Started in 2008 and funded by the Bonneville Power Administration through the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program, this program is a regional, scientific-based approach to monitoring and evaluating wildlife resources.  This is a prime example of how UCUT operates in a cost-effective and efficient manner by pooling the resources of its five Member Tribes in order to take a regional approach to natural resources coordination and wildlife management.

Benefits of a regional monitoring system for habitat restoration projects and their management include:

The economy and quality of life for Spokanites and residents of the greater Inland Northwest region are directly tied to our natural environment. In 2005, UCUT adopted an urban, north-side Spokane Park called Drumheller Springs.  UCUT have spent numerous hours cleaning, improving, maintaining, and installing park infrastructure such as fences and stairs, restoring this beautiful 12-acre natural area for the benefit and use of all people. This was done at no cost to the City, and maintenance efforts continue to be provided free of charge, including donation of materials, tools, and labor as an in-kind contribution. The site location of Drumheller Springs Park has strong cultural and historical ties to the Spokane Tribe of Indians.

Implementation of the Timber Fish and Wildlife and Forests and Fish Report Programs, in association with the Habitat Conservation Plan and Adaptive Management Program, is the implementation of a 50-year statewide plan that covers almost 10 million acres of private forest lands. The Programs provide coverage and an Incidental Take Permit for ESA-covered species like fish and for Clean Water Act Assurances. The Adaptive Management Program provides technical information and science-based recommendations to assist the Washington State Forest Practices Board in determining decisions for rules and/or guidance for aquatic resources.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Bonneville Power Administration and UCUT and its five Member Tribes was signed in 2005.  It is intended to further the mutual interests of the parties, and improve relationships and communications among them in an effort to better manage, coordinate, and carry out fish and wildlife protection and mitigation activities.  In the MOU, the BPA recognizes that it shares the federal government’s trust responsibility to Indian tribes, and that each of the UCUT tribes is a sovereign government entity with management capabilities and regulatory authority with rights in fish, wildlife, water and other resources.  A primary intent of the agreement is to increase the proportion of mitigated habitat in the upper Columbia River eco-region.

UCUT has an inter-governmental contract with BPA to inform, coordinate the participation of, and facilitate consensus-based decision-making among the 5 member tribes of the UCUT in issues related to the Fish and Wildlife Program.