Sustainable and Innovative Solutions Panel Huckleberry Summit June 21, 2007 Don Motanic Intertribal Timber Council, Tech

1. Sustainable and Innovative Solutions PanelHuckleberry SummitJune 21, 2007Don MotanicIntertribal Timber Council, Technical Specialist “An independent assessment on monitoring the effectiveness the federal-tribal relationships under the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) – A Huckleberry Trust Walk”

2. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Background • Intertribal Timber Council • Non profit serving 60+ tribes nationwide • Conducted 31 symposium since 1977 with proceedings • Focus on issues with findings and recommendations • Two symposiums w/ non timber forest products workshops • 2000 • 2004 • Participated w/ Affiliated Tribes of NW Indians 2005 Trading at the River – Focus on Huckleberries • Warm Springs – Louie Pitt • Cow Creek Band of Umpqua – USFS Special Interest Area

3. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Background Trust Walk • In a trust walk, two people alternate being leader and blindfolded follower. • individuals take turns as the blind follower or leader • guide each other through an obstacle course • both learn communication skills and develop a sense of trust. • While attempting to manage huckleberries on federal lands, who plays the leader and who plays the blind?

4. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Background Special Trust Walk Federal-Tribal Gov’t Tribes are not just another “stakeholder” (This slide needs to join handshake sign) Like a forest and the huckleberry fields, where my family has gathered for many years, the relationship between Indian tribes and the United States is dynamic. Rooted in the U.S. Constitution, the relationship between tribes and the United States varies and can be established many ways • treaties (1855 treaties predate states) • statutes • executive orders • judicial decisions

5. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Monitoring Trust Walk – Pilot Project on Effectiveness Monitoring NW Forest Plan on federal-tribal relationships • Purpose • Objectives • Design • Method • Participation

6. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Monitoring Trust Walk – Pilot Project • Purpose • 76 tribes were part of the NW Forest Plan • Intergovernmental Advisory Committee included three intertribal organizations • ITC, NW Indian Fisheries Commission, Cal Indian Fire Forest Management Council

7. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Monitoring Trust Walk – Pilot Project • Purpose • NW Forest Plan required effectiveness monitoring as it related to tribal-federal relationships and effected resources, which includes huckleberries • A third party monitoring process was recommended in a report on the Effectiveness of the Federal-Tribal Relationship during the first 10 year period of the NWFP • The tribal reps did not want the federal government to self monitoring its own performance. Its like the feds are… • “pitching and umpiring” • Lessons learned will be valuable w/ third party

8. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Monitoring Trust Walk – Pilot Project • Objectives • Report on government to government relationships at local level • Collect information on how: • Relationship is functioning • Resources of tribal interest are being managed • Feedback is being processed between governments • Summarize the regional outcomes for federal executives in Washington, Oregon and Northern California and make appropriate changes to guidelines, such as permit process for huckleberries.

9. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Monitoring Trust Walk – Pilot Project • Design • Completed through questionnaires and case studies • Invite all 76 tribes to participate • Onsite and telephone surveys • Case Studies • What’s working • What’s not working • Highlight new ideas, tools, processes, agreements

10. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Monitoring Trust Walk – Pilot Project • Case Studies • What’s working • What’s not working • Highlight new ideas, tools, processes, agreements • Examples • Tribal Wildfire Guide • Building Bridges • Evergreen 2005 “Indian forestry, a model for National Forests?” Tribal Nursery Needs Assessment • 31 Indian Timber symposium proceedings

11. A Huckleberry Trust Walk Monitoring Trust Walk – Pilot Project • Method • Conducted by a third party contractor • Contractor will be solicited by federal agency tribal relations program managers with intertribal organization assistance • A Method Similar to the Independent Assessment of Indian Forest Lands and Forest Management in the United States for 1993 and 2003

12. A Huckleberry Trust Walk Monitoring Trust Walk – Pilot Project • Participation • Contractor will participate w/ Local Tribal-Federal Contact Teams • Example: Cow Creek Band of Umpqua and Umpqua and Rogue River-Sisikiyou National Forest w/ Huckleberry Patch Special Interest Area

13. A Huckleberry Trust Walk Monitoring Trust Walk – Pilot Project • Participation • Contractor will participate w/ Local Tribal-Federal Contact Teams • Example: Mescalero Tribe in NM utilizing Tribal Forest Protection Act to perform stewardship contracts on Lincoln NF See Mescalero Tribe’s “view on the boarder”

14. View on the Border Mescalero Reservation Lincoln N.F.

15. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Conclusions • By using a third party monitoring process there will be less surprises • The monitoring process provides feedback to improve the resource • More communication will lead to a safer huckleberry trust walk

16. A Huckleberry Trust Walk • Why are we here? • To honor our past • Inspire vision for today • Create the agreements, structures and monitor the trust walk for tomorrow • THE END • “Let’s go fishing while the berries ripen” 1965 1997 2007