Washington, 30 Tribes To Discuss Hunting Managing Wildlife On Agenda

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Department wants to meet this month with representatives of the state’s 30 Indian tribes, including the Nez Perce Tribe, to discuss hunting issues.

The meeting, which will be open only to agency and tribal representatives, is intended as a chance to focus on the big picture, said Phil Anderson, the agency’s tribal policy coordinator in Olympia.

“The whole idea of the meeting on the 15th is to scope out the issues we all have and their implications on our ability to accomplish our goals that we have collectively,” Anderson said.

From the state’s perspective, he said, the first priority is conservation and the second is managing wildlife species.

“Without good cooperation with tribal and state managers, both goals could be at risk so the intent of this discussion is to get everybody in the same room at the same time and have a candid discussion about where we’re going,” Anderson said.

Carla HighEagle, a Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee member at Lapwai, said state officials also invited the tribe to meet with its regional officials about elk hunting in the Blue Mountains.

HighEagle said the Nez Perce hope the Seattle meeting will not overlook important distinctions between tribes.

Some tribes rely on state policies to secure their hunting rights, unlike the federal treaties the Nez Perce and others signed, she said.

Nez Perce leaders reacted angrily last month to an elk management plan for the Blue Mountains drafted by Fish and Wildlife officials, saying they had been blindsided by the draft plan and the state had not sought information from the tribe.

Nez Perce officials also disputed the plan’s conclusions about tribal hunting.

The draft plan suggested hunting by the Nez Perce is a major factor in problems facing Washington’s Asotin Creek elk herd.

Throughout the Blues, unregulated tribal hunting ranked as a smaller factor.

Washington Fish and Wildlife Director Bern Shanks apologized in a letter last month after tribal complaints.

“It is extremely unfortunate and regrettable that the draft management plan was developed without the benefit of the tribal perspective. It is equally unfortunate that tribal hunting was reported as a major factor in the decline of the elk herds in the Blue Mountain area,” Shanks wrote.

The episode showed the need for state and tribal managers to work together on issues and pointed to the need for the Seattle meeting, Shanks said. He promised a regional session as well.

“We hope that you will come to the table and discuss implementing the management measures that will increase the elk population in southeast Washington,” Shanks wrote.

The draft plan said sport harvest of elk in the Blues had dropped 85 percent, to 315 animals in 1996 from 2,161 in 1981. State officials estimated the tribal harvest at 150 to 250 elk a year based on observations by Fish and Wildlife officers.

HighEagle said she disputed that estimated harvest by Nez Perce hunters. In Asotin Creek, she estimated only about half a dozen or a dozen tribal members hunt there, adding she was not sure how many elk they took.