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![handle is hein.cbhear/fdsysagot0001 and id is 1 raw text is: AUT-ENTICATED
US. GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION
GP
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRON-
MENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPRO-
PRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016
U.S. SENATE,
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS,
Washington, DC.
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
[CLERK'S NOTE.-The subcommittee was unable to hold hearings
on nondepartmental witnesses. The statements and letters of those
submitting written testimony are as follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE 1854 TREATY AUTHORITY
1854 TREATY AUTHORITY
The 1854 Treaty Authority (Authority) is a tribal organization funded by a Public
Law 93-638 contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) under its Trust-Nat-
ural Resources Management-Rights Protection Implementation (RPI) budget.
-The Authority supports the administration's proposal for an increase of $4.5
million for BIA Rights Protection Implementation and a corresponding in-
creased allocation for the Authority.
-The Authority supports the full finding of contract support for its Public Law
93-638, Self-Determination contract. The Authority believes that at least the
amount requested by the administration should be appropriated, but it does not
support the administration's proposal to institute statutory caps on contract
support. Not only have those caps been proposed without the consultation re-
quired for significant policy changes, but the Authority has no source of funding
to make up for contract support shortfalls.
-The Authority supports maintaining funding for the EPA Great Lakes Restora-
tion budget at least at its current level.
The Authority is a tribal organization responsible for protecting, preserving, and
regulating the treaty-reserved hunting, fishing and gathering rights in the territory
ceded to the United States by the Chippewa in the treaty of September 30, 1854,
10 Stat. 1109. The Bois Forte Band and the Grand Portage Band created the Au-
thority following Federal court affirmation of the rights in 1988. As part of a court-
approved agreement with the State of Minnesota, the Bands have obligations to pre-
serve the natural resources in the 5 million acre ceded territory and to regulate the
activities of Band members through a conservation code, enforcement officers, and
a court. The Authority has also been involved with a variety of inter-agency efforts
to study the effect of invasive species, climate change, and activities that impact
treaty resources.
Although it has significant responsibilities in a geographic area the size of Massa-
chusetts, the Authority has only 11 full-time employees. With those limited re-
sources, the Authority has been able to collaborate with State, tribal and Federal
agencies to become a prominent presence in the conservation of resources critical
to the subsistence hunting, fishing and gathering activities of the Chippewa.
However, the successes of the Authority are overshadowed by the challenges fac-
ing the trust resources that are at the heart of the treaty rights. The Minnesota
moose population has declined precipitously in just a few years and for reasons un-
known. Invasive species threaten the treaty fishing and wild rice production areas
across the ceded territory, and human activities continue to deplete or displace wild-
life populations.
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