Judge To Rule On Treaty Rights Case To Define If Tribe Can Hunt Off Reservation Without License

A judge will decide today whether treaty rights protect a former Yakama Nation police chief who killed two bull elk near a feeding station last winter - out of season and off the reservation.

Yakama tribal member Joe Young has no special rights that allow him to hunt in these circumstances, Yakima County Prosecutor Jeff Sullivan said in closing arguments Tuesday.

“Mr. Young does not have the right to hunt (off the reservation) unless he complies with all the laws of Washington,” Sullivan told Yakima County Superior Court Judge James Gavin.

Young, 54, of White Swan, contends the Treaty of 1855 - in which the tribe ceded some 10 million acres of land to the U.S. government - gives Yakama Indians hunting privilege on “unclaimed land.”

“I want the court to find there aren’t any open and unclaimed lands anymore,” Sullivan said.

Young and his attorney contend such lands include federal forest land off the reservation where the elk were killed.

Defense attorney Jack Fiander said he interprets the treaty language to mean Yakama Indians can hunt freely on off-reservation land that is not “claimed by settlers.”

And there were no signs to indicate the area was a state Department of Fish and Wildlife feeding station when Young went hunting with a cousin in the Nile Valley near Chinook Pass on Jan. 27, Fiander said.

“If he had known, he wouldn’t have” hunted there, said the attorney, a soft-spoken man with a graying ponytail.

“We’re not claiming an absolute … right on behalf of Joe Young,” Fiander said in closing arguments.

The incident was reported by horrified local animal lovers who came upon Young and his kill when they went to the station to watch the animals feed.

Gavin said he would issue an oral ruling on the treaty-rights issue today. If Gavin rules the treaty is not applicable, Young will stand convicted of four gross misdemeanor counts: hunting elk during a closed season, killing elk in excess of bag limit, hunting without a license and hunting without an elk tag. Each count carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

If Gavin rules that the treaty rights allowed Young to hunt near the feeding station, Sullivan said he would call witnesses to testify that hunting limits are needed to protect the elk herd.

“State law can limit off-reservation hunting if needed for conservancy,” the prosecutor said Tuesday.