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State can't catch tribal fishermen
By Mark Morey, Yakima Herald-Republic
State wildlife officers have no authority to enforce criminal law against tribal fishermen at an access site along the Columbia River, appellate judges ruled this week.
The ruling clears Yakama Nation member Lester Ray Jim of misdemeanor fishing citations he received from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in June 2008.
However, the department said it is considering appealing the ruling, which greatly curtails its officers from issuing tickets for tribal fishing violations off the Yakama reservation.
Jim was given the ticket -- for unlawful use of a net and retaining an undersized sturgeon -- when he came off the water at the Maryhill Treaty Access Site in Klickitat County during a commercial fishing season.
The Maryhill site was one of about two dozen approved by Congress in 1988 to replace customary fishing grounds lost due to the construction of dams on the Columbia through the 1970s. A smaller number of locations set aside earlier are known as in-lieu sites.
Under a prior state Supreme Court ruling involving a Yakama member, the state specifically was barred from taking enforcement action at the Cooks Landing in-lieu site.
Jim, represented by Yakima attorney Tom Zeilman, successfully argued to the State Court of Appeals that the treaty access site should be considered as on-reservation land.
The state, represented by assistant attorney general Mike Grossman, countered that the Legislature never intended the access sites to fall under that definition. Under federal law, states can retain jurisdiction for tribal members for crimes or other offenses committed off reservation land.
Mike Cenci, deputy chief of enforcement for the state Wildlife Department, said enforcement officers would continue to patrol the river, even though the rulings curtail shoreline enforcement.
Under a management plan settled in federal court to coordinate the Columbia River fishery between Washington and Oregon, the tribes and the states are expected to draft agreements regarding how best to refer complaints for criminal prosecution.
Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/...ant-catch-tribal-fishermen.html#ixzz0o79afWFV
20ft Alumaweld Intruder
By Mark Morey, Yakima Herald-Republic
State wildlife officers have no authority to enforce criminal law against tribal fishermen at an access site along the Columbia River, appellate judges ruled this week.
The ruling clears Yakama Nation member Lester Ray Jim of misdemeanor fishing citations he received from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in June 2008.
However, the department said it is considering appealing the ruling, which greatly curtails its officers from issuing tickets for tribal fishing violations off the Yakama reservation.
Jim was given the ticket -- for unlawful use of a net and retaining an undersized sturgeon -- when he came off the water at the Maryhill Treaty Access Site in Klickitat County during a commercial fishing season.
The Maryhill site was one of about two dozen approved by Congress in 1988 to replace customary fishing grounds lost due to the construction of dams on the Columbia through the 1970s. A smaller number of locations set aside earlier are known as in-lieu sites.
Under a prior state Supreme Court ruling involving a Yakama member, the state specifically was barred from taking enforcement action at the Cooks Landing in-lieu site.
Jim, represented by Yakima attorney Tom Zeilman, successfully argued to the State Court of Appeals that the treaty access site should be considered as on-reservation land.
The state, represented by assistant attorney general Mike Grossman, countered that the Legislature never intended the access sites to fall under that definition. Under federal law, states can retain jurisdiction for tribal members for crimes or other offenses committed off reservation land.
Mike Cenci, deputy chief of enforcement for the state Wildlife Department, said enforcement officers would continue to patrol the river, even though the rulings curtail shoreline enforcement.
Under a management plan settled in federal court to coordinate the Columbia River fishery between Washington and Oregon, the tribes and the states are expected to draft agreements regarding how best to refer complaints for criminal prosecution.
Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/...ant-catch-tribal-fishermen.html#ixzz0o79afWFV
20ft Alumaweld Intruder
