Keep America Beautiful Public Service Announcement:
"Some people have a deep abiding respect for the natural beauty that was once this country. Some people don't."

Bruce Reichert, Host:
Once, Indians felt powerless to stop the desecration of their native lands.

But with newfound wealth, tribes say they'll stay silent no longer.

Ted Strong:
We're no longer standing there with a tear in our eye. In some instances we're standing there with a war club in our hand and saying, "We are going to clean this up, whether America wants to or not."

Reichert:
From endangered fish…to "foul" air Native Americans are changing the way we manage our natural resources.

Silas Whitman:
"We're not going to repeat our past mistakes." We did that before. We won every battle and lost the war. We're not going to repeat it this time.

Hobby Hevewah:
Who's going to take care of the Indian people if we have bad water or if we have bad air? Where are they going to take the Indians next?

Reichert:
For thousands of years, Indians, Native Americans, passed through sites like this one along the Snake River.

It was the land, the water and the wildlife that sustained them on their nomadic treks.

Hi, I'm Bruce Reichert and welcome to Outdoor Idaho.

The descendents of those who left these ancient symbols now live on reservations.

But they have not lost their connection to natural resources.

In fact, increasingly, Native Americans are demanding their place at the resource management table, bringing with them a philosophy that's changing the way things get done.

This is a rescue mission that defies natural law.

For today, fish will fly.

Each of these barrels holds 60 pounds of baby chinook salmon.

Raised in a hatchery, loaded into trucks and driven through the night, these fish will soon be in the cool waters of the Selway River.

All day, this helicopter will pick up the barrels, and in a tightly timed operation, the pilot will drop the fish into the water.

Aaron Penney, Nez Perce Tribal Fisheries:
He's an excellent pilot. He's able to put fish where we want them and get them into real tight places.

Reichert:
Helping lead the operation is Aaron Penney, a member of the Nez Perce tribe.

A. Penney:
Some people think that it's a lost cause that the survival rate of these fish is so low that it would be a waste of time. But I don't think so. I think everything we do is something that's going to benefit us in the long run. It's better than doing nothing.

Reichert:
The fish drops are part of an effort to re-establish salmon in areas where they are struggling, areas the Nez Perce still call home.

A. Penney:
No longer can we go out to streams out here and harvest fish for our families, something that was vital to our culture.

Silas Whitman, Nez Perce Tribal Fisheries:
It's more than just a sports or fishery issue or an economic thing. It's a survival.

Reichert:
Silas Whitman runs the fishery program for the tribe.

He says without salmon as a food staple, tribal members are more prone to certain diseases, such as diabetes.

Whitman:
Our systems are structured to be in harmony with nature and to use what's there. Without those fish in our diets, we become an accelerated dying people

Reichert:
Two hundred years ago, it was the explorers Lewis and Clark who were dying, starving in the Bitterroot Mountains.

And it was the Nez Perce and their salmon that saved their lives.

Fifty years later, the tribe signed a treaty with the U.S. government, which reserved to them 50% of the fish stocks in the area.

For nearly a century, they focused their attention on that issue.

But after watching fish populations dwindle, the tribe realized it had to take more control.

Whitman:
The real key if you want to control the destiny of your fisheries access and activities is you have to be a manager and control production.

Reichert:
Until recently, though, there had been no money.

Now, with gaming dollars and grants from the federal government, the tribe has been able to set up its own fisheries program.

A key was getting the state to give them so-called "surplus fish," stocks not needed after Idaho had met its hatchery goals.

Whitman:
Every fish is important to us. All species, all populations are absolutely critical to the Nez Perce way of life. And so we will take those fish.

Reichert:
But putting thousands of hatchery-raised fish into the river is controversial.

Some worry the fish could spread disease to native fish, or change their genetics.

Tribes and their staff say it's too late for those arguments.

Ed Larson, Nez Perce Tribal Fisheries:
Every one of us who are involved have looked at the alternative. And the alternative is no fish in the future.

Reichert:
The tribes know that others are critical of their fishing practices, pointing to them as part of the problem.

Ted Strong, Tribal Fishing Expert:
What the public sees are the tribes with a concentrated effort to fish in 7-14 day period out of the year, trying to catch which salmon are left after spawning escapement has been allowed to pass. Our conservation therefore comes before our harvest. It's always been a tribal practice.

Reichert:
The Nez Perce fisheries program now provides jobs for more than 150 people, second only to their casino.

