# Colville Reservation (2018) > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aconfederated_colville%3A3c97f94582875d77 ## Record - **Collection:** Tribal code - **Document type:** Tribal code ## Text Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Integrated Resource Management Plan 2015 Table of Contents Introduction 7 Resource Management Planning  13 Tribal Codes and Federal Laws 20 The 2014 Community Survey 26 Holistic Goal 28 Desired Future Conditions  29 Integrated Resource Management Planning�������������������������������������������������� 7 National Environmental Policy Act Requirements��������������������������������������� 8 Community Input�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 10 Enhancements and Improvements in the 2015 IRMP��������������������������������� 10 Comprehensive Planning�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 12 History of Resource Management Planning������������������������������������������������ 13 Integrated Resource Management Planning������������������������������������������������ 15 The Project Proposal Process (3P)������������������������������������������������������������������ 18 Natural Resource Codes���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 20 Fish, Wildlife and Recreation (Chapter 4-1)������������������������������������������� 20 Cultural Resources Protection (Chapter 4-4)����������������������������������������� 20 On-Site Wastewater Treatment and Disposal (Chapter 4-5)���������������� 21 Forest Practices (Chapter 4-7)������������������������������������������������������������������ 22 Water Quality Standards (Chapter 4-8)�������������������������������������������������� 22 Hydraulic Projects (Chapter 4-9)������������������������������������������������������������� 23 Water Resources Use And Permitting (Chapter 4-10)�������������������������� 23 Rangeland Management (Chapter 4-11)������������������������������������������������� 23 Forest Protection (Chapter 4-12)�������������������������������������������������������������� 24 Wild Horses (Chapter 4-14)���������������������������������������������������������������������� 24 Shoreline Management (Chapter 4-15)��������������������������������������������������� 24 Fire Management (Chapter 4-19)������������������������������������������������������������� 25 Federal Laws����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 25 Integrated Resource Management Plan 2 Colville Reservation Table of Contents (continued) Trust Claims Settlement 31 Soil, Water and Air 38 Agriculture 56 Rangeland 62 The Natural Resources Restoration Plan������������������������������������������������������ 33 Watershed Restoration������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 33 Rangeland Restoration������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 34 Wildlife Restoration����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 35 Forest Restoration�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 35 Forest Restoration Goals:�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 36 Cultural Plants Restoration���������������������������������������������������������������������� 37 Watersheds: Water and Soils��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 38 Water Resource Conditions���������������������������������������������������������������������� 39 Land Use Impacts�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 41 Watershed Management �������������������������������������������������������������������������� 42 Water Rights Status and Strategy������������������������������������������������������������ 43 Air Quality�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 44 The Environmental Trust Department���������������������������������������������������������� 45 Community Concerns������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 47 Environmental Trust Goals & Objectives������������������������������������������������������ 48 Soils and Water������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 48 Air Quality�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 54 Current Conditions������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 56 Community Concerns������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 60 Agriculture Management�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 60 Agriculture Goals & Objectives���������������������������������������������������������������������� 60 Reservation Rangeland and Historic Uses��������������������������������������������������� 62 Current Rangeland Conditions���������������������������������������������������������������������� 63 Rangeland Inventory �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 64 Colville Reservation 3 Integrated Resource Management Plan Table of Contents (continued) Rangeland Management �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 65 Range Unit Acreage����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 68 Noxious Weed Prevention And Control������������������������������������������������� 70 Community Concerns ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 72 The Land Operations/Range Program��������������������������������������������������������� 73 Rangeland Goals & Objectives����������������������������������������������������������������������� 74 Forests 78 Fire Management and Prevention 96 Overview����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 78 Progress Made Implementing the 2000 IRMP��������������������������������������������� 78 Legacy Issues Affecting Forest Management����������������������������������������������� 79 Management Under the IRMP����������������������������������������������������������������������� 81 Management of Young Trees�������������������������������������������������������������������� 82 Logging Systems and Forest Roads�������������������������������������������������������� 83 Forest Inventory and the Annual Allowable Cut���������������������������������� 84 Fire Management��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 85 Forestry Programs and the Project Planning Process��������������������������� 86 Additional Forestry Program Responsibilities�������������������������������������������� 86 Community Concerns������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 87 Timber Harvest Schedule ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 88 Wildfires and the Harvest Schedule�������������������������������������������������������� 90 Forestry Program Goals and Objectives������������������������������������������������������� 92 Wildfire Impacts����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 96 Fire Policy and Management�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 98 Fire Management Program����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 99 Fire Management Zones������������������������������������������������������������������������� 101 Fire Lookouts�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 101 Cooperative Fire Management Agreements���������������������������������������� 102 Integrated Resource Management Plan 4 Colville Reservation Table of Contents (continued) Fire Prevention Program������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 102 Fuels Management���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 103 Fire Management & Prevention Goals and Objectives����������������������������� 103 Forest Roads 106 Fish, Wildlife and Habitat 112 Cultural Resources 128 Legacy Roads and Environmental Impacts������������������������������������������������ 106 Current Conditions���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 107 Community Concerns����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 108 Forest Roads and Natural Resource Restoration��������������������������������������� 109 Forest Roads Goals and Objectives�������������������������������������������������������������� 110 Game Reserves, Wilderness and Mitigation Lands����������������������������������� 112 Threatened and Endangered Species���������������������������������������������������������� 114 Feral Horse Management������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 115 Fish Management������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 115 Tribal Hatcheries�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 116 Fisheries, Habitat Restoration and Climate Change��������������������������� 117 Wildlife Management������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 118 Project Proposal Process�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 118 Community Concerns����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 119 Fish & Wildlife Goals & Objectives������������������������������������������������������������� 120 Wildlife Goals & Objectives�������������������������������������������������������������������� 120 Fish Goals & Objectives�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 125 Preserving History and Culture������������������������������������������������������������������� 128 Traditional Cultural Plants��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 128 Community Concerns����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 129 The History/Archaeology Program������������������������������������������������������������ 130 Colville Reservation 5 Integrated Resource Management Plan Table of Contents (continued) Cultural Resource Management Goals & Objectives�������������������������������� 131 History and Archaeology����������������������������������������������������������������������� 131 Traditional Cultural Plant Community Restoration��������������������������� 133 Parks and Recreation 135 Climate Change Strategy 141 Additional Planning Resources 148 Lake Roosevelt Management����������������������������������������������������������������������� 135 Community Concerns����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 136 Parks & Recreation Management����������������������������������������������������������������� 136 Enforcement���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 138 Parks & Recreation Management Goals & Objectives������������������������������ 138 Regional Conditions�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 142 Forest Ecosystems������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 142 Federal Climate Change Policies����������������������������������������������������������������� 144 Adaptive Climate Change Strategy������������������������������������������������������������� 146 Resource Management Plans������������������������������������������������������������������������ 148 Natural Resource Reference Documents���������������������������������������������������� 149 Integrated Resource Management Plan 6 Colville Reservation Introduction Introduction The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation adopted an Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP) in 2000. It included management goals and objectives for the period 2000 – 2014. In 2014, the Tribes’ IRMP Core Team began the process to update the IRMP. The team prepared a Resource Assessment of the natural resources of the Reservation that described the resources of the Reservation and identified management issues of concern to be addressed in the updated plan. During a series of workshops, the IRMP team assessed the effectiveness of the original IRMP and identified ways to enhance and improve the plan to provide greater flexibility and realistic goals. In addition, the team emphasized the need for a user-friendly design for the IRMP document that would make it more accessible and informative for the tribal community and the Colville Business Council. In 2014, the IRMP team prepared and administered a community survey to solicit input from tribal members and residents of the Colville Reservation. The purpose of the survey was to document the community’s priorities, preferences and concerns regarding the management of the Tribes’ natural and cultural resources. The IRMP Core Team consists of representatives from the Tribes’ natural resource departments with additional contributions from the Planning, Realty, and History/Archaeology departments. Integrated Resource Management Planning An Integrated Resource Management Plan is defined as a tribe’s strategic plan for the comprehensive management of a reservation’s resources. The process by which IRMPs are developed is a mechanism for the examination of the relationships among natural resources and their various uses, economic trends, cultural needs, and social forces. The ultimate goal of an IRMP is to create a balance within natural resource management actions that reflects the social, cultural, economic, and natural resource values of reservation residents. Integrated resource management is an approach to reservation resource management that takes a whole system approach, viewing all resources (natural, social, cultural, and economic) as being interrelated in such a manner that management actions directed at one resource also affect others. As such, the integrated resource management approach accommodates the management of natural resources that involve multiple, and sometimes, conflicting uses. In developing the IRMP, the goal of the planning effort was to provide a plan that balances multiple uses in a way that ensures the long-term sustainability of all the natural resources that are important to the tribes of the Colville Reservation. Colville Reservation 7 Integrated Resource Management Plan Introduction National Environmental Policy Act Requirements The Tribes’ forest resources comprise a large portion of the trust lands of the Colville Reservation and provide a major source of revenue and employment for the tribal government and the community. Timber harvesting at this scale constitutes a major federal action under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and requires the preparation of a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA) or a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the adverse environmental impacts that could potentially result from implementing a new, multi-year Forest Management Plan under the IRMP. