Nez Perce Tribe Announces Buffalo Hunt and Accompanying Youth Buffalo Initiative (January 31, 2006)

For Immediate Release

Lapwai, ID--The Nez Perce Tribe will be exercising its treaty-reserved hunting rights by hunting up to five (5) buffalo/bison on the Gallatin National Forest in Montana, bordering Yellowstone National Park. This ceremonial and subsistence hunt, conducted enrolled tribal members, will occur on February 3, 4, and 5. The Tribe's hunt will also include a Youth Buffalo Initiative, designed to pass along Nez Perce traditions, culture and way of life from elders to youth.

The Nez Perce people have always been connected with the buffalo, as reflected in their language and well-documented histories. Nez Perce used the Lolo, Nez Perce, and other trails to go to buffalo country, a journey that would often take years to complete.

The Tribe's buffalo hunt is grounded in the Nez Perce Tribe's treat- reserved rights. In the Nez Perce Tribe's 1855 Treaty with the United States, tribal leaders ceded millions of acres of land to the United States, and reserved a permanent homeland along with off-reservation fishing, hunting, gathering, and pasturing rights. These fishing, hunting, gathering and pasturing rights were rights the Nez Perce people had always exercised, and they were necessary to maintaining their culture and way of life. The Treaty minutes document that the United States assured Nez Perce leader Chief Looking Glass that his people can continue to "go to Buffalo" when they please.

"The Tribe's buffalo hunt will be conducted with a good heart, and will honor our ancestors who have ensured that we would be able to practice our traditional ways," said Rebecca Miles, Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe.

The Tribe has informed the State of Montana that this hunt will occur. The State of Montana has acknowledged the Tribe's treaty rights, and has committed to working with the Tribe on logistics issues. Tribal conservation enforcement officers, who are responsible for enforcing the Tribe's code and regulations, will be present.

"We appreciate the government-to-government relationship we enjoy with the State of Montana, and their respect for our treaty rights," Chairman Miles stated.

"This buffalo hunt, and the accompanying Youth Buffalo Initiative, is designed to help educate Nez Perce youth on the cultural significance of the buffalo to our people and the sacredness of our treaty rights," said Virgil Holt Senior, Chairman of the Nez Perce Fish and Wildlife Commission. "This hunt will also provide buffalo to tribal elders and tribal members for ceremonial and subsistence uses."

USEPA has been busy in 2005 protecting our environment; here are a few examples from the Pacific Northwest that are relevant to fish habitat:

Director Dale Hall announced on November 29^th 2005 that: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will award more than $7 million to other countries to aid in their conservation of imperiled wildlife.

"America has a rich tradition of taking a leadership role in supporting wildlife conservation globally, said Hall. "These grants continue that tradition by offering on-the-ground support to governments, not-for-profit organizations, businesses, and landowners who are making a real difference in wildlife conservation."

NORTH COAST FISHERIES AND ITS PRESIDENT PLEAD GUILTY TO MAKING FALSE FISH LANDING RECORD

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that North Coast Fisheries Inc. (North Coast), along with its President, Michael Lucas, 40, of Santa Rosa, California, pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of making false statements regarding the amount of groundfish (for example: rockfish, sablefish, petrale sole, lingcod, etc.) they were purchasing from fishermen.

Michael Lucas faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for making a false statement to the government in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. North Coast faces a maximum fine of $500,000 for making a false statement in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Peter Pomilia faces a maximum statutory penalty of one year imprisonment and a $100,000 fine for submitting a false statement to a Marine Fisheries Council, in violation of 16 U.S.C. § 1857.

August 18^th Update: North Coast, along with its President, Michael Lucas, 40, of Santa Rosa, California, were sentenced late yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer for making false statements regarding the amount of groundfish they were purchasing from fishermen. The company was placed on four years probation and ordered to pay a fine of approximately $84,000. Lucas was sentenced to one month in prison and is scheduled to surrender on September 28, 2005. Mr. Pomilia pleaded guilty to submitting false information to a Marine Fisheries Council, in violation of 16 U.S.C. § 1857, and was sentenced to 3 months home detention, 120 hours of community service, and a fine of $5,000 on May 4, 2005.  Press Release

Coast Guard Cutter Healy returns to Coast Guard Integrated Support Command Seattle, December 2005.

The Healy achieved several milestones -- during the six-month deployment -- including the third visit to the geographic North Pole by a U.S. surface ship and the second ever trans-arctic expedition by surface ships. Additionally, Healy hosted the Ocean Exploration branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for an intensive one-month survey of marine life under the polar ice cap. Healy scientists and crewmembers used divers and remotely operated vehicles to complete this survey which included the discovery of multiple new species of marine life.