Bison Range draft AFA raises questions, concerns

MOIESE - Released last week, the draft Annual Funding Agreement for the National Bison Range Complex, between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation and the Fish and Wildlife Service, raised questions regarding the budget associated with the agreement, what will happen to current employees of the bison range, and who will be responsible for supervising the cost of specific duties assigned to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

The cost of the agreement cannot be reached until nine Fish and Wildlife Service employees whose jobs will be affected by the agreement - should it pass through Congress - have decided which option to choose, according to Steve Kallin, Fish and Wildlife Service projects manager for the Nation Bison Range.

If the draft AFA is approved, four employees in maintenance, three people in visitor services, and one person in the biological program will be offered five options: be hired by the tribes with tribal benefits; be hired by the tribes but retain their federal benefits; elect to sign an intergovernmental personnel agreement, in which they remain a Fish and Wildlife Service employee on loan to the tribes; remain a federal employee but transfer to another facility; or resign.

One employee in the fire program that is responsible for other refuges throughout Montana will not be given the option, Kallin said, because half of the position is earmarked to go to the tribe.

"That employee will relocate," Kallin said. "There are many decisions that still need to be made by the employees that would affect the (cost), and it would be very difficult to try to calculate the financial impact of this AFA because there are so many unknowns."

Other financial considerations include what equipment, fuel and supplies the tribes purchase from the Bison Range to be used by the tribes to complete the duties, the cost of coordination and communication, and the price of administrative time for inspections.

If an employee elects to be hired by the tribes, the salary and benefits will "not be noticeably different," said D. Fred Matt, chairman of the CSKT Tribal Council.

"I'm not sure how many of those employees will agree to come and work for us," Matt said, "but every time we approach this, as when we contracted for the forestry program, in most cases their benefit package was enhanced by the move."

When the tribes contracted to run Mission Valley Power and their health care delivery system, Matt said the tribes made sure the affected employees were not negatively impacted.

Fish and Wildlife employees will be offered the position, via one of the above options, before any one else is considered for the job, according to Matt.

Under the draft AFA, the refuge manager will retain final responsibility and authority for directing and controlling the operation of the National Bison Range Complex and the tribes' performance of the duties outlined in the AFA.

"I'm the one that would need to ensure the work gets done," Kallin said, and that "I would be conveying those concerns to the tribal coordinator," Kallin said.

The draft AFA was published in the National Register yesterday (Wednesday, July 14), starting the 90-day public review period. Officials confirmed that at least one public meeting will be held on the

Flathead Reservation, and possibly another in Missoula.

In her official comment on the draft AFA, vocal opponent Susan Reneau has also called for a public meeting in Washington, D.C.

"Many national organizations monitoring wildlife and wildlife habitat have headquarters or offices in Washington, D.C. plus Congressmen and Senators interested in this precedent-setting AFA would be able to listen to speakers close to Capitol Hill," Reneau wrote.

So far, dates and locations have not been determined, according to Sharon Rose of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Mountain-Prairie Region in Denver, Colo.

The draft AFA will then be reviewed by Congress during a 90-day period.

"I will expect the agencies involved to allow every second of that ninety-day comment period to be used, and if they foolishly choose to close it early, I will ensure this entire deal is tabled," Senator Conrad Burns said.

Matt said the Congress has the authority to completely reject the document.

"That is my understanding," he said.

The Senator urged the public to make their comments substantive, detailed, and direct.

"Open rhetoric and name-calling won't do anything except get a comment stuck in the back of the file," Burns said. "All along I have said the public needs to be a part of this process, and that's the way it will be. Now that a draft funding agreement has been released, it is incumbent upon those affected by this potential partnership to make their voices heard."

Official comments may be submitted electronically to draftafapubliccomments@fws.gov

Written comments may be mailed to: National Bison Range, Attn: AFA, 132 Bison Range Road, Moiese, MT, 59824.

A link to the complete draft AFA is posted at http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/cskt-fws-negotiation