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has regulatory and fiduciary responsibilities in the management of agricultural and forest resources on tribal trust lands. These include ensuring that current, approved management plans are in place for these resources and that environmental impacts and feasible mitigation measures are identified. Although the BIA Northwest Region Office suggested that a Programmatic EA would suffice, The Colville Business Council chose to prepare a formal Programmatic EIS that would include scoping meetings with the Reservation community and documented responses to comments in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. A Notice of Intent was published on November 21, 2014 in the Federal Register to advise the public that the BIA and the Tribes intended to prepare a Draft Programmatic EIS for the IRMP. Public scoping meetings were held in Reservation communities in October 2015. The DEIS was prepared in 2016 and Notices of Availability were published in the Federal Register by the BIA and the EPA in the summer of 2017. Community meetings were held in Reservation communities to receive public comments on the DEIS. In their review, the EPA supported the IRMP because it “enhances the holistic approach of the previous IRMP toward sustainable timber harvest levels and forest health objectives.” The EPA further noted that they “acknowledge and appreciate the high quality planning effort and coordination that is reflected in a clear and informative Draft IRMP.” The EPA rated the DEIS as “Adequate” because it “adequately set forth the environmental impacts of the preferred alternative.” The Response to Comments was released in January 2018. The Final Programmatic EIS was prepared in 2018 and Notices of Availability were published in the Federal Register by the BIA and EPA. After public review, the Record of Decision was prepared designating this IRMP as the preferred management alternative. Integrated Resource Management Plan 8 Colville Reservation Introduction Colville Reservation 9 Integrated Resource Management Plan Introduction Natural Resource Management Alternatives In anticipation of analysis of the plan in the Programmatic EIS, the IRMP Core Team developed five management alternatives as required under NEPA: 1. Continue the current management strategy. 3. Concentrate on forest and rangeland health problems. 2. 4. 5. Enhance and improve the current management strategy. Expand forest and cattle production. Eliminate timber harvesting and livestock grazing. The IRMP team chose Alternative 2 as the preferred alternative to be developed in this new IRMP. The alternatives were presented to the Colville Business Council on June 3, 2014 with the IRMP team’s recommendation for Alternative 2. The Council passed Resolution 2014-367 approving the recommendation by a vote of 10 to 0. Community Input In the 2014 Community Survey, respondents were asked to choose the management alternative they preferred. The majority (53%) preferred Alternative 2 to enhance and improve the Tribes’ current management strategy. The second largest response (45%) was for an approach that would concentrate on forest and rangeland health problems. Although most respondents chose only one alternative, 291 chose more than one. The majority of them (203) chose a combination of Alternatives 2 and 3. The strong support for addressing forest and rangeland health problems was further emphasized by responses to a question concerning the importance of controlling insects and disease. The responses were almost unanimous (97%) that controlling insects and disease was very important (83%) or somewhat important (14%). Only 7% of respondents want to see a management focus that expands forest and cattle production. More respondents (10%) would prefer to entirely eliminate both timber harvesting and livestock grazing on the Reservation. Accelerating timber harvesting was supported by only 13% of respondents. Enhancements and Improvements in the 2015 IRMP In the course of developing the preferred alternative management approach, the IRMP team reviewed the 2000 IRMP goals and objectives and identified a number of enhancements and improvements to be incorporated into the 2015 IRMP to improve management of the Reservation’s natural resources. These include: Integrated Resource Management Plan 10 Colville Reservation Introduction • Establishment of Special Emphasis Areas: • Lake Management Areas • Wildlife habitat and travel corridors • Cultural plant gathering areas • Enhanced Best Management Practices for forests, agriculture and rangelands. • Adaptable harvest volume for timber sales based on site conditions. • Improved enforcement of rangeland grazing permit requirements. • Development and implementation of a Forest Road Management Plan with construction and closure standards. • Transportation and timber harvest plans developed with Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), a laser-based remote sensing technology. • Development and implementation of a climate change strategy. • A new Memorandum of Understanding with the Bonneville Power Administration to re-establish native plants in mitigation areas. • Increased efforts to control invasive weeds, emphasizing non-herbicidal treatments. • Additional wildlife population augmentation for species with diminishing numbers. • Okanogan Nations Alliance collaboration regarding aboriginal territories. Colville Reservation Omak Lake Colville Reservation 11 Integrated Resource Management Plan Introduction Comprehensive Planning The IRMP is a component in a suite of plans that make up a Comprehensive Plan. Besides the IRMP, the Tribes are also developing and updating other plans, including the Land Use Plan and a Comprehensive Plan. The IRMP is supplemented by a number of underlying, resource-specific management plans that provide additional information, technical data and best management practices, including: • Forest Management Plan • Range Management Plan • Agricultural Management Plan • Fish & Wildlife Management Plan • Cultural Resource Management Plan • Parks & Recreation Plan • Soil & Water Management Plan • Non-Point Source Management Plan • Wetland Program Plan • Wellhead Protection Plan • Water Quality Monitoring Strategy and Quality Assurance Project Plan • Wildland Fire Management Plan • Wildland Fire Prevention Plan • Forest Road Management Plan Integrated Resource Management Plan 12 Colville Reservation Resource Management on the Colville Reservation Resource Management Planning History of Resource Management Planning Integrated resource management planning on the Colville Reservation is a fairly recent development in the history of the Reservation. Although Congress created a forestry program for Indian lands in 1909, it wasn’t until 1936 that General Forest Regulations provided some forest management objectives. These national objectives had little effect on forest management at the local level, especially during World War II. During the 1950s, management planning on the Reservation was confined to individual timber sales and allotments. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 provided for tribal participation in the planning and management of tribal resources. In 1938, the Constitution and By-Laws of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation were approved by the United States federal government and the Colville Business Council was established as the governing board of the Tribes. Biles Coleman Logging Trucks It wasn’t until 1960, with passage of the Multiple Use - Sustained Yield Act, that the federal government acknowledged that natural resources such as forests and rangelands are used for multiple purposes. That act directed the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and administer the renewable resources of timber, range, water, recreation and wildlife on the national forests for multiple use and sustained yield of the products and services. This is the first law to have the five major uses of national forests contained in one law equally, with no use given preference over another. The first formal forest management plan for the forests of the Colville Reservation was prepared in 1961. This was the beginning of intensive forest management on the Reservation. The annual allowable cut was set at 120 million board feet and was focused on the remaining 396,000 acres of virgin sawtimber and emphasized the harvest of large ponderosa pine trees. Colville Reservation 13 Integrated Resource Management Plan Resource Management on the Colville Reservation The plan emphasized the production of timber crops. Other forest uses were to be developed to the fullest extent possible without conflicting with this primary use. Recreation, wildlife, water, grazing and mining were acknowledged, but the top priority of the plan was to grow timber for lumber mills and generate revenue for the Tribes and allottees. The 1960s saw the beginning of major environmental legislation affecting the management of the Tribes’ natural resources. The Clean Air Act of 1963 was designed to control air pollution on a national level. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce regulations to protect the public from airborne contaminants known to be hazardous to human health. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) was one of the first laws ever written that established a broad national framework for protecting the environment. NEPA's basic policy is to assure that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment prior to undertaking any major federal action that significantly affects the environment. The law requires public participation and the use of a formal planning process, including the analysis of alternative actions. The Clean Water Act of 1972 updated the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948, establishing a basic structure to regulate discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and to regulate quality standards for surface waters. The Act made it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit is obtained. Passage of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 gave tribes more responsibility for programs and services provided by the federal government. A Senate report concerning management of Indian natural resources, criticized the BIA for poor management of tribal resources, citing deficient inventory data and the absence of good management and planning practices. As a result, the federal government began developing comprehensive reservation resource and development assessments. On the Colville Reservation, concerns about wildlife were addressed in 1972 when areas were set aside to protect wildlife during all or part of the year, and the first tribal general deer season was established. In 1976 the Fish and Wildlife Department was created. In 1980 the Northwest Power Planning Act was passed, requiring mitigation of fish and wildlife losses due to hydropower development. The first wildlife mitigation properties on the Reservation were purchased in 1993 and are managed by the Fish and Wildlife Department. Integrated Resource Management Plan 14 Colville Reservation Resource Management on the Colville Reservation The Tribes began addressing concerns regarding tribal water rights and began a water use-permitting program in the 1970s. During the 1980s, the Tribes established water quality standards and developed programs for pollution abatement and on-site wastewater treatment. The Environmental Trust Department was formalized in 1988 and began developing soils and watershed expertise in the following years. A major shift in timber management practices on the Colville Reservation began in the late 1970s. Timber marking guidelines were implemented to remove a certain percentage of the commercial volume. New management directives required the preparation of individual stand harvesting prescriptions. Regeneration cuts were prescribed for areas with extensive insect or disease problems. Forwarder A forestry program review in 1979 revealed problems from a lack of coordination between tribal and BIA forestry programs. A subsequent review in 1984 resulted in a resolution by the Colville Business Council to combine the Colville Tribal Forestry and BIA Forestry into one organization. A primary goal was to develop a long-range management plan. In 1985, the Tribal Council passed the Colville Forest Practices Act establishing minimum standards for forest practices affecting Reservation resources. The Forest Practices code provisions apply to forest practices on all forest lands and forest roads within the Colville Reservation, including lands held in trust or in fee status, and on other tribal trust lands and allotments associated with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Integrated Resource Management Planning In the early 1980s, forest management plans were being developed that included integrated concepts. The Tribes established an interdisciplinary review procedure for projects proposed on Reservation lands in 1986. This eventually became the Project Proposal Process (3P). In 1988, the BIA initiated a national IRMP initiative intended to develop comprehensive, integrated plans for each reservation. The passage of Indian forestry and agriculture acts in the early 1990s established the requirement that forest and agricultural plans comply with tribal IRMPs. Colville Reservation 15 Integrated Resource Management Plan Resource Management on the Colville Reservation During the development of the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act (NIFRMA) in 1991, Congress declared that the federal investment in Indian forest management was significantly below the level of investment in Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, or private forestland management. The Indian Forestry Management Assessment Team (IFMAT), under the direction of the Intertribal Timber Council (ITC), identified integrated resource management plans as a high priority for management of Indian resources. In their 1993 IFMAT assessment, the ITC noted that development of IRMPs on reservations had not been successful due to a lack of helpful guidelines and commitment by the BIA, and especially by the absence of adequate funding and resource management expertise. In 1997, the BIA authorized funding for IRMP development. The 2003 IFMAT assessment recommended increased funding to accelerate IRMP development, and in 2004, Congress provided line item funding that continued for 9 years. The American Indian Agricultural Resource Management Act of 1993 (AIARMA) was passed to promote the self-determination of Indian tribes by providing for the management of Indian agricultural lands and related renewable resources in a manner consistent with identified tribal goals and priorities for conservation, multiple use, and sustained yield. AIARMA requires that the management of agricultural resources be consistent with integrated resource management plans in order to protect and maintain other values such as wildlife, fisheries, cultural resources, recreation and to regulate water runoff and minimize soil erosion. These laws empowering tribes in the management of their natural resources are leading to greater satisfaction in the quality of natural resource management in tribal communities. Indian resources are increasingly managed by tribal programs in accordance with tribal visions. Management priorities are shifting towards sustainable multiple use with resource preservation receiving increased emphasis. An Interim Forest Management Plan was developed Sanpoil River in 1989 in anticipation of development of an IRMP for the Colville Reservation. The plan was updated in 1992 and was extended in 1999 to provide time to finalize the 2000 IRMP and accompanying Environmental Impact Statement. Integrated Resource Management Plan 16 Colville Reservation Resource Management on the Colville Reservation The 2000 IRMP was the first multiple use natural resource management plan developed for the Colville Reservation. The IRMP provided a holistic approach to the natural resources of the Reservation: the watersheds, forests, rangelands and the fish, wildlife and humans who inhabit them. The multidisciplinary team prepared a resource assessment and created a management structure and a management plan with detailed goals and objectives. The Tribes’ forest and range resources comprise a large portion of the trust lands of the Colville Reservation and provide a major source of revenue and employment for the tribal government and the community. Timber harvesting, especially at this scale constitutes a major federal action under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act and requires an assessment of the adverse environmental impacts that may result from implementing a multi-year Forest Management Plan under the IRMP. