Suit reopens range questions

MOIESE — A suit filed this past week in Washington, D.C. is seeking to rescind the agreement on management of the National Bison Range Complex near Moise reached in June between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the federal agency Fish and Wildlife Service.

The suit, which names several local men as plaintiffs, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. PEER’s website contains the entire suit, and states that the nonprofit organization’s aim is to “protect employees who protect our environment.”

The 2008 Annual Funding Agreement gave CKST shared operation and management rights of the historically federally run Bison Range. PEER maintains that federal oversight and employment laws are violated by the AFA.

“The government decided a long time ago that giving up managerial authority really doesn’t work, and it’s not the best thing for the resource,” said Paula Dinerstein, legal council for PEER . “FWS is really stripped of authority of management of the range, and we contend it’s a violation of federal law. FWS has the tools and authority to make the best decisions for the refuge.”

The suit was filed against the secretary of the Department of the Interior and the director of the US FWS. CSKT is not listed as a defendant in the suit.

Members of the Fish and Wildlife Service and CKST signed the AFA at a ceremony in June, and say it is a solid document that walks the line between the federal regulations for national refuge land, laid out in the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, and the Tribal Self- Governance and Education act passed in 1994, which aims to allow qualified tribes to pursue opportunities to manage or plan projects and work toward self-goverance.

“I think (PEER is) throwing all sorts of things up against the wall and seeing what will stick,” CSKT lawyer Brian Upton said. “We’ve looked at all of the issues PEER’s lawsuit is based upon.”

Tribal council chairman James Steele Jr. said there was “give and take” from both CSKT and FWS during the six-month negotiation process that took place in 2008. The suit is “attacking our efforts to work things out,” and is forcing members to reiterate that the Tribe, lawfully, can and should have be a part of range management, Steele said.

“For us, the buffalo is kind of a spiritual part of our lives as Indians. We have the desire to see the buffalo be taken care of,” he said. “On this reservation, everything we do, we have to fight. It’s nothing new to have to be involved.”

The June AFA was set up to achieve an adaptive management style that allows for parties involved to and address concerns, through various avenues to work together, said Matt Kales, the senior Legislative and Public Affairs Specialist for the FWS.

Kales works out of the FWS office of external affairs Mountain-Prairie Region, in Lakewood, Colo. and has been a part of previous Bison Range agreement negotiations.

“We’re confident that the agreement does uphold both laws and balances them - gives tribe the oversight it deserves while preserving the tenants of the nation wildlife refuge,” Kales said.

The suit also states that the Intergovernmental Personnel Act was violated. Charlo resident, current range employee and plaintiff Del “Skip” Palmer claims the agreement violates his rights as a federal employee to maintain a secure job at the refuge. When contacted, Palmer referred questions to Dinerstein.

The choices the employees were given is that they could be employed by the tribe if the tribe wanted them, they could be transferred or they could have a temporally employment under the federal government, but be accountable to the Tribal officials, Dinerstein said. Plaintiffs agree that this did not give them the same job security and protection as guaranteed by the FWS.

“Skip chose to be transferred to a refuge that’s 70 miles away, he was concerned that the alternative (working under the Tribe) didn’t offer him the job security,” Dinerstein said, speaking for a Washington, D.C. office where PEER is based.

Steele said “all were given options in their employment,” and some chose to be transferred and some chose to work at the refuge.

“No one was harmed in terms of their job,” Steele said.

IPA conditions were no different than under the FWS, he said.

The AFA is scheduled to move ahead, with implementation of Tribal appointed workers beginning in 2009. CKST is committed to finding the best people to fill the positions, Steele said.

The CSKT wildlife program is “premiere” and can hold up against any federal program, Steele said. Under the agreement, the Tribe would appoint chosen upper management representatives and a biologist, while the FWS retained two management positions.

Palmer will go to work at the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge under the current AFA agreement.

Marvin Kaschke, who worked at the range from 1968-77, is now retired, but listed as a plaintiff. The suit filed states that Kaschke “is concerned that the AFA with the CSKT eliminates public participation … violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Refuge planning process,” as well as raises funding issues at the range. Kaschke is listed on the suit with a Polson address.

Dinerstein said the placement of the tribal appointees strips the range of the government oversight that the FWS is held accountable to. In effect, the listing of four former Bison Range managers s plaintiffs attests to the fact that the range needs the oversight to be effectively run. Dinerstein said the agreement forgoes “government oversight” that holds the agencies accountable.

Kales stressed the notion of partnership when talking about the AFA set in June, saying that all parties “agreed this was the most appropriated way to proceed at a national refuge.”

He also said that there are many opportunities to make adjustments under the agreement, should problems arise.

Steele said from the Tribe’s standpoint, future goals for the range are consistent with the federal goals.

“We want to see the buffalo preserved, and the wildlife on the range and complex preserved,” Steele said.