66 



funding options open to Tribes have not kept pace with the 

 expanding responsibilities for management, authority, or the demand 

 for recreational opportunities by the tribal and non-tribal user 

 Tribes are now being recognized as prominent fisheries and wUdlife 

 management entities and are expecting fuU participation as partners 

 in national fisheries and wildlife initiatives. 



Tribes must be accorded full participation in these initiatives by 

 virtue of the extent of reservation land bases but also, and more 

 importantly, because tribes are sovereign governments, and must be 

 dealt with as such. Sovereignty is a very important aspect of tribal 

 governmental operations, and must not be ignored or minimized. 



The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Natural Resource Inventory 

 System (NRIS) report, representing the only information available at 

 this time, states that over 15 million user-days of public use were 

 recorded on Tribal lands in 1986. Seventy-two Tribes were 

 managing public fishing programs. The Confederated Salish & 

 Kootenai Tribes, Montana; Fort Apache, Arizona; Leech Lake 

 Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota; Pyramid Lake, Nevada; and Lower 

 Colorado River, Arizona, each provided more than 250,000 days of 

 public recreational use, most associated with fishing. The Eastern 

 Band of Cherokees of North Carolina, alone, has provided over 

 430,310 of angler use days from 1987-1991. Sixty-one tribes 

 managed public hunting programs, and at least 40 Tribes managed 

 trapping programs on reservations which were open to non-Indian 

 participation. Also 88 Tribes opened parts of their Reservations to 

 public camping in developed, primitive, or wilderness camping areas. 

 Indian reservations contribute significantly toward meeting the 

 national demand for fishing and hunting opportunities. 



Indian tribes have been re-asserting their treaty-rights 

 concerning the management of fish and wildlife resources. As the 

 demand for fisheries and wildlife recreation in this country has 

 increased, pressure has increased on the fisheries and wildUfe 

 resources on Indian reservations and other areas where tribes have 

 jurisdiction and /or co-management authority. Tribes across the 

 country now contribute significantly toward meeting the demand 

 for fisheries and wildlife recreational opportunities. Unfortunately, 

 recreational fisheries and wildlife funding options open to tribes 

 have not kept pace with the expanding responsibilities for 

 management, authority, or the demand for recreational opportunities 

 by the tribal and non-tribal user 



As an example of the disparity in staffing levels, the U.S. Forest 

 Service manages 190 million acres of lands for multiple use. They 



