June 27, 2024
RE; “Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, and Shellfish Gathering Harvest Program”
Tribal Membership,
This message is going to every Tribal Household (735) to provide an update on the Tribe’s newly developing “Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, and Shellfish Gathering Harvest Program”.
Tribal Council’s ultimate goal is to have this program available for Tribal Members to participate by Aug 1, 2024.
You may recall the special election to allow us to collaborate with the state for a Co-Management agreement, which would allow us to hunt and fish under our own regulation. That special election had the largest voter response that I have seen in the 20 years I have been with the tribe. The results of that election were 338 yes and 1 no vote. I keep that in mind during this process, knowing how important this is to Tribal Members.
The Tribe entered into a historic Memorandum of Understanding with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on September 20, 2023. The Tribe was required to develop a Tribal Code and Regulation BEFORE our Harvest Program could be made available to its Members.
After several months of collaboration to meet the requirements in this agreement, on April 14, 2024, a draft of Chapters 3-4 Hunting Fishing Trapping and Gathering Code was approved for first reading and was posted on the website and published in the May 2024 Newsletter. After hearing Membership concerns it was reposted on June 10, 2024, and per Council direction, the home page of the Tribe’s website was redesigned to allow a special designated area for “Notice of Proposed Code Amendments” only, for Membership to easily locate. A text message was sent to every Tribal Member with a number on file on Friday, June 14, 2024, to inform them of the posting and direct them to the website’s new location.
No written comments from any Member have been received. Council in their review made minor edits to the first draft for clarification to areas related to “Gather” and “Harvest”.
Due to the wishes of the Membership, we have the goal to implement this benefit in THIS year’s hunting and fishing season. We are pleased to report that Oregon Fish and Wildlife negotiations have been completed and at the recent Business Council Meeting on June 26, 2024, BOTH the Tribal Code, Chapter 3-4 and Hunting, Fishing, Trapping and Shellfish Gathering AND the Hunting and Fishing Regulations have been approved and adopted. We know this is just the beginning and as we move forward, edits may need to be made.
Finally, mailed to all membership are all the approved documents related to this program for Membership to review, understanding that we want to hear from and value Membership input. The Code adopted can be amended and we welcome any comments in writing so the Council can meet and discuss any suggestions made. You may submit written comments via email to jmiller@ctclusi.org or directly to Council via memberstocouncil@ctclusi.org
Once all the steps are in place for you to apply to participate and report as you use this new “Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, and Shellfish Gathering Harvest Program”, you will be contacted with detailed instructions.
We are working on developing licenses, tags, and a regulation guidebook. We are also developing a means of reporting back at the end of each season so that we can track harvest numbers for data collection. You will be required to report back if you have a tag issued whether or not you were successful during the season. Our goal is to protect our wildlife and maintain healthy populations for the future. We will make this process as easy as possible.
Lastly, there are no residency requirements for Tribal Members. If you are a Tribal Member and live on the East Coast and want to hunt in your ancestral territory, you can come and as long as you receive a tribal hunting license and appropriate tags, you are welcome to hunt under Tribal regulations. There are no costs for licenses and tags, and no non-residents fees or costs to do so.
Thank you for your patience and understanding in this process that has taken a lot of work by staff to put in place. Look for more information coming soon.
Sincerely, and Happy Hunting, Fishing, and Gathering!
Brad Kneaper, Tribal Council Chair
Confederate Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.
Visit the new Harvest Program: Hunting, Fishing, Trapping and Gathering Program page for Regulations and Applications to come soon!
