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NATIVE AMERICAN FISH & WILDLIFE SOCIETY 



750 Burbank Street • Broomfield. Colorado 80020 

 Phone: 13031 466-1725 • FAX: 1303) H66-5414 



- NATIVE AMERICAN FISH & WILDLIFE SOCIETY 

 CONCEPT PAPER 

 NATIVE AMERICAN FISH & WILDLIFE ENHANCEMENT ACT 



The Native American Fish & Wildlife Society (NAFWS) has 

 evaluated the existing federal Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation acts to 

 determine the degree of authorization that tribal governments and 

 their programs have under their provisions. We have found that, 

 historically, the tribes have been overlooked in the passage of these 

 acts and, to this day, have been unable to include tribal provisions to 

 support the management of fish, wildlife, and recreation resources that 

 are of benefit to both Indian and non-Indian users. 



The Society's original effort to involve tribes in federal 

 legislative provisions occurred through evaluation of the Wildlife & 

 Fisheries Enhancement Acts of 1937 and 1950, respectively (commonly 

 referred to as the Dingell-Johnson/Pittman -Robertson Act). These 

 Acts provide funding to states and territories but not to tribes and 

 produce funding in excess of $4 hundred million annually. Similarly, the 

 latest Wetlands and Conservation Act (Dec. 1989) has very limited 

 tribal language and again demonstrates that tribes will not be able to 

 compete with the state and private interests. Other legislation such as 

 the ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT & WILDLIFE COORDINATION 

 ACT have no specific provisions for support of tribal fish, wildlife, and 

 recreation management efforts.at this time. 



The real issue that confronts the tribes is not only the lack of 

 funding that occurs for these management purposes, but the lack of 

 legislative protection that is missing in these acts for tribal sovereign 

 jurisdiction. Tribal governments should define their roles in each 

 aspect of fish, wildlife, and recreation management, determine their 

 funding requirements, establish a means for moving funds to their fish, 

 wildlife, and recreation management programs, and secure legislative 

 protection to insure that they can maintain their programs forever. 



In this effort, the Society is developing the NATIVE 

 AMERICAN FISH AND WILDLIFE ENFL\NCEMENT ACT This Act 

 is designed to provide the authority for tribes to participate in the 

 existing federal fish, wildlife, and recreation acts analogous to the state 