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has regulatory and fiduciary responsibilities in the management of agricultural and forest resources on tribal trust lands. These include ensuring that current, approved management plans are in place for these resources and that the environmental impacts and feasible mitigation measures are identified. The Tribes’ IRMP team prepared a draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed 2000 IRMP that considered 6 alternative actions with timber harvest levels ranging from 54.6 to 94.8 MMBF. The preferred alternative set the annual allowable cut at 63.5 MMBF and reduced range use on allotments by 15%. After circulation and review of the EIS, the Council chose to create a 7th alternative with an allowable annual cut of 77.1 MMBF with additional emphasis on regeneration harvesting to address insect and disease problems and provisions for 14 sensitive watersheds where harvest would be postponed for 15 years. Allowable range use was increased 50% for livestock and wildlife. The 2000 IRMP encompassed the period from 2001 to 2014 and consisted of multiple documents: a Phase I multi-document Resource Inventory, a Phase II Goals and Objectives document, a Record of Decision/Plan for Integrated Resource Management (ROD/PIRM), and the Final Environmental Impact Statement. Within these documents are various lists of planning goals, objectives, standards, and guidelines. Resource managers, Council members and interested community members expressed concerns that the plan was overly long and excessively technical. Consequently, the 2015 IRMP team emphasized that the updated IRMP should be a concise, coherent plan that is user friendly and easily accessible. Colville Reservation 17 COLVILLE INDIAN RESERVATION RECORD OF DECISION AND PLAN FOR INTEGRATED RESOURCES MANAGEMENT 2000 - 2014 Colville Confederated Tribes Nespelem, Washington July 2001 Integrated Resource Management Plan Resource Management on the Colville Reservation The Project Proposal Process (3P) The Project Proposal Process provides review of proposed projects on the lands of the Reservation to ensure consistency with the goals and objectives of the IRMP and compliance with Tribal Codes and federal laws and regulations, including NEPA requirements for environmental impact analysis and the consideration of alternative actions. The Project Proposal Process provides a review of project proposals by a team of representatives from natural resource departments, realty, planning and community infrastructure departments as well as the BIA Superintendent. Examples of projects reviewed in the Project Proposal Process are: • Timber sales and forest maintenance projects • Reforestation projects • • • • • • • • • • Wildland-Urban Interface and fuels reduction projects Timber salvage projects Range and pasture permits and leases Road maintenance projects Range improvement projects Property transfers and conveyences Fee to trust ownership status Development projects Environmental restoration projects Wildife mitigation projects During the 3P review of project proposals, recommendations are made to ensure that environmental impacts are minimized and mitigated and that projects are consistent with the IRMP and compliant with applicable laws and regulations. An environmental assessment is prepared for projects that may have adverse environmental impacts. Projects must be approved by the 3P Team, the BIA Superintendent, program managers and the Colville Business Council. Project proponents can be private individuals or businesses, the Tribes’ corporation or a tribal program. Many projects are proposed by the Tribes’ programs and departments and they are also required to undergo 3P review. Integrated Resource Management Plan 18 Colville Reservation Resource Management on the Colville Reservation For example, the Forestry Department submits proposed timber sales and other forest management projects to the team to gain site-specific recommendations for protection or enhancement of other resources. The department provides detailed project descriptions with maps, silvicultural prescriptions, harvest plans, and other relevant information. Project review often includes field trips and organized public meetings to obtain input for project development. The Mt Tolman Fire Center fuels planners present projects involving prescribed fire and fuels management. These proposals involve the use of fire in the management of the Tribe’s natural resources. The fuels planners also contribute to the development of mitigation measures intended to minimize environ- Elders on tour prior to timber sale mental impacts. The Range Program brings proposed range improvement projects and grazing permits for review by the team. They also contribute to the evaluation and assessment of other proposed natural resource projects and provide comments and suggestions. The Fisheries Department provides review of proposed actions affecting fisheries resources or habitat to ensure that these resources are adequately protected. The Wildlife Program biologists review all land management activities, including timber sales, and provide vital wildlife population data and assessments of the potential impact of these projects on associated wildlife species and their habitats. The Environmental Trust Department contributes reviews of project plans to identify potential impacts to soil, water, and air resources and recommends mitigation measures. The department also brings proposals for watershed restoration projects for 3P review. The History/Archaeology Program identifies cultural sites that may be affected by proposed projects and coordinates with project proponents to avoid sites or develop appropriate mitigation measures. The Tribal Archaeologist, the Resource Archaeologist and the Cultural Plant Team review applications and participate in project planning for major natural resource and other projects on the Reservation. They contribute to the preparation of environmental assessments and conduct cultural resource surveys. Cultural Plant Team is responsible for identifying cultural plants that may be affected by natural resource projects. Colville Reservation 19 Integrated Resource Management Plan Tribal Code and Federal Laws and Regulations Tribal Codes and Federal Laws Management of the Reservation’s natural resources requires compliance with the Tribes’ Natural Resource Codes as well as federal laws and their associated regulations. The Tribes’ natural resource departments and programs not only comply with these legal requirements, in many cases, they are charged with their enforcement. Many of the tribal codes concerned with the environmental impacts of forest practices, grazing, mining, and non-point source pollution from urban and agricultural runoff, were originally enacted by the Colville Tribal Council in the 1980s. Natural Resource Codes The Tribes’ Natural Resource Codes are periodically reviewed and updated to address changing conditions and advances in environmental science and resource management practices. The current codes are posted on the Tribes’ website (www.colvilletribes.com). The codes also assign enforcement authority to specific tribal departments such as Environmental Trust, Planning, Parks & Recreation and Fish & Wildlife. Fish, Wildlife and Recreation (Chapter 4-1) The Tribes regulate the harvest of wildlife resources within the aboriginal territory of the Colville Tribes. In regulating wildlife and recreation resources of the Reservation, tribal members are afforded the greatest possible freedom to use and enjoy these resources, consistent with the preservation and improvement of these resources for future generations. Wildlife found on the Reservation may be taken only at such times, in such places, and in such a manner as provided by tribal law. Enforcement of this chapter is primarily the responsibility of police officers, and other tribal law enforcement personnel. Cultural Resources Protection (Chapter 4-4) The Cultural Resources Protection chapter reasserts requirements of federal laws affecting historical and archeological resources and the requirement that the Tribes be notified of any federal actions such as the review and permitting of proposed projects. The Tribes must be consulted and in some cases, a project cannot proceed without consent of the Tribes. The Tribes have the authority to nominate sites on the Reservation for inclusion in the National Register of Archaeological and Historic Sites. The ordinance details the powers and duties of the History and ArchaeolOverview of a buried ogy Program. Damaging or adversely impacting significant archaeological site resources are prohibited acts. Permits are required if projects or actions adversely affect archaeological resources or historic properties. Criminal and civil penalties are identified for prohibited acts. Chapter 4-4 discusses survey, inventory Integrated Resource Management Plan 20 Colville Reservation Tribal Code and Federal Laws and Regulations and registering archaeological and historic properties. Any applicant or permittee aggrieved by any decision made under this Chapter, may petition the Council for a hearing to review such decision. On-Site Wastewater Treatment and Disposal (Chapter 4-5) The economy, health, safety and welfare of the people residing and doing business within the Colville Indian Reservation are affected by the construction and utilization of onsite wastewater treatment and disposal systems (i.e. septic tank systems) servicing both Indian and non-Indian people on trust and fee land within the Colville Reservation. Inadequate treatment and disposal of wastewater can contaminate and degrade water resources on which many people depend for domestic, agricultural, industrial, business, recreational and other uses. The existence of shallow groundwater, unacceptable soil percolation rates, steep slopes, shallow bedrock, silt and clay strata throughout much of the Colville Reservation together with anticipated population growth and business development on the Reservation require uniform planning, standards and permitting procedures in order to protect the quality of Reservation waters for current and future intended uses. The Environmental Trust Department administers this Chapter. Fees may be charged for permits and administration services provided under this Chapter in accordance with a fee schedule proposed by the Environmental Trust Department and adopted by the Tribal Council. Mining Practices Water Quality (Chapter 4-6) Exploration and mining of minerals on the Reservation can have irreversible impacts on water quality. This chapter requires that preventative measures and best management practices are used in mining operations to manage non-point sources of water pollution and that lands affected by mining operations are properly reclaimed. Enforcement of the provisions of this chapter is the responsibility of the Environmental Trust Department. Colville Reservation 21 Integrated Resource Management Plan Tribal Code and Federal Laws and Regulations Forest Practices (Chapter 4-7) This chapter provides for sustainable forest management practices that integrate protections for water quality and quantity, fish and wildlife, soils, vegetation, cultural resources, recreation and scenic beauty. Applications are required for any proposed projects that have some potential for damaging a Reservation resource or adversely impacting the health, safety or welfare of the Reservation population. These include forest practices utilizing heavy equipment for timber harvesting, road construction and maintenance. This chapter requires the application of best management practices for road construction and maintenance, water crossings, gravel pits and quarries, weed control, logging systems and landings. The chapter also specifies riparian management zones along all waters except forested wetlands that preclude roads and skid trails, heavy equipment, landings and quarries. The Reserve Trees requirements provide for the number of trees and snags to be left standing in regeneration harvests. Additional provisions include post-harvest site preparation, landing cleanup, slash disposal and reforestation. Protection of threatened and endangered species as well as cultural resources are also included. This Chapter provides the following enforcement procedures: informal conferences, Notices to Comply, Stop Work Orders, corrective actions by the Department, civil penalties, injunctions and other civil and administrative judicial relief. Enforcement of the provisions of this chapter is the responsibility of the Environmental Trust Department. Water Quality Standards (Chapter 4-8) This Chapter establishes tribal water quality standards for the surface waters and ground waters located within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation. The quality of all surface and groundwater on the Reservation is protected to insure the health, economic, aesthetic and cultural well being of all people residing on the Reservation. Watershed Award 2013 This chapter requires any person who plans to discharge any waste from a point source into Reservation