Whitman:
We've tried to work literally from the ground floor with in some cases kids who had not had any exposure, not even to work and their first job was here

A. Penney:
To me it gives me a sense of fulfillment. Everything I do in fisheries, working at the hatchery, raising the fish, being out here and putting them in the stream, gives me a sense of fulfillment, thinking that I'm actually doing something to help my people.

Whitman:
We'd rather be criticized for doing something than doing nothing.

We feel that the creator gave us a gift and a responsibility at the same time. There's a Nez Perce saying that whatever you take out you must put back of equal value and so we feel we're doing that now.

Reichert:
Tribes have always revered the natural world.

Hobby Hevewah, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes:
Mother Earth is the same as the humans are. It is alive. It has a spirit.

Reichert:
The idea of manipulating nature, though, managing it, was not part of their culture.

Robert Matt, Coeur d'Alene Tribe:
The whole management concept is really a new principle for Indian tribes. We've spent thousands of years adjusting our lifestyle to meet the needs of the environment, rather than adjusting the environment to meet the needs of ourselves.

Reichert:
But as they watched the decline of native plants and species, they knew they had to get involved.

In some cases, they had to sue.

In others, money from tribal enterprises like gaming opened up opportunities:

Strong:
Prior to this time we didn't have the necessary resources to make a difference. Today we can make a difference. And we hope it will be a positive difference.

Reichert:
There are five recognized tribes in Idaho.

All are sovereign nations, with their own governments, laws and leaders.

For years, they've been treated as dependents of the federal government, which ran many of their programs.

Now groups like the EPA are signing agreements with tribes, allowing them to manage natural resource programs on their reservations.

Chuck Clarke, Region X Administrator. EPA:
We would look at a permit and look at all the technical aspects of the permit, the details of the permit; they're looking at it from the sense of restoring salmon or restoring wolves or restoring a part of their religion or culture.

Allen Pinkham, Nez Perce Elder:
We're part of the animal world. We're not separated from it.

If you think of yourself as part of this earth, then you should think; as you eliminate species, that that's part of your body."

Strong:
If fish belong in barren rivers and streams we put them back. If wolves belong in this habitat, we put em back.

Reichert:
Putting them back, though, isn't always easy.

In 1995, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to return gray wolves to Idaho, state lawmakers wanted nothing to do with the idea.

So officials turned to the Nez Perce tribe. It was the first time the government had asked a tribe to run such a program. So far, it's been a success:

Roy Heberger, USFWS:
I know if the Fish and Wildlife Service had to do it without the tribal partnership, we wouldn't be able to do what the tribe is doing. We couldn't bring that level of performance into the field. Their overhead is really small; the level of dedication on the part of the staff is just incredible.

Chairman Sam Penney, Nez Perce Tribe:
I think many people had their doubts about the ability of the tribe to undertake such a program and I think with the success of the program it shows the ability of the professional staff that we have.

Reichert:
Curt Mack runs the tribe's wolf program.

Curt Mack, Nez Perce Tribal Wildlife:
I have a lot of freedom to develop and implement programs as I see fit. There's just a lot fewer layers of bureaucracies and policies to work through.

Reichert:
But that doesn't mean there's no politics .

The tribe is relocating these wolves to Montana, because they suspected the pack leader was killing cattle.

Much of Mack's time is spent easing ranchers' fears about the program.

Mack:
Wolf recovery in Idaho isn't so much about biology or biological challenge as it is a social and political challenge.

In a lot of the rural communities, there's a real distrust of the government and what we try to do is dispel that as much as possible.

Where the tribe has been able to be very effective is that we don't have that governmental stamp on the tribal program.

John Aldous, Rancher:
I Like Curt, I really do. He's a good friend of mine. But there's always a piece in the back of your mind that something ain't right.

Mack:
Now you're saying you lost about five calves.

Reichert:
John Aldous lost 37 cows at the end of last season. That's three times more than normal for his herd.

Aldous:
We never had that kind of death loss until last year. That's when the wolves starting showing up. It's gonna make a lot of people sell out. Me for one. Cause I can't take a beating like I did last year. There ain't no way in hell I can again.

Reichert:
Ranchers can get compensation if they prove a wolf killed their livestock. But often, there's no evidence.

So this summer the tribe and other agencies paid to put transmitters on hundreds of calves in the area.

If a calf dies, its transmitter will beep more rapidly.

Staffers immediately search for it and determine whether a wolf has killed it.

As a result of the study, workers had to destroy several wolves that they suspected were killing cattle.

