The Spring 2009 issue of Eddies highlights the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s continued commitment to fisheries conservation in conjunction with tribal governments and their people. For generations, Native Americans have developed lifes, cultures and customs centered on their relationships with fisheries and wildlife. With assistance from the Service, tribes have developed and expanded their fish and wildlife management programs.
Eddies features in each edition several stories and five regular departments. Fisheries and Habitat Conservation Assistant Director, Gary Frazer, leads each issue with his Headwaters column.
In the Spring issue, readers learn about the joint efforts of the Service’s Division of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Conservation and Native Americans. A number of the Service’s 70 National Fish Hatcheries reside on Indian reservations, like the Alchesay-Williams Creek on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona. Feature stories show tribal and non-tribal entities uniting to protect our natural resources.
Eddies finds the common culture and conservation commitment between walleye in Wisconsin, cutthroat trout in New Mexico to sea mullet in Australia. Chris Kitcheyan, a biologist and White Mountain Apache, reflects on conserving Rio Grande cutthroat trout and his abiding beliefs. Biologist Art Broncheau, a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, writes a memoir as a metaphor on the lifecycle of coho salmon. Fish biologist Ron Skates, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe pens a piece on working with the Blackfeet Tribe on bull trout and cutthroat trout conservation in Montana.
The column Meanders closes each publication of Eddies. Patrick Durham, Native American Liaison for the Service, writes in this issue about the myth and science behind Native people stories; how elders in the Pacific Northwest can predict the time and location of a Pacific herring spawn. Durham describes how the history of an indigenous people is synonymous with the natural history of their home place, and how those of a place define nature.
The 32-page color Eddies magazine is published four times a year, available in print or online at http://www.fws.gov/eddies.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit /www.fws.gov.