waters, must obtain a permit from the Environmental Trust Department. Any person engaged in any operation or activity that results in a spill or discharge, which may cause pollution of the waters of the Reservation, may be subject to civil penalties, including fines up to $10,000 per day. The Environmental Trust Department may issue cease and desist orders for discharges or cleanup orders for spills or dumping into Reservation waters. Integrated Resource Management Plan 22 Colville Reservation Tribal Code and Federal Laws and Regulations Hydraulic Projects (Chapter 4-9) This Chapter protects aquatic resources by requiring application and approval of hydraulic projects. Tribal members depend on aquatic resources such as lakes, wetlands, streams and rivers for fish and for cultural and ceremonial purposes. Hydraulic projects involve construction or other activities that affect the natural flow or course of streams or rivers. Hydraulic projects include projects requiring construction fill for recreational, industrial, commercial, sewage treatment or residential projects affecting watercourses, road fills for water crossings, bridges, dams and impoundments requiring rock, sand, dirt, or other material for construction. Application review and approval, as well as enforcement are the responsibility of the Environmental Trust Department. Water Crossings Water Resources Use And Permitting (Chapter 4-10) This chapter asserts the water rights of the Colville Tribes and provides for the administration of water permits. The Water Administrator must ensure adequate levels in streams and lakes for fish and wildlife conservation and tribal member use. The Administrator has the authority to remove or shut down diversions, wells, or obstructions to the flow of water and any activities adversely affecting water quality. This code is administered by the Environmental Trust Department. Rangeland Management (Chapter 4-11) This chapter requires that rangeland be consolidated into management units and that the grazing capacity and maximum number of livestock are determined and adjusted as needed to comply with integrated resource management objectives. Grazing seasons are determined by the Range director and the Council determines grazing fees and authorizes grazing permits. Open Range Warning Sign Colville Reservation 23 Integrated Resource Management Plan Tribal Code and Federal Laws and Regulations Livestock counts, branding and inspections for disease are required. Domestic sheep and goats are restricted from rangelands due to the potential to spread disease to the wild bighorn sheep population. Permittees must adjust grazing use if the Director determines that conditions of the range require it. The Land Operations Department is authorized to assess fees and penalties for prohibited acts. Forest Protection (Chapter 4-12) This chapter provides for enforcement for forest related offenses such as unlawful timber harvesting, woodcutting, and arson. The code requires permits for forestry activities on trust lands and timber salvage. Enforcement is the responsibility of all police officers, law enforcement officers, and all law enforcement agencies of the Tribes and BIA. Wild Horses (Chapter 4-14) Feral horses on the Colville Reservation Feral free roaming horses are under the jurisdiction of the Tribes and are managed as part of the natural resources of the Reservation. They are protected from unauthorized capture, branding, undue disturbance and destruction. They and their habitat are to be managed and controlled in a manner designed to achieve and maintain a feral horse herd on the Colville Indian Reservation. The code requires that the herd be maintained in numbers that will insure the perpetuation of the herd, but at the same time will not unduly interfere with the use of rangelands for other purposes. Feral horses are managed by the Range Program and the Fish & Wildlife Department. Shoreline Management (Chapter 4-15) This chapter provides for the protection, control, conservation, and utilization of the shoreline resources of the Reservation. It establishes the shoreline regulatory structure for the management of shoreline areas within the Reservation through the planning and fostering of all reasonable and appropriate uses. All shoreline developments and uses must utilize best management practices that minimize any increase in surface water run off and to control, treat and release runoff so that receiving water quality and shore properties and features are not adversely affected. Natural and cultural resources are to be protected and preserved in any proposed developments. This code is administered by the Planning Department. Integrated Resource Management Plan 24 Colville Reservation Tribal Code and Federal Laws and Regulations Fire Management (Chapter 4-19) This chapter provides for the establishment and maintenance of a complete, cooperative and coordinated forest fire protection and suppression program. The Fire Management department is empowered to take charge of and direct fire suppression activities and investigate the cause of forest fires. The department also administers burn permits and appoints wardens to provide information to the public, investigate fires, patrol forest areas, inspect spark-emitting equipment and forestland operations to ensure fire prevention. The Tribal Police Department has the authority to investigate, arrest and initiate prosecution of violators. Federal Laws The following federal laws affect management of the natural resources of the Reservation. They require compliance by tribal departments and programs to protect air and water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and traditional cultural resources. • National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) • Clean Air Act (CAA) • Clean Water Act (CWA) • The National Indian Forest Resources Management Act (NIFRMA) • American Indian Agricultural Resource Management Act (AIARMA) • Endangered Species Act (ESA) • The Lacey Act • National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) • American Antiquities Act of 1906 • Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) • American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) • Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) • The Migratory Bird Act • Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act • Wetland Protection Act • Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) • Federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) • The Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy Colville Reservation 25 Integrated Resource Management Plan The Community Survey The 2014 Community Survey The 2014 Colville Reservation Community Survey solicited input from tribal members and residents of the Colville Reservation. The purpose of the survey was to document the community’s priorities, preferences and concerns regarding the management of the Tribes’ natural resources. Although the survey was open to all members of the Colville Tribes, the IRMP Core Team chose to include all residents of the Reservation as well as employees of the Tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs who work on the Reservation. The team felt that the Reservation community is most affected by management of the Reservation’s natural resources. The team assembled a survey crew of tribal members experienced in survey administration with a designated survey crew supervisor. The crew was tasked with ensuring that all communities and age groups were provided the opportunity to participate in the survey. The survey questionnaire was also made available electronically via the Tribes’ website and email. Eligible respondents had to be a tribal member, a resident of the Colville Reservation or an employee of the Tribes or BIA, 18 years or older, to complete the survey. Colville community members’ were generally very amenable to participating in the 2014 Colville Reservation Community Survey when asked. In total, 1,026 individuals provided completed or substantially completed responses to the survey. The survey sampled approximately 14.4% of the total eligible Reservation population (6,965), and was especially successful in garnering opinions from individuals aged 25-64. The survey results play an important role in developing IRMP goals and objectives for the management of the natural resources of the Colville Reservation. The results reveal the ways that community members use natural resources such as firewood and plant gathering, hunting and fishing and recreational activities along the lakes, streams and rivers of the Reservation. The results also reveal community perceptions of the Tribes’ management of forest and range resources and the benefits that accrue to the Tribes as a whole and the larger community as well as the flora and fauna of the Reservation. Respondents were asked whether they were familiar with the Tribes’ Holistic Goal and the list of Desired Future Conditions. Only 32% were familiar with the Holistic Goal and only 23% were familiar with the Desired Future Conditions. Of these, 55% felt that the Tribes have made progress in achieving these goals and conditions. Breaking down responses by age group indicates that younger respondents are more optimistic than older respondents in their evaluations. Integrated Resource Management Plan 26 Colville Reservation The Community Survey SURVEY RESPONSE STATISTICS BY AGE AND GENDER COHORTS 2014 Colville Community Survey v s . 2012 U.S. Census Estimates Male (Total Population) Female (Total Population) Male (Surveyed) Female (Surveyed) 2,000 Number of Individuals/Respondents 1,800 A total of 1,026 individuals responded to the 2014 Community Survey. 1,600 As a proportion of the total number of individuals residing on the Colville Reservation (according to 2012 U.S. Census Estimates), this represents approximately 20.6% of the target female population, 10.3% of the target male population, and 14.4% of the total target population (i.e., 18 years of age or older). 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 23% 200 0 5% 9% Age 18-24 Colville Reservation 22% 29% Age 25-34 11% 26% Age 35-44 27 8% 12% Age 45-64 14% Age 65 and Older Integrated Resource Management Plan Holistic Goals and Desired Future Conditions Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Holistic Goal __________________________ _________________________ Quality of Life e want to maintain and build upon our unique culture, traditions, language, sovereignty and history; we want a healthy society, environment and economy; we will treat everyone with honor and respect, having the freedom to worship, live, work and play as we choose, accepting each others diversity/uniqueness. W W e want to provide plentiful/affordable housing, meaningful/secure employment and educational opportunities. We want communities that are clean, self-sufficient, safe, wholesome and provide opportunities for family based recreation. Forms of Production e will support our quality of life through sustainable wealth from diverse income opportunities, without waste or sacrifice of tradition, culture and values; we will emphasize the importance of involving the membership in developing their communities; we will provide opportunities/infrastructure to increase understanding/awareness of our culture, traditions, language, sovereignty and history throughout our communities, schools and workplaces, continuously promoting honor, respect and diversity. W Future Resource Base e are and continue to be a self-sustaining sovereign entity; having flourishing enterprises; having healthy productive landscapes including rangelands, croplands, forests, riparian areas, streams and lakes; tribal decisions will include protection of tradition, culture, and aesthetic values; we will continue to provide improved/enhanced opportunities to communities/ schools/workplaces to increase understanding and awareness of our culture, values, tradition, languages, sovereignty and history. W The Reservation remains as a rural life-style and the population is in balance with an effective water, mineral, and energy cycle with biodiversity resulting in an abundance of culture, medicinal and edible plants, clean air and water, springs and streams that flow year round, large trees, wildlife, fish and insects. Enacted by Colville Business Council Resolution 1996-23 on January 18, 1996. ____________________________ Integrated Resource Management Plan ____________________________ 28 Colville Reservation Holistic Goals and Desired Future Conditions Desired Future Conditions 1. Reservation and boundary waters meet Tribal Water Quality Standards. 2. Reservation watersheds have healthy, resilient soil and hydrologic functions and characteristics. 3. Wetlands, riparian, and aquatic ecosystems continue to function as natural systems. 4. Culture, traditions and practices remain in the personal, social, economic, spiritual and political aspect of the lives of the Reservation’s membership. 5. Suitable habitat conditions for desirable native and non-native species (flora and fauna) exist to maintain Reservation biodiversity that includes the diversity of natural genes, species and ecosystems, as well as the evolutionary processes that link them. 6. Managed landscapes more closely resemble those created by the activities of historic disturbance agents such as fire (natural and traditional activities), wind, insects, disease and animals. 7. Viable populations (numbers and distribution of reproductive individuals) of native and desired non-native species of wildlife, and their supporting habitats are maintained, while wildlife is provided in sufficient numbers to meet the cultural, subsistence and recreational needs of Colville tribal members. 8. An abundance of anadromous and non-anadromous fish and other aquatic species the Tribes desire continues in the waters of the Reservation. 9. Tribal member values are clearly stated and reflected in the management of their resources. 10. Good air quality continues to exist on the Reservation. 11.. A mosaic of desirable rangeland plant communities with diverse forbs, grasses and shrubs that optimize ecosystem processes exist across the Reservation. 12. The Reservation is in a clean, green, and healthy condition that is aesthetically pleasing and fulfills the spiritual, cultural, social and economic needs of the tribal membership. Colville Reservation 29 Integrated Resource Management Plan Holistic Goals and Desired Future Conditions 13. The Reservation’s resources provide economic stability for the tribal membership. 14. A variety of safe recreational opportunities are provided year-round for all age groups and ability levels with an emphasis on tribal member utilization as well as resource protection. 