Not helping their own tribe

Pioneer Press

Fort Jones, CA

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

page 16, col 1

To the Editor:

I have followed this issue with serious interest. I have also received information about the letters sent thru the mail tribune (Kfalls@aol.com) about the water and fish issues.

The current issues show that there are other factors involved for control over rivers and fish.

Many letters identify the Karuks as a loathsome tribe and lacking of care about their own public presentations. I have never seen or visited in this area yet but it does not surprise me about their living conditions. The many tribes in Washington and along the Columbia River live in similar distasteful conditions. The junker cars, boats in many states of damage or abandon, Alcohol is usually rampant.

I have seen a couple of letters from Tribal Members that identified a serious threat from a few leaders who seem to be receiving help from the Environmental Groups to continue suits against CDFW and others concerning Mining Activities in Northern California. These few leaders have threatened and suffered members of the Karuk Tribe to endure humiliation in the public eye when the tribal members are not in support of Dam Removal or removal of Small Scale Mining. These few Tribal Leaders who are working with the environmental groups are only furthering their own agendas and not helping their own tribe.

Personally I feel sorry for the tribal members who have little say in these issues. The threats have them hiding and afraid to speak or they will receive retaliation from these few leaders.

The tribes that fish along the Columbia River can often be found selling pale and un-iced Salmon out of fly covered bins. Often these Native Americans are drunk while presenting the fish to the public at top dollar prices for fish that should only be used for flower garden composting. As a former Commercial Fisherman and a former member of Trout Unlimited, I cannot understand why all of the Fish and Wildlife Depts allow the unmonitored sale of these fish. The public are the ones who suffer if they buy these fish.

Who are the real power hungry members? Has no one looked into the corruption of these few tribal leaders? Has anyone followed the money trail to see where it leads and whose pockets are getting padded? It most likely is not the tribal members.

The fish issues will never stop even after the removal of the dams, the removal of all dredging and mining activities if the US still allows foreign fishing fleets to fish off the coasts and intercept the returning Salmon. The 150,000 pounds of Salmon that were netted when Alaska Trawlers dropped their nets to drag and rape the ocean bottoms could be the very fish these rivers are missing.

The new monitoring studies being done in Canada and from the Snake River show that the most serious effects on the smolt are when they first reach the oceans. It does not matter if the fish were barged or naturally traveled down river. The ocean mortality is the most important factor that very few want to discuss. I have tried to get the biologists and Fish Managers to consider these factors for over 20 years. With all of the trawling and dragging operations off shore, there is no food in the oceans for the small fish to eat. The over fishing of the ocean stocks removes the crab spawn, the ocean smelt and other food that the smolts need upon entering the ocean and making the change from fresh to salt waters.

Who is conducting these large offshore fishing activities? The large corporations and the foreign fishing fleets. Where does the money come from to support the environmental groups? The large corporations and the foreign governments of course.

We now are a third world resource. We are spending millions of tax dollars to support the restoration of Salmon for the foreign governments to collect in their nets. Those that escape these nets are netted near the rivers and sold to Foreign counties by the large corporations.

When are you people going to wake up and see what is really happening. I sat on a boat in Alaska and watched thousands of tons of Salmon heading for Japan and Asia on their own freighters...delivered by the large corporation processors. That is where your tax dollars are going.

The CDFW does not have enough backbone to stand up against these continuous lawsuits, The DFW Agencies in Oregon and Washington are scared to show how their management has poorly managed the offshore fisheries. The USFW Service and NOAA are selling out our resources. There is no excuse for their actions.

THERE IS NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THESE AGENCIES TO ANSWER FOR THEIR MISDEEDS.

It is time to stop blaming the few Small Scale Miners who bring out mercury from the rivers and the many pounds of fishing lead that leach into the rivers. I personally recovered 52 pounds of fishing lead in 5 days of dredging in 2008. One day alone I recovered 24 pounds in just 3 hours. Where does this lead come from? From the very fishermen that kill fish and complain about the dredgers contaminating the rivers.

It really is time for you people to pull your heads out - and see the bigger picture.

Make the environmental groups start putting their money where their mouths are. Start cleaning up the streams just like we Small Scale Miners are doing. Filing suits can be done by any stupid society - it gets nothing done except for making attorneys richer.

Just my 2 cents worth

Scott Atkinson,
President - NorthWest Mineral Prospectors,
Vancouver, Wash.

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