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<br />t. <br /> <br />.J <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />02036 <br /> <br />POSITIONS OF INTERESTED PARTIES: The agencies view the dialogs at the <br />meetings of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program as government-to- <br />government consultation, so the agencies would like to continue to assist the tribes to <br />ensure government-to-government consultation mandates are met. The agencies believe <br />the meetings provide the tribes with a voice and a vote in recommendations made to the <br />Secretary of the Interior with respect to federal actions proposed for the Colorado River <br />below Glen Canyon Dam. Thus, the agencies' position is that both the government and <br />the tribes are beneficiaries of any financial assistance provided to the tribes. The agencies <br />want to comply with Interior policies on payment of consultation fees to tribal <br />governments. The agencies also want to ensure they are in compliance with the Federal <br />Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act which requires a specific legislative authority <br />under which they may enter into interagency and tribal agreements. <br /> <br />The position of the tribes is that federal advisory cornmittee meetings do not suffice for <br />government-to-government consultation on any specific federal action, but they would <br />like to continue participating in the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program <br />on an equal basis with the federal agency representatives. The tribes believe that the <br />Interior agencies should provide financial assistance to them based on the trust <br />responsibility, not based on government-to-government consultation. The tribes define <br />the minimal level of adequate assistance as one full-time equivalent position per tribe; <br />with a minimum of five participating tribes at $95,000 per tribe, the cost would be <br />$475,000 per year. If all eight tribes with cultural interests in the geographic area covered <br />by the program became active participants (i.e., adding San Juan Southern Paiute, Paiute <br />Indian Tribe of Utah, and Havasupai Tribe), the annual cost would be $760,000. <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION: The Interior agencies believe it appropriate to continue <br />obtaining appropriated dollars (at the Departmental level or from the Washington office <br />of each agency) to enable the tribes to participate in the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive <br />Management Program, as long as the tribes and the Department agree that participation in <br />meetings may be defined as government-to-government consultation. If the Department <br />agrees, then action items would be identifying the specific legal authorities under which <br />the agencies could enter into an interagency agreement to pool appropriated dollars, and <br />having one agency enter into new cooperative agreements with the five or more tribes <br />($475,000 to $760,000 annually, depending on how many tribes the Secretary appoints to <br />the committee). <br /> <br />Another strategy might be having the Department provide funds directly to the tribes to <br />ensure their continued participation. An issue with either strategy is whether providing <br />federal appropriated dollars for paid tribal employees to participate in and consult at <br />advisory committee meetings meets Departmental policy on consultation. <br /> <br />PREPARED BY: Nancy Coulam, Upper Colorado Region of Reclamation, 801-524- <br />3684 and Nonnan Henderson, National Park Service, 801-539-4251 <br /> <br />3 <br />