21 March
2003
Media Contact:
Charles Hudson, CRITFC,
(503) 731-1257
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Conciliation, tenacity defined
Don Sampson's six-year tenure at CRITFC
Departing executive director's
diplomatic, but dogged style will be missed, commissioners say
Portland, Oregon
- Donald Sampson,
who is resigning as the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission's
executive director after six years, will be remembered for his fervent
defense of treaty fishing rights, Northwest tribal members say.
Sampson, whose appointment as executive director for the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation was announced last week,
also is being praised for his relentless pursuit of reforms at the
Bonneville Power Administration and of other regional and federal
programs that would adversely affect the tribes' and other agencies'
salmon protection, mitigation and enhancement efforts.
Sampson, 42, a member of the Umatilla Tribe and former chairman of
its Board of Trustees, formally announced his resignation today at
the commission's monthly meeting in Portland. His last day at CRITFC
is May 28, and his new position begins June 16.
Virgil Lewis Sr., chairman of the Yakama Tribe's Fish & Wildlife
Committee, said Sampson has been "very professional in his work
ethic," and his devotion to natural and cultural resources, from
fish and wildlife to archaeological sites and historical artwork,
is "unparalleled."
"I've enjoyed working with him over the years," Lewis said.
"He goes above and beyond the average person to make sure the
job is done, and done correctly. I don't think we could have had a
better person in place, and I'm going to miss having his leadership
there."
Sampson never swayed from his vision of a unified voice among CRITFC's
member tribes on virtually every issue, such as Bonneville's proposed
fish and wildlife cuts and the Northwest Power Planning Council's
proposed spill and flow reductions over dams, which could limit juvenile
fish migration, Lewis noted.
"He can see into the future in that if we're not working together
as one, as a collective unit, that as individuals we're not as strong,
and we're vulnerable," he explained. "He was always pushing
us. That's what I admired."
Sampson is credited with helping establish partnerships with universities
to enhance not only the tribes research capabilities, but also give
college students the chance to work on projects with real-world applications.
One example is the Hagerman Fish Culture Experiment Station at the
University of Idaho.
Sampson earned a bachelor's degree in fisheries resource management
from the University of Idaho in 1985.
Sampson has worked to employ the abundance-based harvest management
approach, adopted by the United States and Canada during the 1999
Pacific Salmon Treaty negotiations. Ocean fisheries were once managed
by a simple ceiling on allowable harvest that did not reflect changes
in overall stock abundance. Chinook harvest in the Canadian and Alaskan
ocean fisheries is now managed to decline with decreased stock abundances
and rise when abundance increases, an approach that is more consistent
with conserving chinook salmon stocks listed under the Endangered
Species Act, and other depressed stocks.
Additionally, among U.S. representatives of the Pacific Salmon Commission,
Sampson has been at the forefront of an effort to implement the habitat
and restoration agreement adopted by Pacific Salmon Treaty parties
during the 1999 negotiations.
During his tenure, Sampson helped rally support behind the development
of tribal-run fish hatcheries, including facilities at the Yakama,
Nez Perce and Warm Springs reservations. And he and CRITFC have received
numerous accolades, including the American Fisheries Society's Fishery
Conservation Award, Harvard University's Honoring Nations Award, and
most recently, the Leadership for a Changing World award from the
Ford Foundation.
Justin Gould, CRITFC chairman and chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe's
natural resources subcommittee, agreed, pointing out that Sampson
was the major force behind the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians'
recent passage of a resolution calling for a financial and management
audit of Bonneville.
The National Congress of American Indians, at its winter conference
in Washington, D.C., approved a similarly worded resolution earlier
this month. As a result, several members of Congress have pledged
an investigation of the federal wholesale energy marketing agency.
"Don has never let up on Bonneville, and you see that commitment
on every issue he tackles," Gould said. "Whatever reforms
occur at Bonneville, whether by congressional or tribal force, will
be due in great part to Don's efforts. His hounding of that agency
has been absolutely unyielding, and I don't think that'll change after
he returns to the reservation."
Harold Blackwolf Sr., who chairs the Warm Springs Tribe's Fish &
Wildlife Committee, praised Sampson's expertise in fisheries management,
including science, policy and public relations, and "his whole
outlook on the natural resources of the Columbia Basin."
"We'll really miss his leadership qualities within the organization,
as well as his charismatic nature, but I wish him all the best,"
he said. "I look forward to working with him in his new position,
and if there's any way to involve him in any of the Bonneville funding
issues, we will. He's a valuable resource, and I know we'll seek his
vast knowledge about the agencies and some of the other federal co-managers
in the future."
Kathryn Brigham, a member of the Umatilla Tribe's fish and wildlife
committee, said Sampson's departure from CRITFC is bittersweet.
"It's a mixed bag," she said. "I think it's great he's
coming home, but I'm sorry to be losing somebody who's so aggressive
in working with the state and federal representatives in the protection
of salmon resources. He's a quick thinker and he's been able to respond
quickly to some of the fish management issues brought before him."
Brigham said Sampson has done more outreach with state and federal
co-management agencies, as well as environmental organizations, to
help them better understand tribal sovereignty, treaty trust responsibility
and fishing rights.
"He's gotten more people from outside tribal organizations to
support the tribes and put fish back into the basin," she said.
Sampson also has helped build consensus among the member tribes on
tough issues, Brigham said. "He's been able to bring us together
on a number of issues, but at the same time I think there have only
been a few times the tribes have disagreed, and that's because we're
working toward the same goal. But I think Don has been able to find
the common denominator."
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About CRITFC
The Portland-based Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is
the technical support and coordinating agency for fishery management
policies of the Columbia River Basin's four treaty tribes: the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes
of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.
CRITFC, formed in 1977, employs biologists, other scientists, public
information specialists, policy analysts and administrators who work
in fisheries research and analyses, advocacy, planning and coordination,
harvest control and law enforcement. |
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