U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Tribal Wildlife Grant and Tribal Landowner Incentive Program Periodic Report, 2006 Message from the Director Dale Hall Dale Hall is Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Indian Country comprises more than 100 million In reviewing this report, you’ll see many examples of acres––much of which encompasses some of the most on-the-ground conservation–––from the Oglala of Pine important fi sh and wildlife habitat in the nation. Ride Igmu Tanka (mountain lion) program to the Iowa Countless plants and animals, many of which are Tribe of Oklahoma’s project to construct and manage protected by the Endangered Species Act, thrive on the Grey Snow Eagle (Rehabilitation) House, Bah Kho- Indian lands. At the same time, Indian tribes have je Xla Chi. often lacked the means to adequately manage and protect these important resources. I also want to mention the work of the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe in northwestern Washington, which truly In the spirit of cooperative conservation, I am embodies the spirit of the TWG and TLIP programs. honored to present this report on the U.S. Fish and The tribe is addressing a declining population of the Wildlife Service’s Tribal Wildlife Grants (TWG) and North Cascade mountain goat, which in turn will Tribal Landowner Incentive Program (TLIP). These help the tribe maintain an important element of its competitive grant programs provide great fl exibility traditions and culture. for tribal governments to focus on their own fi sh and wildlife management priorities. During the past four I hope this report inspires you––as it inspires me––to years, the Service has provided nearly $40 million to continue working cooperatively to conserve and protect more than 125 tribes for 219 projects. these valuable natural treasures. Message from Tribal Leader Billy Frank, Jr. Billy Frank, Jr., a member of the Nisqually Indian Tribe, has served as Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for more than 20 years. Tribes have a proud and distinguished history as The Service’s Native American Program has helped stewards of the land and waters of this continent. We follow through with this commitment, with its Tribal learned long ago that to respect mother earth and to be Wildlife Grants (TWG) and Tribal Landowner Incentive good stewards of natural resources is among the best Program (TLIP.) Over the past four years, these of legacies we can provide to all the descendants of this programs have provided nearly $40 million to about 125 land. If our children are to be healthy and content, they tribes across the nation, including awards of more than must have clean water teeming with fi sh and vibrant $4.1 million to tribes in the State of Washington. uplands where deer and bear are sustained. These things are critical to the spirit of all people, just as the As with other funding from other sources, this funding survival of fi sh and wildlife are, in fact, critical to long has been put to good use by the tribes, through term prosperity. programs that benefi t Indian and non-Indian alike. Projects range from the monitoring of water quality The tribes work hard, as our ancestors taught us, to to the enhancement of wildlife habitat. But the job assure the continuation of natural resources for seven has just begun. The United States bears a solemn generations and beyond. But to achieve this we must responsibility to collaborate with tribes on an ongoing have help, in the form of collaboration with non-tribal basis to protect and restore the habitat and natural government at all levels, the cooperation of all people, resources so essential to all Americans. and direct funding from the Federal government that must safeguard our sacred trust. Tribal Wildlife Grants The Tribal Wildlife Grants (TWG) program was created The purpose of the funding is to “provide technical by Congress within the State Wildlife Grant program in and fi nancial assistance for the development and 2002, setting aside $5 million to establish a competitive implementation of programs that benefi t fi sh and tribal grant program for Federally-recognized Indian wildlife resources and their habitat, including species tribes. These funds were not subject to further that are not hunted or fi shed.” The funds may be requirements of the formula-based State Wildlife Grant used for salaries, equipment, consultant services, program. subcontracts, acquisitions and travel. Proposals are evaluated by their Resource Benefi t, Performance Measures, Work Plan, Budget, Capacity Building and their Partnerships and Contributions. Tribal Wildlife Grant and Tribal Landowner Incentive Program 1 Tribal Landowner Incentive Program The Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) is a The purpose of the funding is to “provide for the competative grant program created under the United protection, restoration and management of habitat States Department of the Interior Related Agencies to benefi t species at risk, including Federally-listed Appropriations Act of 2002, from the Land and Water endangered or threatened species, as well as proposed Conservation Fund. Within the LIP program, the or candidate species.” Funds can be used for salaries, Fish and Wildlife Service makes a portion of the funds equipment, consultant services, subcontracts, available specifi cally to Federally recognized tribal acquisitions and travel. Proposals are evaluated by governments. their Resource Benefi t, Performance Measures, Work Plan, Budget, Capacity Building and their Partnerships and Contributions. 