Gary Morishima, September 2011

1. Quinault Indian Nation Land Consolidation Under the Cobell SettlementILTF Tribal Leaders MeetingHinckley, MN Gary Morishima, September 2011

2. Questions? • How is Interior going to implement the land consolidation program under Cobell? • How will tribal priorities be considered when deciding which property interests to acquire? • Who is best situated to administer the program?

3. Quinault Reservation

4. 200,000 acres, predominantly forested

5. QIN Land ownership

6. The Need for Land Consolidation • Except for the North Boundary area, the QIR was entirely allotted in the early 1900s • 2340 80-acre allotments • Land ownership has become increasingly complex • Mixture of fee and trust lands • Fractionation • Increases management costs and difficulties • Decreases ability to productively manage the land and its resources • Reduces availability of federal $ to provide services and manage resources

7. The Need for Land Consolidation Land ownership patterns • Left the tribe impoverished, without an economic base to sustain governmental functions, subject to pervasive BIA “trust policies” • Threatened the ability to preserve the QIR as a permanent homeland • Reduced the ability to protect cultural and communal resources (e.g., fish, wildlife, water) and environmentally sensitive areas • Jeopardized the political sovereignty of QIN • Increased costs of management and administration

8. Land consolidation has been a principal priority for the QIN since the 1960s Cobell-ILCP is a part of the Integrated Approach Needed To Consolidate Land

9. Putting the Pieces Together Where does Land Consolidation under the Cobell Settlement fit? It’s another piece of the puzzle that has to be put together to consolidate QIR lands

10. Land Consolidation Under theCobell Settlement Proposal:Enter into agreement with the DoI to enable the QIN to administer land consolidation on the Quinault Reservation • Relationships to landowners • Tribal policy priorities and stewardship obligations to protect fish, wildlife, water, and cultural resources and to maintain, secure productive homelands • Efficient administrative procedures • Local knowledge of land and resource values

11. QIN is highly motivated and capable • Because the future security and productivity of its reservation homeland is at stake, the QIN is highly motivated to ensure that Land Consolidation is time/cost efficient and effective • QIN has decades of experience with land consolidation. • QIN has helped administer the Indian Land Consolidation Program (ILCP) on its Reservation • When funding for the ILCP was eliminated in 2007, QIN had in-hand $3.2 million in fractional interests ready to purchase.

12. Focus Cobell-ILCP on two areas: • Consolidate lands for tribal government • Provide support to help individuals consolidate fractional interests and stop further fractionation

13. Consolidate for QIN government Provide: • Secure permanent homeland • Sound economic base • Protection of environmental and cultural values • Protection of communal resources (e.g., fish, wildlife, water) • Reduce costs of administration and improve productivity of trust lands

14. Helping Tribal Members • Consolidation • Acquiring/Trading fractional interests • Management cooperatives • Understanding valuation • Timing of acquisitions/sales • Preparation of wills Proposal:If Cobell ILLCP $ used to consolidate fractional interests for individuals, consolidated interest subject to restriction against future fractionation

15. Components • Acquisition of any fractional interest in property held in trust (trust or fee, surface or mineral, regardless of size) • No liens on acquired interests • Mass Appraisal system • Acquisition Priorities in accordance with Land Consolidation Plan approved by the Secretary of Interior • Administrative controls to assure accountability

16. Mass Appraisal System • Designed for timberlands • Feasibility Study funded by BIA & OAS Central Office • Proof of Concept prototype under development • Quickly estimate values of undivided property interests at minimal cost • Query by parcel, area, or individual • Threshold Values • Upper limit – trigger formal land & timber appraisal • Lower Limit – optional use of minimum value/interest

17. Land Consolidation Plan • Get BIA, OST, Tribe working off the same page • Secretarial Commission • DOI says it’s not dealing with Cobell ILCP, but it is (Appraisals, titles, trust records) Proposal: (1) Tribal leaders should press for opportunity to review and comment on prospective appointees; (2) The Trust Reform Commission should place a high priority on increasing the efficiency of land consolidation.

18. Scholarship Program Partially funded through incentives to sell fractional interests

19. Scholarship Program • DoI considering contracting administration to two national non-profit organizations • Special Board of trustees • But, Tribes know needs and motivations of their students better and have long administered scholarship programs of their own. Proposal: Incentives stay with the reservation on which fractional interests are acquired and are administered with involvement of the tribal government.

20. Agreements • DoI lacks the capacity to establish & administer systems to implement the Cobell-ILCP alone. • Don’t wait until the 11th hour. Proposal – Convene a Tribal-DoI Workgroup to draft template for agreements with individual tribes.

21. Accountability Proposal: • Periodic, reports on accomplishments, and audits of expenditures and administrative costs • Periodic, independent review to determine what’s working and what’s not • Recommendations for improvement.

22. How are Cobell-ILCP $ to be shared? Many reservations plagued by legacy of allotment. Distribution of $ is likely to be a matter of controversy Proposal • Formula-based for fairness & transparency • Stable basis for allocation of appropriated funds • E.g., # allotments issued as of 1934

23. Questions?