TREE TALK
by Gary Martin“A Colorful Hike”
How’s it going this month! Missed you all! Good to get home to Virginia! Good to be home in Washington! Wanted to bring back some tree news for you. The colors were tree-mendous! My brother and I had a nice hike in the Jefferson National Forest. Mostly an eastern hardwood forest with a cool variety of plants. One of my favorites is the spring blooming rhododendron. There had been some Eastern hemlock along the trail. A very pretty tree, similar to our Western hemlock. Unfortunately, many of them were dead or dying. The hemlocks back east are being attacked by the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). This tiny insect is an aphid and sucks the sap out of the hemlock needles. They deposit a white, fuzzy mass of eggs. These guys are no fun. This critter is very similar to our balsam woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae) that attacks our sub-alpine fir here on the Reservation. One of my favorite trees of all time, the flowering dogwood, is getting hit by a scary, new pest in the eastern forests. The possible loss of a tree species is a frightening thought.
Back to our hike. All these dead and dying trees were a safety hazard to hikers, so the caretakers of the trail cut them down. To make the tree falling safer and to minimize damaging the other trees and plants and the trail, the Forest Service did something that was new to me. Before the trees were felled, they were limbed while still standing. Now, that’s pretty cool and unusual. How’d they do that? Information at the trailhead described how a helicopter was used. A motorized, tree limbing machainsaw and cutting off the branches. Ex-tree-mly dangerous work. This helicopter operation was completely new to me. I don’t know if we could use it here, but I thought it’d be an interesting story to share with you. My brother and I were rewarded with a beautiful waterfall at the end of the trail. It’s named the “Cascades”. Seems like there’s always a good story to be had, from a hike in the forest. Every day is a good day to honor Veterans and to give Thanks. Enjoy the November holidays and we’ll talk with you again next month! J
Greetings Tribal Members from
the Fish/Wildlife Youth Program
I’ve been employed with F/W for three months now; during this time I have spent many hours with our youth in the outdoors as well as in the schools. People ask me what my job as youth coordinator consists? Well, it’s just like it says in the dictionary (work of act together harmoniously with our youth on education of hunting, fishing, camping and caring for the animals after they are harvested.
It has no boundaries with traditional beliefs being involved for we have many united bands on the Colville Reservation. My personal answer to what my job is that people have to pay someone to teach our youth the knowledge that should be handed down from generation to generation. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, it’s like a dream job for me, because there is nowhere else I would rather be than the outdoors and with someone who wants to learn at your side. That makes it easy to wake up for work day after day.
In twenty years or so I hope these children that are going through the program will take over and make my job irrelevant. That would mean I have succeeded and our reservation will be taken care of by the people for the next generations.
Now that I have shared my thoughts with you I would like to tell you some of the fun we have had. In July I was asked to visit Nespelem School with James Ives and Dan Fairbanks for a summer class, this was a nice way to introduce myself to the kids and learn from others and the kids themselves. We played games about the salmon and bears and showed videos of other animals. July was a new start for a program which was at idle until I was given the job.
We took some of the Omak kids on a field trip to Icicle hatchery to continue up to Rocky Reach to end at the Tribal hatchery. This trip was intended to show the travels of the salmon and the obstacles the salmon have to overcome to reach their spawning grounds and to show how the tribe is taking responsibility to raise fish for the future.
In August, I traveled to the youth camps to teach archery to the kids, as many of you that know me archery is a passion for me so I spent a lot of time with the kids on safety as well as hunting situations. My archery passion continued, for the program purchased 3-D targets to have archery shoots.
Nespelem was my first archery; shoot this was a full weekend, I was hoping to reach our archery elk hunters to prepare them for the hunt and check their equipment out with a couple bow tech people. During this weekend I worked with five young gentlemen who showed me their skills in archery as well as their passion to hunt and hunt right. To you five I give KUDOS to you. Spending time with you made my whole weekend.
Also, while teaching kids to fish, people stated it’s good that we have someone to teach the kids, we will be fishing again next year.
In October, I took kids camping and hunting during the annual Hellsgate subsistence hunt. During these two weekends we harvested nine deer and three turkeys. Out of the deer five were given to elders and funeral meat, also one turkey was given to the elders. I had thirteen kids and five adults. We did more than just hunt; we played hunting games to hone their hunting skills. Also we did some shooting practice as needed. In all I did not want to come home for we had a lot of fun.
Well, I’ve left a lot out but if you’re interested there are many travels ahead to share in the future so feel free to come join us, I’ll be there.
And last, I would like to say thank you to these people and programs involved in making the F/W youth program start out so well. Thank You! Rick Desautel, Pat & Lucy Finley, Joe Condon, Sr., Sam Ankney, Susan Moomaw, Mona Febella, Bonnie & Brian Timentwa, Tammy Lezime, Toni Goujon, Michelle Gatlin, Arnold Abrahamson, Jim Priest. To those programs for their funding and other support I also Thank You! BIA, Fire Control, Parks & Recreation, Tribal TANF, Leasing and F/W for hiring me.
Sincerely,
Aaron Carden
F/W 634-2151
Aaron Carden, Fish & Wildlife
Hunting for Meat or Horns
All of our lives as hunters, we are addressed with the questions of do you hunt for horns or meat? A lot of people on the Colville Indian Reservation have the opportunity to choose the size of animal they want to harvest in so doing this, the younger generation like to shoot or hunt a larger sized animal to have the right to show their hunting abilities by getting a big buck or elk.
I’m not here to judge people, for I have harvested larger sized animals. By hunting the big bucks you will learn to hunt and hunt with pressures of these cagey creatures but the question is why is it the older we get the younger the animal we want to harvest? I believe it’s a part of the learning experience that big horns don’t taste good as younger animals.
While we hunt our experience teaches us not to waste meat or shoot animals just for horns and back strap, so to those who choose to hunt for big animals, take care of this creature for it gave its life for you to live on its meat. By this statement I mean if you shoot something take the time to take the whole animal. Over the last couple of years I’ve seen elk and deer with just their heads and hindquarters cut off. These people are the ones that are not good hunters but are wasteful and greedy. Not to endorse poaching, but if you’re taking the chance of getting caught poaching, then at least take care of the whole animal.
By shooting an animal it means the work has just begun, be a provider not a criminal. Not just to your fellow tribal members but to Mother Nature for it took her years to help this animal grow and it will take years to replace this creature, so lets not waste our valuable resources of food by shooting for horns, learn to take care of your animal and offer it to those that might need the meat.
To address more on hunting big game, those hunting for these big creatures, in time you will learn to set standards on what size of animal you want to shoot, so if you see a big buck, you have the opportunity to let him grow or shoot anything of size. I hope you will learn to pass on some of these animals to let the herds continue to populate. This letter is for all hunters, because there are people who just hunt to kill or to pass time, learn to take care of your given rights to hunt Mother Nature’s creatures and she will always have food to offer you and your children in the future. If not, there is a chance she will stop offering us this freedom or can no longer supply us.
This letter is not to offend anyone but to make people more aware of the right and wrong hunting practices. Take the time to let this sink in, but not to long. For those of you who have the opportunity to help teach a youngster the rights and wrongs of hunting, I encourage you to start now, to create a positive attitude in the beginning, and it will sink in faster.
Thank You.