15. The Colville Reservation remains a sovereign nation, retaining jurisdiction over the Reservation, external tribal lands and tribal historical and cultural resources. 16. Cultural places and resources are protected and preserved allowing tribal members to understand their history and culture and perpetuate traditional practices. 17. There is an abundance of foods, medicines, and plant materials for the creation of tools and traditional objects used in gathering, fishing, hunting, weaving, ceremonial practice and the everyday activities of the membership. Forest near Inchelium Boat on Twin Lakes Cattle Grazing on the Reservation Kartar Valley Integrated Resource Management Plan 30 Colville Reservation Trust Claims Settlement and Restoration Plan Trust Claims Settlement In 2005, the Colville Tribes and 40 other federally-recognized tribes filed a lawsuit against the United States, in which the tribes alleged that the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Treasury had mismanaged monetary assets and natural resources held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribes. After five years of litigation, the tribes and the federal government entered into settlement negotiations. In April 2012, the Department of Justice announced settlements between the government and tribes totaling more than $1 billion. These settlements resolved claims dating back more than 100 years and ended years of litigation that burdened both the plaintiff tribes and the United States. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation agreed to accept a $193 million settlement offer from the federal government to resolve historical grievances over the accounting and management of tribal trust funds and trust lands that had been a source of conflict between Indian tribes and the United States for decades.The settlement ranks among the largest for Indian trust-mismanagement cases in U.S.history and reflects the federal government’s commitment to restore a positive working relationship with tribal governments. During the settlement negotiations, the Tribes contracted with the Oregon State University College of Forestry and consultant Applegate Forestry LLC to assess the cost to repair the damage to the Reservation’s natural resources. The resulting restoration plan estimated that a decade long restoration program costing over $100 million, would be needed to achieve a healthier forest with a long-term sustained yield of timber products, cleaner water, improved fish and deer habitat, and more cultural plants. The restoration effort would also create significant tribal employment. The Colville Business Council initially planned to use 80% of the settlement funds for environmental and cultural restoration projects, and to disburse the remaining 20 percent, or about $4,000 each to 9,500 tribal members. The Tribes negotiated to place $38.6 million of settlement funds into a special trust account to protect distributions to tribal members from federal taxation. Concerned with the depressed local economy resulting from the closure of lumber mills and wood processing facilities, the tribal community petitioned the Colville Business Council to hold a referendum vote to authorize the distribution of an additional $57.9 million of the settlement funds. Members of the Tribes voted in August 2013, by a margin of 10 to 1, in favor of distributing the additional funds. In addition, a group called “Colville Members for Justice” filed a lawsuit seeking distribution of the entire settlement to tribal members through per-capita payments. The Colville Reservation 31 Integrated Resource Management Plan Trust Claims Settlement and Restoration Plan Colville Tribal Court dismissed the suit in October 2013. The group appealed the decision and it was taken up by the Tribal Appeals Court and was ultimately dismissed in 2014. Ultimately, the Colville Business Council decided to distribute an additional $57.9 million. Of the remaining $96.5 million, the Council allocated approximately $29 million for restoration projects. The Council established a task force consisting of representatives of Environmental Trust, Forestry, Range, Fish & Wildlife, History & Archeology, Transportation, Planning, Accounting, Realty and Real Property. The task force was authorized to develop a comprehensive restoration plan based on the restoration plan developed during settlement negotiations. The task force had seven overall goals in preparing the Natural Resources Restoration Plan: • Restore forest watersheds through road location, design, maintenance, decommissioning closure, and improved road system management. • Address forest health problems. • Increase cultural plant abundance and availability. • Provide employment and training for tribal members. • Restore deer habitat, cultural plant habitats, and forage productivity in on-forest rangelands. • Support the IRMP effort. • Build capacity to address current management gaps for cultural resources, watersheds, roads, fish, wildlife, forest and range resources. Partially plugged culvert Integrated Resource Management Plan Landslide prone area where roads should not be constructed 32 Colville Reservation Trust Claims Settlement and Restoration Plan The Natural Resources Restoration Plan The Natural Resources Restoration Plan was approved by the Colville Business Council in May 2013 by a vote of 7 to 0. The plan provided three overriding goals: • Improve the condition of natural resources across the Reservation degraded by past management, including forest, shrub-steppe, cultural plants, and watershed resources. • Expedite changes to resource management programs to ensure improved resource outcomes in the future, including development of a new Integrated Resource Management Plan. • Participation of the membership in the process of resource restoration to ensure that restoration efforts continue into the future. The Restoration Plan has the following objectives that supplement the individual resource restoration plans: • Increase knowledge of Reservation resources through surveys and assessments of soil condition, watershed impacts from roads, big game and eagle nest locations, invasive plants (weeds), range condition and production, range infrastructure, and cultural plant locations. • Design and renovate the tribal greenhouse. • Provide support for advanced natural resource education to prepare tribal members for careers managing natural resources. • Purchase LIDAR imagery of the Reservation to support resource mapping and analysis. Watershed Restoration The Restoration Plan includes goals and objectives for watershed restoration to restore watershed conditions and the water quality of the Reservation’s streams and lakes by upgrading or eliminating road features that are damaging water and aquatic resources, developing road standards that prevent water resource degradation, and improving oversight of road planning, construction, maintenance, and use. Watershed Restoration Goals: • Improve the ecological function of the watersheds. • Improve water quality, riparian and aquatic habitat, and restore natural flows of Reservation streams. Colville Reservation 33 Integrated Resource Management Plan Trust Claims Settlement and Restoration Plan • Develop a management plan for forest access roads that protects watersheds and improves access for resource management and tribal member use. • Utilize tribal businesses to conduct restoration work and involve tribal youth in measuring outcomes. Restoration of the Reservation watersheds focuses on forest access roads, especially those with erosion problems that affect nearby streams. Roads with drainage problems will have drainage structures installed. The plan identifies roads in streamside riparian zones as well as unused or duplicative roads that will be decommissioned. Stream crossings and culverts that are eroding or inadequately constructed will be replaced or removed. Rangeland Restoration Restoration of the Reservation rangelands is intended to enhance and maintain range conditions, sustainable livestock production and wildlife forage. Rangeland conditions will be restored by improving management of grazing animals, including horses and cattle, and controlling invasive vegetation. Additional fencing and structures will improve grazing management, reduce livestock on highways, and protect riparian zones. Feral Horse Impacts in Friedlander Meadow Rangeland Restoration Goals: • Achieve the optimal desired future condition of Reservation rangelands, with sustainable economic returns to livestock producers. • Create a mosaic of desirable rangeland plant communities with diverse forbs, grasses, and shrubs that optimize ecosystems processes. • Establish range condition and trend plots to monitor the status of range vegetation and evaluate the effectiveness of grazing management. Integrated Resource Management Plan 34 Colville Reservation Trust Claims Settlement and Restoration Plan • Encourage grazing practices that lead to an increase in highly palatable plant species, a decrease of undesirable species, and improved range conditions. • Establish grazing compliance procedures that will enforce appropriate livestock management that will benefit other natural resource programs. Wildlife Restoration An aerial survey of big game, eagle nests and other wildlife will establish baseline wildlife information for the Reservation. This information provides a basis for developing wildlife management goals & objectives in the IRMP. The wildlife included in the surveys are: • Sharp-tailed grouse lek counts • Gray wolf pup counts • • • • • Bighorn sheep lamb counts Gray wolf pack counts Big game counts Feral horse counts Eagle nest surveys Bald Eagles Gray-wolves California Bighorn Sheep Forest Restoration Forest restoration is intended to restore and maintain resilient landscapes, create fire adapted communities and conditions that will contribute to a resistant and resilient forest. The plan includes restoration activities to restore ecosystem processes by managing vegetation structure, stand density, species composition, patch size, patterns, and fuel loading and distribution. This will create ecosystems that are resistant/resilient to epidemic levels of insects and disease and catastrophic wildfire. It will also allow fire to play its natural ecological role on the Reservation while protecting human life, structures, and cultural resources. Colville Reservation 35 Integrated Resource Management Plan Trust Claims Settlement and Restoration Plan Forest Restoration Goals: • Provide tribal employment through forest management and fire management activities. • Develop a regulated forest that provides a sustainable supply of forest products over the long term. • Reduce stocking and competition to increase growth and vigor of stands. • Reduce the potential of resource damage from destructive wildland fires. • Manipulate species composition, favoring early seral species. • Assist land managers by protecting, maintaining or enhancing other resources through treatments of forest fuels. • Maintain a fire dependent ecosystem. • Develop a program of fuels management and prescribed fire that will effectively reduce the fire hazard of accumulated fuels, achieve multiple resource objectives, and provide for the natural role of fire in the ecosystem. • Provide opportunities for wildland fire to be used for resource benefits and implementation when conditions permit. Current regeneration harvesting practices involve retention of a small number of larger ponderosa pine and western larch. Additional trees are planted or natural regeneration occurs. Integrated Resource Management Plan 36 Colville Reservation Trust Claims Settlement and Restoration Plan Cultural Plants Restoration The goal of the cultural plant restoration is to assess the distribution and abundance of traditional cultural plants and associated native plant communities throughout Reservation lands and to compile traditional cultural plant information through field inventory, records review, and consultation with the elder and practitioner community. The History/Archaeology Department staff and contractors will train a three-member tribal team to gather data. The data will be analyzed and inventoried and will be followed by monitoring and evaluation. These efforts will provide baseline information to guide restoration and protection for future generations. Gaining an understanding of the distribution and abundance of traditional cultural plants and associated native plant communities will significantly improve the Tribes’ ability to protect and manage these valuable resources. Huckleberries Colville Reservation 37 Integrated Resource Management Plan Soil, Water and Air Soil, Water and Air Watersheds: Water and Soils The watersheds of the Reservation function naturally to provide clean water, regulate stream flows by cycling water through the soil, and provide fish and wildlife habitat, and cultural resources. Riparian zones lining stream courses and wetlands offer critical support for these functions, shading the water, supporting the food chain with leaf litter, strengthening stream banks with root systems, slowing runoff with absorbent soils, dissipating flood flows, and providing woody debris for aquatic habitat. Elbow Lake Soils of the Reservation play an important role in supporting plant growth by providing a medium for root growth and inorganic, mineral nutrients such as: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese, boron, molybdenum, copper, zinc, nickel, chlorine, cobalt, and selenium. Soils moderate temperature fluctuations and insulate deeper roots from hot and cold extremes experienced at the surface. Soils are a principal controlling factor for water movement through much of the hydrologic cycle. The water holding capacity of soils is essential for plant survival. According to the Hydrology report, soils across the Reservation vary widely in texture, depth, rock fragment content, and natural drainage. In general, soils on the uplands are generally suited for timber production, livestock grazing, wildlife habitat and recreation while soils on terraces and plateaus are suited for agriculture and urban development as well as livestock grazing, wildlife habitat and recreation. The Reservation lies within several precipitation zones and has nearly 3,000 miles of streams, 420 lakes, and over 22,000 acres of wetlands. The majority of lakes (about 300) are in the southwest plateau area and are saline or highly alkaline. Most of the lakes Integrated Resource Management Plan 38 Colville Reservation Soil, Water and Air outside this area are at higher elevations, either with clear water, low nutrients and primary productivity, or with warmer