects and may confirm bird responses to future generations. Channelization of the Rio the overall value of mitigating riparian losses Grande was and still is threatening the riparian solely by changes in vegetative cover. It may vegetation. The tribe wished to restore these areas indicate that restoration of disturbed riparian faunas without destroying existing residential areas or might require reintroduction of bird species, in farmlands. The riparian areas are to be developed addition to changes in vegetative complexity and to provide for recreation and wildlife habitat, as to replicate full community structure and richness. well as to provide wood for future economic It will also aid the tribe in making habitat decisions development and maintenance of the culture. and monitoring environmental effects from off- Approximately 200 acres on the reservation were reservation actions which affect avian populations identified as riparian. Goals for these areas include necessary in cultural activities of the tribe. elimination of exotic vegetation such as Russian olive and saltcedar, planting of native peach leaf, Pueblo of Nambe coyote, and Gooding willows and Rio Grande cotton- wood, interplanting of grain crops with willow and The Pueblo of Nambe derives income from the cottonwoods strips to enhance wildlife food and recreation area it has developed over the years cover, and establishment of water table monitoring along the Rio Nambe and Pojoaque Creek. This devices. The willows are important to reestablish important resource, known as the Nambe Falls and the riparian ecosystem and to provide material for Recreation Area, serves the Santa Fe and Espanola culturally important activities. “Shinny sticks” for communities year round. Increasingly, the tribe is a tribal stick game similar to golf, willow furniture, striving to manage the recreation area for multiple and baskets are all made from willows. Thus far, in types of recreation and other resources. Multiple its first year, the tribe has implemented the plant- resource concerns center around fish and wildlife ing of Rio Grande cottonwoods on ten acres. habitat, water quality, water conservation, aesthet- ics, cultural aspects, erosion control, and water FERTILE OPPORTUNITIES conveyance. To help meet this broader focus, the tribe, assisted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal experiences and lessons learned in ripar- the U.S. Forest Service, conducted a riparian ian ecosystem restoration offer resource managers evaluation based on the recreation area’s goals and a broad array of information. This discussion objectives. Following the evaluation’s recommen- described how some tribes employ old, time- dations, approximately twenty acres along the Rio proven traditional technologies, modern high Nambe have been interplanted with native plant technologies, or both. There are many different species such as mountain mahogany, Gamble oak, objectives as well. No matter what the differences sumac, chokecherry, and willow. Narrowleaf may be, innovation and adaptability are common cottonwoods were also planted along the shores of and planning has been shaped around widely- Nambe Lake at twenty picnic table sites. Many discussed and accepted goals of tribal communi- other revegetation projects are planned for the ties. Though some efforts may be embryonic, and future. The overall survival rate for these projects mistakes have been made, many tribes have be- has been about 85% for all species planted due in come a regional influence and leaders in combin- part to a watering program implemented by the ing the “cultures of land use” with progressive recreation area staff. management strategies.

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