PABLO - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have scheduled a public meeting to air a controversial proposal allowing the tribes to take over management of the National Bison Range and three wildlife refuges and wetlands within the Flathead Reservation boundaries.
A joint press release said the meeting will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Ronan High School gym.
Although the specific details have not been worked out, the expectation is for the tribes to have the authority to hire, fire, budget and otherwise direct day-to-day management activities, in accordance with the Fish and Wildlife Service mission and policies.
The meeting will be jointly hosted by FWS, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribes. Duties of presiding officer will be shared by Fred Matt, CSKT Tribal Council chairman; Terry Virden of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and Paul Hoffman, deputy assistant secretary of the interior for fish and wildlife and parks, a political appointee, rather than a career government employee.
Hoffman's responsibilities include overseeing both the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. He is the lead negotiator for the federal government during this most recent effort by the tribes to assume management responsibility under provisions of federal law that encourage tribal self-government.
The proposal has caused considerable controversy locally because of suspicion of tribal motives and concern about tribal hiring practices.
"I hope we can get past some of the misconceptions and rancor and focus on the future for the Bison Range and how we can all work together to maintain and enhance this national treasure for the benefit of everyone,'' Matt said.
Hoffman said that federal laws that govern National Wildlife Refuge management as well as the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act require federal agencies ''to consider entering into annual funding agreements for the management of federal units when those units have a historic, cultural and geographic link to Indian tribes.''
The CSKT tribal government has shown ample evidence that the Bison Range, refuges and federally managed wetlands on the reservation qualify on all three grounds.
But "this is not a done deal,'' Hoffman emphasized.
He said he is optimistic that people will come to Thursday's meeting willing to hear about the laws that govern both the ongoing role of the Fish and Wildlife Service in the management of the Bison Range as well as the federal government's duty to negotiate in good faith with the tribes.
Anyone wishing to comment at the public meeting will be asked to sign in when they arrive. Time for comments may be limited depending on the number of people who sign up.
The negotiations do not include any transfer of federal land, easements or improvements on the refuges. The refuges will continue to be supervised by the Fish and Wildlife Service under current management guidelines and policies. Hoffman encouraged interested people to consult the FWS Web site at www.fws.gov for the documents that articulate the principles and goals of the negotiations.
The meeting Thursday evening is just one part of an extensive public process that the FWS and the tribes have agreed to throughout the negotiations, officials said.
Several issues between the tribal government and the Fish and Wildlife Service remain to be resolved. They include a land swap to eliminate the encroachment of part of a stock-car track on tribal land at the Pablo National Wildlife Refuge; the burying of power lines on the Pablo refuge; modification of farming and grazing practices on Ninepipe and Pablo refuges; removal of riprap from the Pablo refuge; and cessation of gravel mining and heavy-equipment operator training activities on the Pablo refuge.
A similar proposal by the tribes for a funding agreement was made in 1994-95, but ultimately went nowhere because of public opposition. Heated opposition is apparent this time around, and the organization leading the opposition, the Citizens Equal Rights Foundation of Ronan, has been running ads for the last few weeks in the local weekly newspaper laying out the group's numerous objections to tribal management.
The tribal government has responded with ads of its own urging the public: ''Don't be Buffaloed'' and to get the facts about the proposal before forming an opinion.
The Citizens Equal Rights Foundation is circulating petitions opposing the agreement, to be hand-delivered later this month to Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., in Washington, D.C. Burns is chairman of a powerful Senate subcommittee overseeing funding for the Department of the Interior. No agreement can occur without the secretary of Interior's assent.
The tribes also are encouraging tribal members and others to contact Burns.
Official documents and background information regarding the negotiations, timeline and tribal responses to issues of concern from FWS are available online at mountain-prairie.fws.gov/CSKT-FWS-Negotiation.
The text of the petition opposing the transfer of responsibility to tribal government and other background information from the perspective of opponents is available at www. citizensalliance.org.
Reporter John Stromnes can be reached at 1-800-366-7816 or at jstromnes@missoulian.com
If you're interested
A public meeting to discuss a proposal to allow the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to take over management of the National Bison Range and three wildlife refuges and wetlands within the Flathead Reservation boundaries will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Ronan High School Gym.
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