water and more nutrients and primary productivity. Currently, Reservation lakes tend to be within the moderate to high productivity range, primary productivity being the amount of photosynthesis by algae. The Columbia River flows along the Reservation’s eastern and southern borders and the Okanogan River flows along its western border. The eastern half of the Reservation has the greater number of streams and flows are moderate to low. The western half has fewer streams and flows are very low to intermittent in many cases. A primary source of groundwater is in the alluvial and glacial deposits that fill the bottom of most river and stream valleys. In many areas, groundwater is limited by aquifers that are small, disjointed and directly connected to lakes and streams. Water Resource Conditions The riparian, stream and fishery conditions on the Reservation were historically stable and provided substantial sustenance, cultural and spiritual values to the Colville Tribes with relatively balanced water and nutrient cycles. The riparian and in-stream conditions provided abundant and productive habitat for plants and animals including fish, mammals, birds, and insects. Old Fish Hatchery The Environmental Trust Department monitors the water quality of surface waters (streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands) and groundwater. As there are nearly 3,000 miles of interior rivers and streams with an additional 202 miles of boundary waters shared with Washington State (the Columbia and Okanogan Rivers), monitoring them all would require a substantial increase in staff and funding. Consequently, the Environmental Trust Department has stream monitoring sites in only 59 of the 209 watershed management units across the Reservation. Field water quality parameters are collected at approximately 75 surface water quality sites in 12 of the 15 resource management units on the Reservation. Approximately 65% of the Reservation’s total stream network is tributary to monitoring sites and are therefore monitored. A number of the larger streams have several monitoring sites on their main stem and additional sites at the mouths of tributary streams. Water quality sampling sites were selected by consideration of tribal interests, accessibility, flows, ecological sources, and point and nonpoint sources of pollution. Current information indicates that water quality within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation is not “impaired,” but concerns do exist that require further action. The 2014 Hydrology Report states that water quality commonly exceeds standards set by the Tribes. Past records and recent tests indicate that segments of many flowing water bodies Colville Reservation 39 Integrated Resource Management Plan Resource Management Units & Named Streams OMAK CREEK LOST CREEK WEST FORK SPR HALL CREEK UPPER SAN POIL RIVER SOUTHWEST PLATEAU TWIN LAKES NESPELEM RIVER KARTAR VALLEY LITTLE NESPELEM RIVER WILMONT CREEK LOWER SAN POIL RIVER BUFFALO LAKE/SWAWILLA BAS NINE MILE CREEK HELLGATE ** Disclaimer ** Data information used may be updated without any notification. LEGEND Author: Elizabeth Wright Coordinate System: NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_11N Date printed: 04 March 2014 Integrated Resource Management Plan RMUs 1:511,719 40 0 Named Streams 4.75 9.5 Lakes & Boundary Waters 19 28.5 38 Miles Colville Reservation Soil, Water and Air fail to meet EPA and Tribal water quality standards for temperature, dissolved oxygen, bacteria (fecal coliform) and turbidity. Recent assessment reports indicate that more than a quarter, and as high as forty percent, of all monitored streams experience standard criteria exceedances or levels of concern for these parameters. Violation of standards occur mostly in summer months, when water temperatures exceed standards, dissolved oxygen levels fall below minimum standards, and fecal bacteria counts become concentrated during low flows. In many watersheds, Environmental Trust does not have enough bacterial contamination samples to make any observations based on trends. Turbidity values typically are highest in the spring during periods of increased runoff and erosion, particularly in watersheds affected by stream-adjacent land use activities. Groundwater assessments indicate water quality is generally suitable for domestic and industrial purposes, though some localized problems are inherent to the geologic material of the aquifer. Most bacteria problems have been associated with faulty or damaged well construction that allowed surface contamination to enter the well. Other bacteria and nutrient (e.g. nitrate and ammonia) problems result from faulty septic drain fields, agricultural practices and concentrated livestock areas. Shallow and improperly placed or constructed wells are particularly susceptible to impacts from these activities. Land Use Impacts Various land use practices have impacted waters of the Reservation, including forest, range, and urban development. Over the last several decades, non-point source pollution has been the primary adverse impact affecting water quality and use and water-dependent resources. Perched culvert (barrier to fish passage) Groundwater interception by road causing erosion Road washout at Beaver Dam Creek Forest roads on the Reservation that have poor construction and location cause erosion and high sediment loading into streams. Many culverts block fish passage either by jumping distance or gradient. Road inventory data collected between 2004 and 2013 indicates that 12 of 15 resource management units have total road densities in excess of 3.5 miles per square mile. The inventory is used to allocate the limited funding for high priority restoration projects that will have the greatest positive impact on water quality. Colville Reservation 41 Integrated Resource Management Plan Soil, Water and Air Surface water conditions are affected by a number of factors. Bacterial contamination in surface water on the Reservation can originate from a number of potential sources, such as livestock, feral horses, septic systems, and wildlife. Environmental Trust’s review of stream water quality data and stream condition records indicate that habitat quality index ratings for a selection of streams throughout the Reservation range mostly from poor to moderate for temperature and dissolved oxygen constraints and fair to moderate for flow and nutrient (nitrate) constraints. Forest harvest activities have impacted nearly 90 percent of the streams and riparian areas over the last hundred or more years, according to the Hydrology Report. The most significant impacts are loss of larger woody debris, loss of canopy cover in riparian areas, and sedimentation of streams. Roads, and to a substantially lesser degree, feral horses and livestock, have impacted approximately 75 percent of streams and riparian areas on the Reservation. Of that, 50 percent have severe impacts and 25 percent moderate impacts. Watershed Management Watershed and water quality assessments, road maintenance inventories, stream and riparian area surveys, and general field observations have provided a basis for determining surface water restoration projects. These include forest road and road stream crossing improvements, revegetation of hillslopes, streambanks and shorelines, erosion control, stream head-cut stabilization, minor channel geometry modifications, streambed armoring, riparian fencing, animal watering site development, and limitations placed on impacting activities (e.g. forest harvesting, road construction, and livestock grazing). Tribal code requires a permit for any activity affecting the bed or banks of waters, including wetlands on the Reservation. It contains standards for certain common activities that are performed in waters, such as road crossings, certain logging activities, bulkheads, and stream bank stabilization relating to loss of wetlands and compensatory mitigation. The Hydraulic Project, Forest Practices, and Shoreline Management codes provide nonpoint source protections for wetlands. The primary purpose of the water quality monitoring and assessment program is to determine whether the Tribes’ water quality standards are achieved and beneficial water uses are supported for water bodies across the Reservation. Monitoring informs the understanding of baseline water quality conditions for all waters and enables periodic evaluation of changes. Monitoring also helps identify waters needing restoration. In addition to the monitoring and assessment conducted by the Environmental Trust Department, the Fish & Wildlife Department performs substantial monitoring of aquatic habitat across the Reservation and throughout the Okanogan River watershed. Federal and state agencies as well as the Tribes, monitor the Reservation boundary waters: the Columbia, Sanpoil, and Okanogan Rivers. These efforts are coordinated and results are shared between agencies. Integrated Resource Management Plan 42 Colville Reservation Soil, Water and Air Lake Management Areas include designated lakes and associated watersheds managed by the Tribes and BIA to provide special protection and enhance the surface water quality of lakes of special significance to the Tribal membership. Special management will include: enhanced setbacks for all future shoreline development, storm water management measures included in all development plans, active grazing management to prevent overuse of riparian areas, updated water type maps, and improvements to forest roads to meet Tribal Code requirements. Lake Management Areas will include Omak, Buffalo, Owhi, McGinnis, Rebecca, and Twin Lakes. Water Rights Status and Strategy Federal Indian water rights are substantively governed by federal law and Supreme Court decisions including Winters v. United States and Arizona v. California. Indian water rights, although created and vested as of the date of the reservation (or earlier, in the case of aboriginal rights) are not quantified unless litigation or congressional action has determined the size of the right. These Supreme Court decisions established that the measure of the reserved water rights of a tribe includes both the present amount of water used and future increases in the amount necessary to fulfill the purposes for which a reservation was created. The court noted that Congress intended to deal fairly with Indian tribes by reserving waters, without which their lands would be useless. Columbia River In 1981, these decisions were cited by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the Colville Confederated Tribes v. Boyd Walton, Jr. decision that confirmed the Tribes’ reserved water rights for current and future needs. The decision also confirmed the use of water to maintain the Omak Lake Fishery and the right of the Tribes to determine how to use their water. A common method for quantifying Indian water rights under the court decisions is the Practicably Irrigable Acreage method. This method quantifies the amount of water needed to irrigate arable lands on a reservation. The Tribes have asserted their water rights in the Tribal Code (Water Resources Use and Permitting) and established a water rights project team that includes the Environmental Trust Department and the Office of Reservation Attorney. Colville Reservation 43 Integrated Resource Management Plan Soil, Water and Air The team is currently evaluating water uses, permits, certificates, rights, and claims on the Reservation. They have estimated future use based on population expansion and potential water uses. The method of determining Tribal or individual Indian water rights is yet to be determined and might vary from place to place depending on water source. Air Quality The Reservation is situated within four airsheds: Lake Roosevelt, Sanpoil River, Nespelem, and Okanogan River. An airshed is a geographical area where local topography influences air movement and emission dispersion. Topographical features may concentrate emissions such as smoke into localized areas of the airshed. The airsheds shown in the map were delineated based on resource management units and knowledge of local meteorological conditions. The four airsheds also extend beyond the exterior boundaries of the Reservation. Smoke from the mill Air emissions inventories are conducted by the Air Quality Program and report on four of the six criteria pollutants; particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. Additionally, volatile organic compounds are reported because they are precursors to ozone. The Air Quality Program uses the emissions inventory to assess the amount of emissions from several source categories located in the airsheds of the Reservation and then develops strategies to reduce emissions that are having adverse impacts. The inventory also supplements data from monitoring efforts for a better understanding of air quality trends and concerns. By conducting successive inventories over a long period of time, trends can be determined on the number of sources and the quantity of emissions. Air pollution is created by point and non-point sources. Point sources are individually inventoried and usually located at a fixed, stationary location that release pollutants into the atmosphere. These include gas stations, lumber mills, asphalt and concrete batch plants. Nonpoint sources are defined as a collection of similar units within a geographic area. These include emissions from residential wood stoves that play a large role in air pollution episodes during times of low wind and inversions. Wildfires are another source and in years with larger wildfires, these emissions become the largest source of air pollution on the Reservation. Particulate matter is another non-point source of air pollution that is typically dust created by roads and wind. Integrated Resource Management Plan 44 Colville Reservation Soil, Water and Air The program operates three permanent continuous monitors that measure particulate matter 2.5 micron or smaller and are located in Omak, Nespelem and Inchelium. The monitors provide near real time pollution concentrations (micrograms per cubic meter) that can be used for calling health related burn ban, air quality advisories, smoke management and comparison to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Airsheds Omak San Poil River State Route 20 Disautel Inchelium US 97 Okanogan River State Route 155 Nespelem State Route 21 Nespelem Lake Roosevelt Agency Keller State Route 17 Coulee Dam ** Disclaimer ** Data information used may be updated without any notification. Towns LEGEND Washington State Highway 1:526,614 0 4.75 Okanogan River Airshed Lake Roosevelt Airshed San Poil River Airshed Nespelem Airshed Named Streams Author: Elizabeth Wright