26 July
2003
Media Contact:
Charles Hudson, CRITFC,
(503) 731-1275
Cheron McGuffey, CRITFC, (503) 238-3555
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Tribes honor Spirit of the
Salmon Award recipients during gala
Portland, Oregon
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A Washington city, a tribal leader and a federal energy official
are among those the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
will honor tonight with its annual Spirit of the Salmon Award.
"This year's award recipients represent the best in community
activism and public involvement," said Olney Patt Jr., CRITFC
executive director. "They are all truly Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum. They
are all salmon people."
The seven awards will be presented at CRITFC's annual Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum
Gala at The Governor Hotel in Portland by event co-chairs Sharon
Kitzhaber, former First Lady of Oregon, and John Emrick, chairman
and chief executive officer of Norm Thompson Outfitters. Award recipients
and excerpts from Saturday's presentation are as follows.
- Claude Smith Sr., the Wasco Tribe of the Confederated Tribes
of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon — Lifetime
Achievement Award, for a lifelong commitment and significant
contributions toward promoting partnerships, fostering understanding,
and providing bold leadership in efforts to restore and protect
Columbia River Salmon.
Claude Smith Sr. is a leader of his people: the Wasco Tribe
of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of
Oregon. For more than 20 years, he has represented his people
on the tribal Fish and Wildlife Committee and has traveled all
over the United States educating policymakers about his fisheries
and their protection. He fished at Celilo Falls, Klickitat Falls,
Eagle Creek and many other usual and accustomed fishing places
of the Wasco people. In the Chinook jargon, there is a phrase,
"hiyu skookum," which means "strong man."
Claude Smith Sr. is hiyu skookum.
- Carol Craig, Yakama Nation — Education Award,
to an individual or institution that has made a significant contribution
to the widespread education of the public about salmon and the
role they play in the lives of all creatures in the Pacific Northwest.
Carol Craig is the public information officer for the Yakama
Nation Fisheries and Wildlife Program. Prior to taking her post
in Toppenish, Carol worked in the Public Information Office of
the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. In each position,
Carol demonstrated the ability to reduce complex issues and best
science to plain talk, and she placed a special priority on teaching
youth about the culture and the rights of Indian tribes.
- City of Selah, Wash., represented by Mayor Bob Jones —
Public Partnership Award, to a local government
that has taken a significant community leadership role in support
of salmon restoration.
The City of Selah was the first local government in the Yakima
Valley to show a willingness and a desire to work hand in hand
with the Yakama Nation on fish recovery and fish restoration.
In their first joint effort, the City of Selah supported the tribe
in its effort to modify a Washington Department of Transportation
project to create a side channel in the Selah gap to benefit anadromous
fish. From the forging of their relationship through this project,
the City of Selah went on to press Yakima County to form a lead
entity with other Valley cities and the county in order to obtain
state Salmon Restoration Funds. Though the road to recovery was
rocky, the City of Selah persevered in their belief and their
efforts resulted in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
calling together a summit for the entire basin that led to the
formation of the Yakima Basin Salmon Recovery Entity.
- Regional Citizens Forum for Fish and Economy — Private
Partnership Award, to a business that has developed rich
partnerships in the pursuit of salmon restoration.
Restoring, rebuilding and protecting the salmon of the Columbia
River Basin is, perhaps, the most controversial issue of the Columbia
Basin because of the number and strength of the river's many stakeholders.
When the stakeholders dig in their heels over the issues, nothing
much is accomplished. When they collaborate and cooperate as in
the Umatilla Basin, amazing things happen. The Regional Forum
for Fish and Economy was formed by Antone Minthorn and N. Kathryn
"Kat" Brigham of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation, Lynn Chamberlain of the Oregon Wheatgrowers
and Bruce Buckmaster of BioOregon from Astoria to make amazing
things happen. Since the publication of their white paper on the
use of artificial production a year ago, we have seen a new consensus
emerge on the use of hatcheries and we expect that their future
efforts will be just as fruitful.
- Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund, represented by Todd True and
Steve Mashuda — Conservation Advocacy Award,
to an advocacy organization that has best focused its resources
on behalf of salmon.
Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund is the law firm for the environment.
It is the premier environmental plaintiffs' law firm in the Pacific
Northwest, though it often find itself on the defense side, either
defending itself against so-called "slap suits" or defending
federal laws while recalcitrant federal agencies sit on the sidelines.
Earth Justice has advocated for reform of the Federal Columbia
River Power System for a decade. It has actively litigated to
protect salmon habitat on public lands and has sought enforcement
of the aquatic conservation strategy of the Northwest Forest Plan.
In a recent case, U.S. District Judge James A. Redden accepted
its argument that provisions of the National Marine Fisheries
Service's Biological Opinion were not supported by an adequate
commitment of resources, and he invalidated NMFS's rule.
- Tim Watters, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream — Jammin'
Volunteer Award, to an individual who embodies the volunteer
spirit so necessary for restoring salmon.
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream brings the environmentalism of
Vermonters to Oregon. But Tim Watters brings environmental volunteerism
to a height not often seen even in Oregon. During Spirit of the
Salmon's last two waterfront events, Jammin' for Salmon and Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum,
Tim Watters worked from dawn to dusk scooping the fine, cold confection
that Ben & Jerry's supplied. The ice cream was great on those
hot August days, but the volunteer assistance that Tim offered
was way beyond the call of duty.
- Nora Mead Brownell, commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission — Leadership Award, to an individual
who, like the salmon, relies upon his or her instincts to make
progress in recovering the species while brushing past the obstacles
that would bar the way to one less bold.
It would seem that understanding the social, economic and
biological impacts of hydroelectric development to regulate such
development would require a hands-on, person-to-person approach.
While many regulators believe that such regulation is basically
a paper chase, that's not the case for Nora Mead Brownell. Ms.
Brownell is a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
and is recognized by the Spirit of the Salmon Board for her interest
in the tribal perspective on the impacts of hydro development
on tribal resources and her willingness to meet with tribal members,
in their territories, to hear their views.
# # # #
About CRITFC
The Portland-based Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is
the technical support and coordinating agency for fishery management
policies of the Columbia River Basin's four treaty tribes: the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes
of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.
CRITFC, formed in 1977, employs biologists, other scientists, public
information specialists, policy analysts and administrators who work
in fisheries research and analyses, advocacy, planning and coordination,
harvest control and law enforcement. |
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