Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

8. Indian LandIndian reservation lands have been set aside for the exclusive use and benefitof Indian people pursuant to treaties, statutes, and executive orders. Inaddition, Indians retain treaty-secured cultural, economic, and hunting andfishing rights within lands ceded to the United States. Indian Reservationlands are held in trust by the United States, with the Secretary of the Interiorhaving the principal responsibility for maintaining that trust. Each reservationis governed by a sovereign tribal government. Tribal governments have amongtheir many sovereign powers the right to regulate the uses of land and resourceswithin their reservation boundaries, including the use and managementof fisheries and wildlife resources and habitat.Indian people revere all lands, forests, and wildlife. They have managed theirlands prudently for centuries. They recognize the environmental, cultural, andspiritual values of those lands, as well as the economic values and the importanceof appropriate forestland management to wildlife. They have taken andwill continue to take measures to protect reservation wildlife populations,including the spotted owl. Given this historical perspective, the Tribes arevoluntarily managing portions of their reservation trust lands in a mannerconsistent with the northern spotted owl recovery effort. These voluntarycontributions are made because the protection of all species - includingspotted owls - is ingrained in Indian culture.Within the range of the northern spotted owl, there are six Indian reservationsthat contain northern spotted owl activity centers: the Yakima Indian Reservation,located in the eastern Washington Cascades province: the QuinaultIndian Reservation, located in the Washington's Olympic Peninsula province:the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, located in the eastern Oregon Cascadesprovince; the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation, located in the Oregon Coastprovince; the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, located in the Klamath provinceof California and the Round Valley Indian Reservation located in the CaliforniaCoast province. The following accounts of contributions to owl recovery wereprovided by the respective Tribes.Yakima Indian Reservation, WashingtonTimber harvests on the Yakima Indian Reservation are done almost exclusivelyunder uneven-aged management prescriptions. This reduces impacts tosuitable owl habitat while allowing harvesting to proceed. The reservationcontains approximately 500,000 acres of forested habitat, of which about 50percent (250,000 acres) currently is classified as suitable owl habitat. Typically,the northern spotted owl habitat on the Yakima Indian Reservation lieswithin a band approximately 30 miles (north to south) by 25 miles wide. Thisband starts near the Cascade crest at elevations below 5,000 feet and extendseast until it reaches pure ponderosa pine timber stands. Within that habitatthere is an existing block of 60,000 acres of prime suitable habitat that is inTribally designated reserve status. To date only about 25 percent of the totalsuitable habitat and less than 5 percent of the reserved area habitat have beensurveyed for owls. Twenty-four activity centers have been located during 1989-1991 owl surveys. At a minimum the tribal biologists estimate a total of atleast 50 nesting sites will be found when surveys of all owl habitat have beencompleted.The Yakima Indian Nation has a large, effective, fisheries and wildlife staff thatreviews all on-reservation activities that may have environmental impacts.89