Coordinate System: NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_11N Date printed: 04 March 2014 Lakes & Boundary Waters 9.5 19 28.5 38 Miles The tribal air quality program in coordination with Mount Tolman Fire Center issues agricultural burn permits. The majority of requests are to prepare fields to install new crops or to decrease biomass accumulation. The program issues 30 to 50 permits each year. The Environmental Trust Department The watersheds and airsheds of the Reservation are impacted by commercial, industrial, residential and recreational activities. The Colville Business Council began enacting codes in the 1980s that provide environmental protections for these resources. The Environmental Trust Department was assigned enforcement authority for natural resource codes that protect the air, water and soils of the Reservation. These include: Colville Reservation 45 Integrated Resource Management Plan Soil, Water and Air • Hydraulics Practices • Forest Practices • • • • • • Mining On-Site Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Water Resources Use and Permitting Hazardous Substance Control Air Emissions Control Water Quality Standards The Department also monitors these resources to assess air and water quality conditions, soil erosion and sedimentation. The department also issues permits for water use, on-sitewastewater systems, air emissions burn permits, forest practices, hydraulic projects and mining practices. The Environmental Trust Department and the Environmental Protection Agency permit water discharge. The Reservation’s air, water and soils are also affected by off-Reservation activities that originate from upstream mining, smelting, and commercial agriculture conducted by multiple landowners and businesses. These impacts cross jurisdictions and include multiple pollutants and responsible parties. Consequently, the Department must represent the Tribes’ interests in addressing these impacts with other tribes, state, federal and international agencies. The Environmental Trust Department addresses the legacy of many decades of timber harvesting, livestock grazing and land conversion and development that were not subject to environmental protections. The cumulative impacts include chronic and elevated rates of erosion from inadequate road construction and maintenance, degraded riparian vegetation, and altered stream hydrology (stream channelization and incision). The Department also adErosion from stream flow down dresses ongoing impacts from current activities to enskid trail sure that they are conducted in compliance with tribal codes and federal laws and regulations. The Environmental Trust Department provides expertise in environmental sciences (e.g. ecology, soils, hydrology, and chemistry), watershed management, water rights and water law, environmental laws and regulations. The Department also participates in the Project Proposal Process, reviewing proposed projects on Reservation lands. The Department assesses potential impacts to the Reservation’s soil, water, and air quality and makes recommendations to project proponents that will enable their activities to better protect and preserve soil, water, and air resources. Integrated Resource Management Plan 46 Colville Reservation Soil, Water and Air Community Concerns The Tribes’ Holistic Goal and Desired Future Conditions reflect the tribal community’s desire for a healthy, environment with biodiversity and a vibrant culture. Respondents to the 2014 Community Survey were only partially aware that these goals are officially stated in the Tribes’ resolutions and planning documents, however, those who were, largely recognized that the Tribes have made progress in the last 15 years towards achieving those goals. When asked about the quality of their drinking water, approximately 78% of respondents answered “Good” or “Adequate”, while 21% answered “Poor.” After controlling the question of drinking water quality based on drinking water source, only 13% of respondents who obtained their water from a private well indicated “Poor” quality drinking water; whereas 26% of respondents who obtained water from the community water system indicated “Poor” quality drinking water. Respondents indicated that air quality on the Colville Reservation is generally good to very good, with 95% of respondents indicating either “Excellent” or “Good” in response to the question. However, a large percentage of respondents (43%) indicated that the air quality on the Reservation is worse in summer months than any other time of year. This is likely due to wildfires, which 54% of respondents identified as a health concern. A large number of respondents (54%) use firewood during the winter to heat some portion of their residence. Of this group, 91% burn firewood in a woodstove rather than a fireplace, and 77% claim firewood as their primary source of heat in the winter. The community survey also asked respondents to express their feelings about forest and grazing Gathering firewood practices on the Reservation. The impacts of livestock grazing on streams and wetlands were expressed as a concern by 57% of respondents. Concerns about heavy grazing and livestock rotation were expressed by 49% of respondents. Some respondents (21%) feel that grazing should be discontinued on the Reservation. Livestock Grazing Colville Reservation 47 Integrated Resource Management Plan Soil, Water and Air Although only 12% of respondents felt that not enough has been done to reduce the environmental impacts of forest practices, over half (54%) expressed a desire for forest practices focused on forest health issues. Forest access roads, which are largely constructed to facilitate forest maintenance and timber harvesting, are also used by the community for a variety of purposes. When asked how they felt about forest roads, 50% of respondents said the roads should be maintained to prevent environmental damage. A significant number (39%) agreed that, lacking maintenance, many roads have caused soil erosion that degrades fish habitat and water quality. Forest Access Road Environmental Trust Goals & Objectives Achieve and maintain a healthy environment with functioning ecological systems including biodiversity, clean water, clean air, and healthy soils required to support plants, animals, tribal values, and subsistence uses. Soils and Water Goal 1: Surface Water. Protect and restore surface waters and aquatic ecosystems to promote ecological, cultural, subsistence, recreational, and economic functions. Objectives: • Conduct a surface water quality monitoring program to determine if/how often water quality standards requirements are being met. • Provide a surface water quality monitoring results report to the public every other year. • Work with all other Tribal and BIA programs whose activities influence water quality to incorporate management activities that will increase the frequency that water quality monitoring samples meet the Water Quality Standards code requirements. • Monitor recreational areas on Omak Lake, Buffalo Lake, Twin Lakes, Owhi Lake, and Keller Park for bacterial contamination and post warning notices when necessary. Integrated Resource Management Plan 48 Colville Reservation Soil, Water and Air •  Administer permitting and compliance with On-Site Wastewater Treatment and Disposal, Mining Practices Water Quality, Forest Practices, Hydraulic Project Permitting, Hazardous Substance Control codes within the jurisdiction of the Tribes in order to ensure that management activities that influence surface water quality do not prevent a surface water from meeting the Water Quality Standards code requirements. •  Require point-source wastewater dischargers on the Reservation to obtain CTCR Pollution Discharge Permits and National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Beginning Beaver Dam • Provide all pesticide permits or plans for application to the EPA pesticide circuit rider supporting improved monitoring of pesticide use and investigation of all possible violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. • Contribute to the development of a forest road management plan that includes a maintenance program as well as design standards for road runoff management and erosion control that will increase surface waters’ ability to meet the Water Quality Standards code requirements. • Collaborate with Fish & Wildlife, Land Operations, and Planning to review water and soil best management practices (BMPs) related to agricultural activities and recommend code revisions as needed to provide adequate surface water resource protection and improve surface waters’ ability to meet the Water Quality Standards code requirements. • Collaborate with Fish & Wildlife, Land Operations, and Realty to conduct a review of rangeland management BMP effectiveness for protecting surface waters’ ability to meet the Water Quality Standards code requirements. Environmental Trust will collaborate with Land Operations to recommend revisions to Colville Tribal Code 4-11: Rangeland Management as needed. • Require proponents with proposed development greater than one (1) acre in size to obtain General Construction permits from the EPA. • Identify all corrals and livestock holding areas where proximity to surface water reduces the surface waters’ ability to meet the Water Quality Standards code requirements. Work with owners to relocate corrals and livestock holding areas away from surface water and install off-site watering points where feasible and when funding is available. Colville Reservation 49 Integrated Resource Management Plan Soil, Water and Air • Update and recommend revisions to the Mining Practices Water Quality and Forest Practices codes. • Collaborate with Fish & Wildlife and the TCP Plant Ecologist at History/ Archeology to identify key wetlands for restoration. • Partner with other programs, seek funding, and implement wetland restoration projects throughout the Reservation. • Monitor wetland and stream conditions using biotic indicators (macro-invertebrates) and assessments of riparian habitat to determine ecological conditions and whether surface waters are meeting the Water Quality Standards code requirements. • Update water type maps within lake management areas using LIDAR and aerial photography. • Collaborate with Forestry to upgrade all lake management area roads to meet revised Forest Practices codes and increase lakes’ ability to meet the Water Quality Standards code requirements. • Participate in Columbia Basin and State water quality and watershed forums, councils, and other venues supporting water quality protection and water resource management in Reservation boundary waters beneficial to the Colville Tribes. • Review and comment on land use and discharge permit applications affecting waters throughout the Upper Columbia Basin. • Maintain involvement in the Columbia River Treaty process to ensure adequate water of good quality for all beneficial uses including the reintroduction of anadromous fish above Grand Coulee Dam. • Continue to work with Washington State, EPA, and other entities to clean up mining pollution between Trail, B.C. and Grand Coulee Dam. • Continue to work with Washington State and other entities in the Okanogan and Similkameen Rivers to address legacy pollution issues. • Monitor, prioritize and act on sources of potential pollution to the Reservation boundary waters. • Use Watershed Restoration funds to reduce watershed impacts caused by Reservation roads. Restoration treatments will include closing obsolete, polluting roads, replacing poorly designed water crossings, and installing runoff controls (water bars, drivable dips, etc.) to reduce the amount of pollutant and sediment delivery to surface waters and improve Tribal waters’ ability to meet water quality standards. Integrated Resource Management Plan 50 Colville Reservation Soil, Water and Air Goal 2: Groundwater. Sustain safe, high-quality aquifer and groundwater supplies to meet ecological, cultural, subsistence, and economic needs. Objectives: • Conduct a groundwater quality monitoring program to determine if andhow often the Water Quality Standards code requirements are being met. • Provide a groundwater quality monitoring results report to the public every other year. • Review proposals and permit applications for land use and other projects to maintain contamination source restrictions in wellhead protection zones and maintain groundwater’s ability to meet the Water Quality Standards code requirements. • Administer permits and compliance of the On-site Wastewater Treatment and Disposal code to maintain regulatory restrictions on septic systems (types, condition, distance from well). • Collaborate with EPA to assure federal underground storage and aboveground tank regulations are observed on the Reservation. • Provide all pesticide permits or plans for application to the EPA pesticide circuit rider supporting improved monitoring of pesticide use and investigation of all possible violations of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. • Administer compliance with Hazardous Substance Control requiring specified clean-up standards for groundwater, soil, and sediment contamination in order to protect groundwater’s ability to meet water quality standards. • Monitor groundwater levels using field and/or analytical methods and, if necessary, regulate groundwater withdrawals (such as pumping) to ensure adequate groundwater supplies for future beneficial water use by administering permitting and compliance of the Water Resources Use and Permitting code requirements. Goal 3: Watersheds. Ensure watershed conditions that sustain water cycle function to promote productive soils, plants, and habitat. Objectives: • Administer permitting and compliance of the On-Site Wastewater Treatment and Disposal, Mining Practices Water Quality, Forest Practices, and Hydraulic Project Permitting codes to maintain healthy watershed functioning in the water cycle and increase Tribal waters’ ability to meet the Water Quality Standards code requirements. Colville Reservation 51 Integrated Resource Management Plan Soil, Water and Air • Map known unstable slope locations (landslides, mass wasting) based on past records, LIDAR, the NRCS Soil Survey, and other available technologies. • Limit forest operations in areas of soil/slope/streambank instability and channel migration zones to prevent triggering additional erosion or increasing slope movement by administering permitting and compliance of the Forest Practices code. • Assess riparian conditions at all stream water quality monitoring locations and assess riparian management zone effectiveness as well as prioritize project planning and restoration efforts based on the