Dances With Myths

Half-truths about American Indians' environmental ethic obscure the rational ways in which they have lived with and shaped the natural world.

Terry L. Anderson from the February 1997 issue

(Page 3 of 3)

To get some idea of the success elk hunters enjoy, consider the reservation's track record. From 1977 to 1995, nontribal hunters have bagged 90 bull elk that made either Boone and Crockett or Safari Club record books. In comparison, this is about the same number of record elk taken from the entire state of Montana since record keeping began in 1932. Since 1980, nontribal hunters have enjoyed a 90 to 95 percent success rate. The average score for antlers has been 366 Boone and Crockett points. Such scores are the equivalent of a foursome averaging three under par for a round of golf.

The White Mountain Apaches have a large resource base, prime habitat and, according to reservation biologists, an elk herd whose genetics are ideal for producing trophy elk. But entrepreneurship and incentives have played a pivotal role on Fort Apache.

Before 1977, elk hunting on the reservation was better than on nearby national forest lands, but nowhere near its quality today. At that time, the state of Arizona issued about 700 nontribal hunting licenses, priced at $150 each, for hunting on the reservation. The state permits were required in addition to a tribal license, but the tribe received none of the revenue collected by the state. Each license entitled the bearer to shoot a bull elk regardless of size. Typical of state agencies, this policy maximized the number of hunter opportunities rather than the value of the hunt.

Fortunately for both the tribe and the elk, tribal leaders decided that they could capitalize on the market for trophy elk. In 1977, tribal Chairman Ronnie Lupe, with the backing of the 11-member tribal council, informed the state that the tribe would allow elk hunting without a state permit and would control all hunting and fishing on the reservation. The state opposed this but eventually acquiesced after a federal court decision.

The tribe's first order of business was to reduce the hunting pressure on immature bulls by ending the general elk hunt and replacing it with the trophy elk hunt. Elk hunting permits were reduced dramatically from 700 under state management to 30, and the price per permit was increased from $150 to $1,500. Revenue from the sale of these reservation permits went to the tribe's general fund.

The trophy elk hunting program blossomed. Mature bulls as a percentage of all bulls increased to 73 percent, and the number of record-book elk taken increased from three in the final six years of state management to eight per season. In addition to promoting trophy elk production, the tribe also designed a fine hunting experience, free from the crowded conditions on public lands.

The tribe tapped into the mother lode of hunter demand. In 1995, revenue from trophy elk hunting totaled well over $850,000. Sixty-six hunters paid $12,000 each for a seven-day trophy hunt. A special auction for four additional openings was also held, with an average winning bid of $24,000 and a high bid of $30,000. In spite of the $12,000 price tag, there is a five-year waiting list of hunters.

Less-expensive hunting opportunities exist too. These offer a way to maintain the proper bull- to-cow ratio in the herd and to manage other wildlife species. For example, the tribe periodically issues 100 antlerless permits priced at $300 each, which have a hunter success rate of 80 percent. The tribe also offers hunting permits for bear ($150), javelina ($75), and wild turkey ($750). It costs $50 per season or $5.00 per day to hunt quail, squirrel, and cottontail rabbits.

In addition to hunting, the tribe manages other resources for amenity values and collects fees. While most reservation lakes and streams are open to bait fishing, certain select waters are restricted to flies and lures. Fish spe-cies include native Apache cutthroat, brown, brook, and rainbow trout, and some Arctic grayling. Yearly fishing permits are priced at $80, summer permits at $50, and day permits at $5.00. There is even a rent-a-lake program which allows Cyclone and Hurricane lakes to be rented for $300 a day with a three-day minimum. Fishing rights have proved lucrative, generating $600,000 in revenue in 1995.

When revenue from other services such as camping, boating, river rafting, and photographic safaris are added, amenity-based recreation enterprises generated nearly $2 million in 1995. This is comparable to the tribe's logging operation, casino, and ski resort as an important source of revenue and jobs. Entrepreneurship and management institutions that conserve wildlife have benefited both the White Mountain Apache and the wildlife on the reservation.

American Indian history shows that calls for spiritual awakenings aren't enough for the environment; you need workable institutions that provide positive incentives for good stewardship. Because American Indians adapted their institutions to resource constraints, they were able to sustain life, often in hostile environments. Property rights are an integral part of American Indians' heritage. Refocusing on these institutions, as the White Mountain Apache have done, offers the best way for Native Americans to manage their resources on a sustainable, profitable basis.

Non-Indians also would do well to stop promulgating myths about the Indians as a solution to modern environmental problems. Devolution of authority and responsibility offers the best hope for resource conservation. Rather than shunning property rights solutions for mythical spiritual ones, we should embrace them, as did our Indian predecessors on this continent.

Comments

Pingback| 10.1.09 @ 9:22PM

Ed Driscoll » Dances With Myths links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…‘Most often they don’t try to work with us but against us, giving aid and comfort to those opposed to the sovereign decision-making of tribes.’” Wow, centuries of  the American Indians’ pristine life in harmony with nature just shot to hell. Filed under: The Assault On Reason, The Memory Hole Comment var addthis_pub = "zengy"; PJM Home Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:…