2 Tribal Wildlife Grant and Tribal Landowner Incentive Program The Northwest and California - Nevada (US Fish & Wildlife Service Region 1) Portland, OR ´ Regional Offi ce 1 Sacramento, CA ´ CA/NV Offi ce Hawaiian Islands Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands Alaska Tribal Wildlife Grant and Tribal Landowner Incentive Program 3 Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Pyramid Lake Fishery’s Numana Hatchery Project TLIP 2003 Grant: $200,000, Matching: $66,667 Approximately 15 miles long and 11 miles wide, Pyramid Lake stands as the centerpiece and namesake of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in northwestern Nevada. The lake is named for an enormous pyramid- shaped granite peak rising from the water near the eastern shore. Measuring 350 feet at its deepest point, Pyramid Lake is fed from Lake Tahoe through the Truckee River. It has no outlet; it is known as a terminal lake, which only allows water to leave through evaporation or seepage into the ground. In order to protect the unique fi sheries of this Lahontan cutthroat trout. Laurie Moore/USFWS spectacular waterway, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe has embarked on a project to upgrade their fi sh hatchery, funded by a 2003 Tribal Landowner Incentive Program grant. “The lake’s resources include unimpaired water, fl ood reduction and sediment control, fi sh habitat, fi sh food habitat, and educational opportunities,” says Dan Fairbank, fi sheries biologist for the tribe. “Protecting headwater habitat is critical to the successful recovery of Lahontan cutthroat trout, but we are also dealing with increasingly high summer temperatures and an aging hatchery infrastructure.” The Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) and cui-ui (Chasmistes cujus) are both residents of the lake, and both are Federally-protected species. Because of their historic cultural kinship with of these rare fi sh, conservation is a priority for the Paiute people. 4 Tribal Wildlife Grant and Tribal Landowner Incentive Program Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians of Southern California The Old Woman Mountains Preserve Fauna & Flora Assessment Project TWG 2003 Grant: $216,955, Matching: $11,200 The Old Woman Mountains Preserve is located 40 miles west of the Colorado River, where three great American deserts converge. Relative to these three major desert systems, and along with its considerable elevation range, from 800 to 5,000 feet, the place is a natural magnet for plants and animals. But the preserve is also not far from the high-speed development that characterizes so much of southern California. The population of the Inland Empire region (San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial counties) is expected to grow by almost 70 percent by the year 2020. Tribal Chairman Dean Mike had reason to be concerned after reviewing the results of the fi rst comprehensive survey of fl ora and fauna on the tribe’s 2,500-acre Old Woman Mountains Preserve. “We are afraid that the wild desert lands that were home to our ancestors will one day be lost,” said Mike. “It’s important we know what we have. It is important that we do what we can do to leave for our children what our old people passed on to us. Knowing what we have is the fi rst step in understanding what must be done.” Collared lizard. Jim Williams/USFWS The two-year long survey completed in December 2005 revealed an abundance of life on the preserve: 237 plant species, representing 35 percent of all plant families in California; 82 percent of the snakes, lizards, amphibians, and tortoises that could potentially occupy the area, including evidence of recent use of the preserve by the Federally-listed desert tortoise; 70 percent of the mammals that could potentially be found on the site, along with 81 species of birds, including 60 neotropical migratory species. The program was designed to provide for the effective monitoring of any signifi cant variation in plant and animal populations. The capacity to establish comprehensive base-line information, along with the ability to monitor any changes in plant and animal populations, is critical for long-term sustainable management. It also provides invaluable information for understanding how to adapt management strategies to habitat. The results of this effort will directly benefi t management of desert habitat in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. Both the survey and an adaptive management plan were made possible by a 2003 Service-sponsored Tribal Landowner Incentive Grant, and help from friends.