KWSO News for Fri., Jul. 15, 2022

Warm Springs Tribal Council is again advertising for Enterprise Boards and Commissions.  They have openings on the Boards for: Warm Springs Economic Development; Power & Water Enterprise; Composite Products; Warm Springs Telecommunications Company; Water Board; Warm Springs Tribal Employment Rights Office Commission; Warm Springs Local Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.   If interested, you need to submit a letter of interest, a resume and completed Criminal Background and Credit Check forms to the Secretary-Treasurer/CEO.  You can Drop it off at the Tribal Administration Building or mail it to PO Box 455 Warm Springs.  The deadline to apply is Thursday August 18th at 5pm. Details about the positions are located here. Board Ads – JULY 18-AUG 18 2022 portrait

A new program called 988 is set to launch tomorrow. Rosanna Jackson works for the Prevention Program for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, she gives us the details of 988. “988 is a mental health crisis hotline that will be available starting July 16^th. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Native youth between the ages of 10-24, and this is to help to reduce that rate to hopefully zero. So the reason 988 is created is to reduce the rate of suicidal ideations and suicide attempts. But what is it? 988 is a direct 3 digit line to trained national suicide prevention lifeline crisis counselors. There’s three easy ways to get to it, you either can call or text 988, and it will be available 24/7.”  Native communities have the highest rates of suicide amongst all the ethnic and racial groups in the United States, and suicide rates of American Indian and Alaska Native communities rose by 188% between 1999 and 2017. This suicide prevention hotline is provided free of charge to the caller and any person of any age can call or text 988. It includes a text option, translation services for non-English speakers, and options for people who are hard of hearing or deaf, as well as services for minors.  If you need immediate help, text indigenous to 741741.

In a memo from Brenda Bremner the Warm Springs BIA Superintendent, she updates the fire season restrictions effective as of Midnight this morning July 15^th. As the fire danger changes during the declared season the restrictions will follow the regulations covered by the National Fire Danger Rating System, Industrial Fire Precaution Levels (IFPL) and Warm Springs Mobilization and dispatch plan. The Warm Springs Reservation will go into the following Industrial Fire Precautions: Zone 1 is at IFPL Level 3, Zone 2 is at IFPL Level 1. Currently the Warm Springs Reservation fire danger is VERY HIGH. The Energy Release Component or ERC’s remain consistent for the time being, however, there will be an increase starting next week with ERC’s at the 85^th percentile.

U.S. officials are asking for outside help as they craft definitions of old growth and mature forests under an executive order from President Joe Biden. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management said Thursday that they want public input on what they call a “universal definition framework” to identify older forests that need protection. Biden in April directed his administration to devise ways to preserve older forests as part of the government’s efforts to combat climate change. Older trees release large volumes of global warming carbon dioxide when they burn.