Mission

“The Compact of the Upper Snake River Tribes will work to ensure the protection, enhancement, and restoration of natural and cultural resources, activities, and rights of the Compacting Tribes that are reserved by Treaties and Executive Orders, protected by federal laws and agreements, or are the subject of aboriginal claims asserted by the Tribes.”

USRT Charter

Restore the Snake River Basin to a natural condition and facilitate tribal unity to protect and nurture all Compacting tribes rights, languages, cultures, and traditions.

USRT Coordination

Through information gathering and dissemination, facilitation of technical and policy meetings, and drafting of technical and policy statements, USRT coordinates and pursues fish, wildlife, land, water, air, Cultural Resource, and federal trust responsibility objectives and strategies to meet the policy and guiding principles of their Compact.

Member Tribes

P.O. Box 219
Owyhee, Nevada 89832
(208) 759-3100

P.O. Box 306
Fort Hall, Idaho 83203
(208) 478-3700

111 North Road
P.O. Box 457
McDermitt, Nevada 89421
(775) 532-8259

100 Pasigo Street
Burns, Oregon 97720
(541) 573-2088

The Commission

Chair – Billy Bell, Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe
Vice Chair – Cecil Dick, Burns Paiute Tribe
Secretary/Treasurer – Arnold Thomas, Shoshone-Paiute Tribe
Member – Lee Juan Tyler, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
Member – Justina Paradise, Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe
Member – Ladd Edmo, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
Member – Brian Thomas, Shoshone-Paiute Tribe
Member – Gabe First Raised, Burns Paiute Tribe

Contact Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation

3380 W Americana Terrace Suite 360
Boise, ID 83706
Phone: 208.331.7880

Photos

History

The Upper Snake River Tribes (USRT) Foundation is composed of four Indian tribes of the Upper Snake River region in Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon: the Burns Paiute Tribe, Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation, and Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation. In 2007, the USRT Charter was adopted pursuant to the Motherhood Document of 1998. The primary goal of the USRT Charter is to facilitate tribal unity to protect and nurture all compacting tribes’ rights, languages, cultures, and traditions in addressing issues related to the Snake River Basin. The tribes established a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, USRT Foundation, Inc., and opened headquarters in Boise, Idaho. The four tribes have common vested interests to protect rights reserved through the United States Constitution, federal treaties, federal unratified treaties (including but not limited to the Fort Boise Treaty of 1864, Malheur Treaty of 1864, Bruneau Treaty of 1866, and Long Tom Creek Treaty of 1867), executive orders, inherent rights, and aboriginal title to the land, which has never been extinguished by USRT member tribes. USRT works to ensure the protection, enhancement, and preservation of the tribes’ rights, resources, cultural properties, and practices and that they remain secured. These include but are not limited to hunting, fishing, gathering, and subsistence uses.

USRT Objectives

The USRT shall coordinate and pursue the following objectives and strategies through information gathering and dissemination, facilitation of technical and policy meetings, and drafting of technical and policy statements to meet the policy and guiding principles of the Compact.

Fish and Wildlife

Provide technical assistance and coordination of fish, wildlife, and habitat issues to ensure informed decisions by USRT and its member tribes.

Participate in regional forums and other tribal, federal, and state fish and wildlife regulatory and planning processes.

Provide policy and technical analysis of regional and national fish and wildlife issues.

Assist member tribes with local fish and wildlife issues.

Land, Water, and Air

Provide technical assistance and coordinate land, water and air issues to ensure informed decisions by USRT and its member tribes.

Assist coordination of activities with tribal, federal, state, and private land, water, and air managers, which impact trust assets and/or tribal cultural properties held in trust by the federal government.

Participate in regional forums and other tribal, federal, and state land, water, and air regulatory and planning processes.

Assist member tribes with local land, water, and air issues.

Cultural Resources

Provide technical assistance and coordinate Cultural Resource issues to ensure informed decisions by USRT and its member tribes.

Coordinate activities of tribal, federal, state, and private land managers, which impact trust assets and/or tribal cultural properties held in trust by the federal government.

Protect confidentiality of sensitive tribal information.

Participate in regional forums and other tribal, federal, and state cultural resource regulatory and planning processes.

Ensure inclusion of an expanded tribally defined definition of Cultural Resources, which includes tribal language, cultural and traditional values, in decision-making regarding Cultural Resources.

Federal Trust Responsibility

Provide technical assistance and coordinate federal trust responsibility issues to ensure informed decisions by USRT and its member tribes.

Participate in Federal family regulatory and planning processes to provide for protection, enhancement, and restoration of natural and cultural resources.

Staff

Scott Hauser
Executive Director
scott.hauser@usrtf.org
208-995-4872
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Dennis Daw
Fish and Wildlife Program Director
dennis.daw@usrtf.org
208-921-2510
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Rhys Kutschbach
Outreach and Education Coordinator
rhys.kutschbach@usrtf.org
419-721-3882
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Sarah Lammey
Administrative Assistant
sarah.lammey@usrtf.org
208-331-7880
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