results. • Collaborate with Land Operations and Fish & Wildlife to develop best management practices (BMPs) for riparian grazing and recommend riparian grazing BMPs as revisions to Colville Tribal Code 4-11: Rangeland Management in order to improve surface waters’ ability to meet the Water Quality Standards code requirements. • Administer permitting and compliance of Forest Practices and Hydraulic Project Permitting in order to restrict non-essential human development activities within mapped flood hazard areas. • Use Watershed Restoration funds to reduce watershed impacts caused by Reservation roads. Restoration treatments will include closing obsolete, polluting roads, replacing poorly designed water crossings, and installing runoff controls (water bars, drivable dips, etc.) to restore altered flow patterns and improve Tribal waters’ ability to meet the Water Quality Standards code requirements. Goal 4: Water Use. Manage water use to protect tribal water rights and sovereignty as well as support beneficial uses. Objectives: • The Colville Reservation was created to provide a permanent home and abiding place for the Colville Tribes and their members both now and in the future. In order to ensure Tribal water rights for that purpose, Environmental Trust will administer permitting and compliance of the Water Resources Use and Permitting code requirements. • Communicate with other Tribal/BIA departments and outside parties that water use within the Reservation and all other tribal lands is for beneficial purposes as defined by the Water Quality Standards and Water Resources Use and Permitting code. • Collaborate with other tribal and federal programs to develop and promote current and future agricultural projects and water delivery systems necessary for irrigation within the Reservation and all other Tribal lands. Integrated Resource Management Plan 52 Colville Reservation Soil, Water and Air • Maintain a record of all issued water permits to assist tracking overall water use within the Reservation and all other tribal lands under the Water Resources Use and Permitting code. • Manage water use to preserve wildlife, fish, aesthetic, and other environmental values and navigational values by administering permitting and compliance of the the Water Resources Use and Permitting code. Goal 5: Climate Change. Consider, and manage for, long-term alterations in ecological processes due to global climate change. Objectives: • Conduct an annual review of regional climate change forecasts, analyses, and water resource trends to determine prudent changes in watershed management that should be taken. • Recommend revisions to appropriate Colville Tribal Codes administered by the Environmental Trust Department necessary to protect homes and communities from climate-driven threats such as flooding, rain-on-snow events, and channel migration. • Adapt to climate-driven, changing water availability by administering permitting and compliance of the Water Resources Use and Permitting code based on the best available and up-to-date water availability science. • Recommend revisions to appropriate Tribal Codes administered by Environmental Trust necessary to protect wetlands, riparian areas, groundwater recharge areas, and floodplains based on the best available and up-to-date climate change impact data in order to ameliorate climate change effects on the soil and water resources. Wetland Colville Reservation 53 Integrated Resource Management Plan Soil, Water and Air Air Quality Goal 1: Protect tribal members and citizens within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation from adverse effects of air pollution. Objectives: • Identify, through the collection of monitoring data, the nature and level of air pollution on the Reservation and within tribal communities over an extended period of time. • Work with the Environmental Protection Agency, tribal programs, private facilities and government agencies to permit, regulate and provide compliance assistance to prevent and reduce the incidences of air pollution. • Develop a health related burn ban program with protocols for implementation and notification of affected areas of the Reservation. • Provide educational and outreach opportunities for the membership and other Reservation citizens that explains their role in preventing air pollution, providing alternatives to burning and steps to reduce emissions. •  Develop a smoke management program with other stakeholder groups such as the Mount Tolman Fire Center to minimize exposure to prescribed or managed fire smoke. Smoke from North Star fire Goal 2: Air quality will be protected and enhanced across the Reservation Objectives: • Identify air pollution problem sources, areas and timeframes that are of concern. • Establish air quality emphasis areas or Reservation-wide issues to target with special projects. • Keep emission inventories current and expand data categories. Prepare a comprehensive emissions report every three years and distribute to tribal management and the general community. • Participate in the Project Proposal Process (3P), land use and shoreline permit reviews and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee to identify potential air quality issues and concerns. Integrated Resource Management Plan 54 Colville Reservation Soil, Water and Air Goal 3: Tribal codes will be developed and federal regulations followed to maintain and improve air quality. Objectives: • Update the Tribes’ Air Quality Codes (4-18) concerning air emission control to reflect current conditions and federal regulations. • Monitor and comment when appropriate on regional and national issues concerning air quality. • Maintain EPA Clean Air Act Tribal Inspector credentials and carry out inspections on facilities registered under the Federal Air Rules for Reservations. Goal 4: Climate change impacts and adaptation strategies will be identified and plans devised to minimize effects. Objectives: • Develop a strategy to identify, plan for and mitigate the impacts of climate change on air quality. • Provide outreach, educational materials and opportunities for tribal members and Reservation residents to learn about climate change adaptation. • Develop a climate change adaptation program within the Environmental Trust Department. Twin Lakes Colville Reservation 55 Integrated Resource Management Plan AGRICULTURE Agriculture Current Conditions Only a small portion of the Reservation is used for agricultural production. About 2% of the available land is currently used to grow orchard crops, grains, and feed. The vast majority of this is in the west portion of the Reservation where both irrigated (near the Columbian and Okanogan Rivers) and dryland farming occurs. Much of the current larger scale agriculture is commercial in nature although a number of smaller individual farmers are also active on the Reservation. Although upland agricultural irrigation has decreased since the 1950’s, the Tribes have an opportunity to expand agriculture on the Reservation. Currently, the Tribes grow their own tree seedlings to replant the forest and some orchards are being planted. The Tribes are currently reassessing the agricultural potential of the Reservation. There are over 291,000 acres of Class 1 irrigable land on the Reservation. A new Agricultural Resource Management Plan has been developed that assesses the conditions, values, and use of agricultural lands on the Reservation, and defines the opportunities, limitations, and leasing process that need to be considered to develop, manage, and improve existing and potential agricultural lands within the Colville Reservation. There is potential to develop a modern agriculture infrastructure suitable for agribusiness. There is a great deal of farming expertise in Washington State that could be tapped for strategies to create profitable farming enterprises that could provide employment and teach the Tribes how to successfully farm Reservation lands. Orchards on Colville Reservation Environmental and cultural issues surrounding an expansion of agriculture include increased use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, loss of shrub-steppe environments that support wildlife, loss of culturally important plants, and potentially limited supplies of water from smaller surface waters and aquifers. Some of the Tribes’ trust land, allotments and fee lands are leased for agricultural purposes. Tribal trust and allotment lands are administered by the BIA Realty office and tribal fee lands are administered by the Tribal Realty department. These leases are hampered by fractionated allotment ownership, a lack of adequate survey data, and outdated and inaccurate records. On allotment lands, agricultural activities are especially compromised by fractionated interests, crop share counts and valuation, lack of equipment, transportation, and storage facilities. Integrated Resource Management Plan 56 Draft Irrigable Lands on the Colville Reservation Integrated Resource Management Plan 57 Colville Reservation Potential Farming Land Integrated Resource Management Plan 58 Colville Reservation Potential Orchard Land Integrated Resource Management Plan 59 Colville Reservation AGRICULTURE Community Concerns When asked about expanding commercial irrigation infrastructure on the Reservation, a significant number of survey respondents (47%) indicated this would have a positive effect in the community (an additional 34% stated they had no opinion on the matter). Only 7% of survey respondents claimed to have ever been involved in commercial agriculture as a business or an employee. On the other hand, 16% of respondents indicated that they personally owned some form of livestock, most notably: horses (82%), chickens (25%), and cows (19%). Agriculture Management The development and management of Indian agricultural lands in accordance with integrated resource management plans will ensure proper management of Indian agricultural lands and will produce increased economic returns, enhance Indian self-determination, promote employment opportunities, and improve the social and economic well-being of the Reservation and surrounding communities. The Tribes’ Agricultural Resource Management Plan is intended to facilitate the establishment of a formal program to develop and manage agricultural lands on the Reservation. The plan would also facilitate tribal member access to federal or private programs promoting agriculture or related rural development programs generally available to the public at large. The plan is also intended to increase awareness of the educational and training opportunities available that can improve the experience and abilities of the Tribes and their members in agriculture and land management. Agriculture Goals & Objectives Develop and manage the agricultural lands of the Reservation in accordance with integrated resource management to ensure that proper management of Indian agricultural lands produces increased economic returns, enhances Indian self-determination, promotes employment opportunities, and improves the social and economic well being of the Tribes and surrounding communities. Goal 1: Facilitate the creation of commercially viable, sustainable agricultural practices that provide economic benefit to the stakeholders while maintaining the integrity of the Reservation’s resources. Draft 60 Integrated Resource Management Plan AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE Objectives: • Encourage and designate areas for agricultural production, both commercial and private. • Protect and conserve resources while maintaining the highest productive potential on Indian agricultural lands through the application of sound conservation practices and techniques. • Where appropriate, recommend restoring agricultural lands back into forest or native grasslands. • Increase production and expand the diversity and availability of agricultural products for subsistence, income, and employment of the tribal membership through the development of agricultural resources on tribal lands. • Maintain or restore biological diversity throughout the landscape, including agricultural lands, by establishing biodiversity corridors through already- developed areas that are linked Canola Field Pilot Project for Biofuels with adjacent natural areas. • Manage agricultural resources consistent with integrated resource management plans in order to minimize adverse impacts to other values such as wildlife, fisheries, traditional cultural plants, cultural resources, recreation and to regulate water runoff, minimize soil erosion and maintain compliance with applicable chemical application standards. Goal 2: Provide individuals and commercial entities a clear, concise procedure that documents the steps and permits required to commence agricultural operations. Objectives: • Enable tribal members to maximize the potential benefits available to them through their land by providing agricultural technical assistance, training, and education in resource conservation, agricultural management and use of credit and marketing of agricultural products, and other applicable subject areas. • Assist the Tribes and individual Indian landowners in leasing trust agricultural lands for a reasonable annual return, consistent with prudent management and conservation practices, and community goals as expressed in tribal management plans and applicable tribal ordinances. Draft 61 Integrated Resource Management Plan Rangeland Introduction Rangeland Reservation Rangeland and Historic Uses The Colville Reservation has a variety of geographic features: elevation, topography, soil, precipitation, and water bodies. Consequently, the Reservation supports a diverse set of plant community types. Many of these plant communities have value for livestock grazing. Of the total 1,392,265 acres within the Reservation, approximately 918,606 acres (66%) are within designated range units. In broad terms, rangeland includes 287,825 acres of shrub-steppe, 135,105 acres of savannah-like open forest, and 495,676 acres of denser forest plant communities. In the late 1800s, Indian and non-Indian cattlemen alike capitalized on the Reservation’s grazing lands in successful open range stock raising ventures, particularly in the Kartar Valley and Duley Lake region. When the Reservation was opened to homestead entry in 1916, the area’s abundance of rich grazing lands with waist-high bunchgrass, was a primary attraction for would-be settlers. In addition to luring cattlemen, the Reservation’s vast grasslands also a [Text truncated at 120,000 characters. The full text is on the page linked above.] --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aconfederated_colville%3A3c97f94582875d77. Public record. Not legal advice.