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Managing just the fish and wildHfe resources located on our res- 

 ervation is an overwhelming task. However, in addition to our on- 

 reservation resources, our forefathers reserved off-reservation fish- 

 ing, hunting, and food-gathering rights in our 1855 treaty with the 

 United States that gives us a legally-protected interest in fish and 

 wildlife resources located many miles fi-om the reservation. 



Because of our tribe's treaty fishing rights on the Columbia 

 River, we have become involved in numerous proceedings concern- 

 ing the Columbia River basin's salmon runs. 



These proceedings range fi*om the International Pacific Salmon 

 Commission negotiations to Hmit the Canadian catch of Columbia 

 River salmon, to efforts under the Endangered Species Act to pro- 

 tect certain upper Columbia River salmon stocks, to self-regulation 

 of tribal fisheries under the United States versus Oregon Columbia 

 River Fish Management Plan. 



Furthermore, our tribe works very hard to protect our off-res- 

 ervation hunting, fishing and food gathering rights in the ten mil- 

 Uon acres of north central Oregon that represent our tribe's treaty 

 ceded area. Much of the ceded area is federal land managed by the 

 United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. 



We constantly monitor the activities of these agencies to ensure 

 protection of the habitat that supports our treaty hunting, fishing 

 and food gathering rights in the ceded area. 



All of these eff'orts, both on-reservation and off-reservation, have 

 taxed our staff and policy capabihties beyond our present means. 

 In short, our legal management authority in the area of on-reserva- 

 tion and off-reservation fish and vnldlife resources exceeds our abil- 

 ity to actually exercise that authority. 



We do not need more funding for Bureau of Indian Affairs staff. 

 Instead, we need direct federal assistance to the tribe, to help us 

 carry out our fish and wildlife management responsibilities. 



The federal government's trust duty to protect and preserve the 

 fish and wildlife resources on which Indian treaty rights and sov- 

 ereign authority depend is not fulfilled until this assistance is pro- 

 vided. 



The trust responsibility also requires more than financial assist- 

 ance to tribal governments. The trust responsibility is a binding 

 legal obligation of those federal agencies, such as the Forest Serv- 

 ice, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Marine Fish- 

 eries Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and those who manage 

 the fish and wildlife resources on which the tribe's treaty-reserved 

 rights and sovereign authority depend. 



This legislation should lay out in clear terms the obligations 

 these agencies have to protect, manage, and enhance the fish and 

 wildlife resources that are subject to legally protected Indian 

 rights. 



Finally, the legislation should establish the fundamental nature 

 of the govemment-to-govemment relationship between the tribes, 

 on the one hand, and the federal and state governments on the 

 other. 



A commitment to support tribal participation in all fish and wild- 

 life management activities where tribal legally protected interests 

 are involved would help establish the status of the tribes as co- 



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