Mack:
Wolves that kill livestock are simply not tolerated by the local communities and it's for the good of the wolf population as a whole if we can control those wolves that kill livestock

Reichert:
When he's not dealing with politics, Mack's favorite job is flying the Idaho backcountry, where more than 150 wolves now call home.

The collars on the wolves emit signals that are picked up by this antenna.

Mack:
Wolves are scattered out on 15 million acres, much of it public land, so the only way we can keep up with wolves and effectively monitor wolves is from the air.

Reichert:
The flight information helps lead ground crews to a specific area.

There they try and hone in the wolves by listening for the collar signals.

The goal is to count the new pups, which will eventually be trapped and Collared.

The wolves are elusive...some scat here, some fur there and a bed of matted-down grass show their tracks are fresh.

Russ Richards, Nez Perce Tribal Wildlife:
At times, it's very frustrating. Wolves are able to cover a lot of ground and sometimes you think you have them pinned down and you'll sit on them for a day or two and they don't return.

Reichert:
Sometimes, they'll try to howl in the pups, tricking them into thinking they're their parents:

Richards:
It's a lot of fun to try and outsmart em, because when they're bigger, they're doing the outsmarting.

Reichert:
When the crews do see them, it's a thrill.

Marcie Steiger, Nez Perce Tribe:
It's pretty neat. It's like an adrenaline rush. It's like, there they are. You just try and be as quiet as possible so they don't know you're here.

Reichert:
Marcie Steiger is the only Nez Perce working in the program.

The tribe's chairman says the goal is to have more Nez Perce workers, but he's still pleased with his staff.

Chairman Penney:
Many of our non-Indian professionals are very committed to the tribe and in some instances are probably some of our most dedicated employees.

Reichert:
For many Nez Perce, the wolf program brings with it a spiritual meaning.

Levi Holt, Nez Perce Tribe:
As we were driven from the land, much like the wolf, I suspect the pain and anguish was much the same. And even though the wolf is not able to communicate directly to us in that way, we have seen and experienced that same wrath.

Reichert:
The wolf reintroduction program in Idaho has been so successful that the animals could be taken off the endangered species list in a few years.

If there were enough wolves, the state could open a hunting season for them.

For Holt and others, that image is painful.

Holt:
What message do we send to our children for the future? That if we cannot get along, if we're not compatible with a species, eliminate it? Is that the message we want to provide for the future?

Reichert:
For Indians, time is a continuum. They often measure their actions in terms of their effect on the next seven generations.

That, they say, is not always the way in the industrial world.

Hevewah:
They're not looking at the environment. They're looking at the product and they're looking at how much money they can make off this product.

Reichert:
Hobby Hevewah is a member of the Shoshone-Bannock tribe.

He and other tribal members are concerned about this factory on the edge of their reservation, also known as Fort Hall.

This is the world's largest producer of elemental phosphorus, the FMC Corporation.

Phosphorus is used everywhere in daily life--from matches to soda pop.

But extracting it from rocks is an intensive and toxic process.

Part of the area is so polluted it's been designated a federal Superfund site.

The company recently paid the highest environmental fine ever assessed by the federal government.

And the sky is often smudged brown from burning ore.

Hevewah:
We're right in the middle of the wind pattern that brings the emissions to Fort Hall and sometimes you can just see it settle over the town site. Below the FMC area was one of the major gathering areas for some of the sun dancers. And to this day, nobody goes there. Nobody looks at the place. Because the medicinal plants and the herbs are not there no more.

Arlen Wittrock, FMC:
We have made mistakes in the past, but clearly our focus in the last two years plus has been moving forward with major environmental improvements.

Reichert:
Two hundred million dollars worth, the result of another settlement with the federal government.

In a few years, FMC's air emissions will drop by an estimated 70%.

Most of these toxic ponds will be closed.

But the tribe says that's not enough.

It's appealing the settlement.

Genny Edmo, Sho-Ban Land Use Director:
The input that we had into the document did not materialize. We feel that all we did is just talk to an empty room. We weren't heard.

Reichert:
One big issue--the ponds.

Susan Hanson, Sho-Ban Hazardous Waste Program Coordinator:
We've got 20 feet deep of hazardous waste that is being capped. And it's going to be there forever. And that's not OK to the tribes. They want this waste treated.

Reichert:
The tribe is also concerned about air quality.

Across the street from the plant, members monitor the plant's emissions.

While the situation is improving, tribal staff say there are still no adequate measurements for the radioactive elements attached to the dirt coming out of the stacks.

Hanson:
There's cadmium. There's emissions of polonium 210. There's a whole suite of extremely toxic heavy metals that are attached to there.

