Northern Cheyenne tree trimmers: Terry Spang, Tribal Forestry Director is on far right wearing dark glasses. Courtesy/Clara Caufield

Northern Cheyenne tree cutters thin forest on reservation
By Clara Caufield
Native Sun News

LAME DEER, Mont. — On a recent clear day in January, the whine of chainsaws punctuated the stillness of the winter forest at Soldier Gulch, a remote area of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation heavily covered with stands of Ponderosa Pine. Since November, that has been a common sound in the otherwise peaceful forest.

A crew of 14 tribal members, experienced “cutters” has been thinning these dense stands since November and completed 300 acres by the project’s end, January 29. Each crew member burns about six tanks of chainsaw gas daily, completing a one-half acre, depending upon the thickness of the stands and the slope (steepness) of the terrain. They select trees from the size of saplings to eight inches, but also remove larger trees that are diseased or undesirable.

Terry Spang, Tribal Forestry Director with over three decades of experience explained “Thinning has several advantages: providing spacing between trees and cleaning out “dog hair” (very dense stands of young trees) allows the remaining trees better growth; fire potential is reduced and in the long term it makes for a healthier forest.”

The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Forestry Program has been thinning for many years. Timber is one of the primary natural resources for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Spang noted. But in recent years, market prices have caused that tribal revenue to plummet. “Yet, we have to look to the future,” he emphasized. “The young trees we thin today won’t be ready to harvest for several decades. Maybe the market will come back between now and then.”

For many years, the Tribe employed contractors to do this work. Beginning this year they changed gears, opting to hire tribal employees as temporary casual laborers and paying them a wage of $15.64 per hour, a top wage for the Reservation. The move was supported by key Council members with much forestry experience Merlin Sioux and Vernon Small. President Llevando Fisher also supported the initiative.

Small who was a thinning contractor for many years said, “I supported this because it’s more cost effective and benefits more people. I hope it will be a long term program.”

“It’s better this way,” said Sheldon White Shield, veteran forestry worker. “We know for sure we’re getting paid, we have a ride to work and we have good equipment to use. And, we’re all very glad to work in the winter.”

Another veteran woodsman, David Powell agreed “It’s all good. The Tribe is giving us some work and the thinned areas look nice after we’re done. Otherwise, it might just all burn up.” Powell referred to the devastating forest fires that have hit the Reservation is the past few years.

Under the new program, the Forestry Program provides the equipment, Model 441, 460 and 362 Stihl chainsaws (costing from $700-$1,000 each); maintenance tools, fuel and transportation to the job site. Crew members are responsible for their own personal gear (boots, Kevlar chaps, hard hats, gloves etc. and their daily lunch). They report for duty at 7:00 a.m. and finish by 3:30 p.m.

Thinning is conducted in the middle of winter to minimize the spread of the pine beetle. Due to this conservation Tribal Forestry policy, only 5% of the tribal forestry reserve is currently affected, significantly less than surrounding areas and many of the National Forests. Spang is very pleased with the project. “This present crew is doing a great job. They have a strong work ethic and function very well as a team. We selected workers who were experienced chainsaw operators through fire fighting or who were previous thinning contractors.”

Spang has more ambitious plans for this workforce. Soon, his program will partner with the BLM, the tribal ambulance service and other agencies to provide additional training in CPR, advanced chainsaw work. The Tribal Council has also been pushing for more job training on the Reservation. “I’d like to see them all ‘red card’ certified which could open up other employment opportunities with BLM and the USFS,” Spang added.

Merlin Sioux, Council member and helicopter pilot who worked many fires was instrumental in organizing the training.

The training will be free, but the expectations are high. “If you’re ten minutes late,” you’ll be dropped Spang advised the workers.

All members of the crew were enthusiastic about the program, pointing out that employment is very hard to come by in the winter months. They also talked about how helpful the good wages are to their dependents. Altogether the crew of 14 workers supports over 60 tribal members.

The 2013-14 crew members were: Mary Bearquiver (the only woman crew member, a lead worker with considerable experience in forestry work, in her first year as a thinner she is single); Jerome Whitehawk (25 years’ experience with 3 dependents); Pete Bearcomesout (12 years’ experience with 7 dependents); Daniel Blackwolf (11 years’ experience with 9 dependents); Faron Limberhand, (10 years’ experience with 3 dependents); Arlin Bordeau (first year and single); Merlin Killsnight (15 years’ experience with 6 dependents); Merlin Limpy (30 years’ experience with 5 dependents); Travis Limpy (7 years’ experience with 7 dependents); Sheldon Whiteshield (7 years’ experience with 9 dependents); John Whitehawk (20 years’ experience with 2 dependents); Victor Walksalong (11 years’ experience with 4 dependents); David Powell (20 years experience with 1 dependent) and Kenny Crazymule (13 years’ experience with 3 dependents.

(Clara Caufield can be reached at acheyennevoice@gmail.com)