Wittrock:
We've conducted a number of studies, epidemiology studies in the past. Those studies have not shown any direct link between our operations and health issues in the community.

Reichert:
For tribal members like Hevewah, the studies need to look at more than humans:

Hevewah:
The majority of the time they put human health, or humans, in front of all the other resources and they can't do that. Not in the ways of our Indian people, because we're just part of what the creator placed here on Mother Earth. Everything is alive here. Everything is equal.

Reichert:
FMC says it wants a better relationship with the tribe.

Wittrock:
Any tribal official that wants to come by at any time is welcome to visit and tour the plant. And they can do that with 5 days notice or 5 minutes notice. Our doors are open

Hevewah:
There's enough resources here in Idaho for all entities to survive. We just need to sit down. But too often we're territorial. We seem to think we own this area. We need to put that to one side today. We need to sit down and start talking.

Reichert:
It's been called one of the most beautiful lakes in the world--Lake Coeur d'Alene.

But for the Indians, who lived near the lake for centuries, the water was more than beautiful. It also sustained their lives.

Felix Aripa, Coeur d'Alene Elder:
We lived off the lake. Our hearts, souls and minds were there.

Reichert:
But when gold and silver were found nearby, the tribe was moved away from the water.

F. Aripa:
We had to leave under governmental orders. They wanted us to come up and farm. Make farmers out of us.

Reichert:
Much as the tribe missed the lake, there was never any thought of actually owning it.

Then studies began to show that pollution from a century of silver mining had contaminated the bottom of the lake.

The tribe felt their native lands and water needed more protection, so they sued for damages, as well as for ownership of the lower third of the lake.

Ernie Stensgar, Chairman, Coeur d'Alene Tribe:
People said, "Who's the Coeur d'Alene tribe and what gives you the right to raise this issue?" Well we maintain it was our aboriginal rights, the homeland of our peoples.

Reichert:
The damage claim is still in court.

But the tribe did win its case for title to the lower third of the lake, a decision the state is appealing.

Officer:
How are you guys doing today? All right.

Reichert:
In the meantime, a new tribal marine division will enforce boating regulations.

Officer:
Glad to see all the kids in life jackets. Do you have life jackets, too?

Reichert:
The tribe will sell its own fishing licenses.

And it will charge dock fees to permanent residents.

To oversee the changes, the tribe set up a lake management board.

It asked Mike Telford, a local businessman, to be one of the non-tribal members.

Mike Telford, Plummer ID:
There's a lot of trepidation amongst the community as to what the tribe is going to do. Some of the concerns are the encroachments, the docks, the dock systems-how much they're going to have to pay each year.

Chuck Matheson, Coeur d'Alene Tribe:
It's hard on people every time there's change.

Reichert:
Chuck Matheson chairs the management board.

Matheson:
One thing that people need to understand is that money they spend on fees or licenses is going to go directly into the management of the southern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Telford:
The tribe seems to be very willing to cooperate. They have the best interests of all the people in North Idaho and the southern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene in mind. So I'm encouraged by that. Very encouraged.

Reichert:
Off the reservation, Indians are working with locals to improve the streams that lead into the lake, streams that provide valuable trout habitat.

This stream had no trees left along its banks, and was eroded from cattle use.

Tribal members are planting willows to provide shade for fish.

And they're placing logs to narrow and deepen the stream, which will cool it down.

George Aripa, Coeur d'Alene Tribe:
We're trying to bring back our trout. That's something that's very important to us people, is our trout. This is not only going to benefit us, it's going to benefit everybody.

Reichert:
The local landowner definitely agrees. He allowed the tribe to come on his property.

Bill Snyder, Worley ID:
These people are coming in and improving my yard. Yeah, it's a big yard, but they're improving my yard. So the more they want to come and do it, the better it is!

Reichert:
Their work is paying off, upstream, trout are returning.

Tribal members say that will continue, along with a different style of management.

Stensgar:
I think within the tribe instilled in us from our grandfathers was a love of nature and that was to take care of what the creator gave us. And Sometimes in talking to government officials I don't believe they have that in their hearts.

Matheson:
We feel God put us here to take care of this big beautiful body of water. We don't feel that we have the right to keep anybody out. We want everybody to be able to enjoy it but we need to keep it clean also.

Reichert:
As their economic base continues to grow, so too will the presence of tribes in natural resources management. And with that comes a philosophy about the interconnectedness of things, one that could change the way we view the natural worlds.

Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.