Moderator:

Tom Busiahn

Conference Paper

Tom Busiahn coordinates the National Fish Habitat Action Plan for the US Fish & Wildlife Service based in Arlington, Virginia (since 2000) managing fisheries and habitat conservation programs. Previously, Tom supervised the USFW Fishery Resources Office in Ashland, Wisconsin. From 1984 to 1991, Tom directed the Biological Services Division of the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission. Before this he served as the first tribal biologist for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

“…the tribal governments, the tribal communities and the Commission have been a very positive influence in protecting and restoring the fish and wildlife of this area and in developing scientific understanding as well as bringing the traditional viewpoints that may have been lacking in resource management before. And the results are positive. Hopefully, we can keep that going in that direction for the next 25 years and for many generations beyond.”

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Panelists:

Henry Buffalo Jr.

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Henry M. Buffalo Jr. is the managing shareholder with the firm Jacobson, Buffalo, Magnuson, Anderson & Hogen. He joined the St. Paul law firm in 1991. He's a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. And before entering private practice, he served as in-house tribal counsel for the Red Cliff Tribe and later for the Fond du Lac Band which he continues to represent in a lawsuit affirming Fond du Lac's 1837 and 1854 ceded territory rights. Henry served as the first executive administrator of GLIFWC. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1981 and has a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice from UW Milwaukee in 1978.

“The seeds of co-management, I believe, have always been within the tribes. We were certainly responsible in the early days for regulating members' conduct prior to contact and post-contact with the Europeans who came here. I think that at the time that we sort of lost control over that part of our management. The resources certainly have not done better. I think the record clearly reflects that the resources have been greatly burdened, and we know now today that our absence during that period took away from what otherwise, I think, could have been a continuing ongoing presence that would be felt by the tribes continuing participation in the protection of those resources.”

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George Meyer

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George Meyer began his 32-year career with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources after graduating from St. Norbert College and UW-Madison Law School. George represented the agency as an attorney for 10 years and then was promoted to Division Administrator for the Division of Enforcement. While in this position, he had responsibility for all of the DNR’s Enforcement programs including the state’s conservation wardens. George served as the lead negotiator for the state during the Chippewa Treaty Right controversy. George served as DNR Secretary from 1993 until 2001.

“I was on those boat landings because of my responsibility as head of law enforcement for the DNR. The credentialed officers had the responsibility for overseeing the landings on a general basis and they should get credit for all the work that they did trying to keep the peace, especially on the water. But I saw those boat landings, and it was a dangerous situation for someone to be spearing fish. Some nights were calm, and we were all blessed on those nights, but there were many nights where it was not calm. My good friend Tom Maulson, his leadership, and the other tribal leaders providing leadership are true heroes.”

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Randy Charles

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Randy Charles is an Assistant Forest Supervisor on the Ottawa National Forest (10 years), with 25 years with US Forest Service. He has served as tribal coordinator for Ottawa National Forest for 17 years and was one of the USFS representatives involved in the development of the current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Randy has served as a federal mediator and an independent tribal mediator with 20 years of national mediation experience.

“The U.S. Forest Service in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota has about eight million acres of land, just a little under eight million acres of land. In one of the earlier panels, one of the real good questions was ‘What do we do in the future?’ Another of the questions was about habitat management. Habitat management is going to be key and that's one of the key reasons that working with GLIFWC, over these next few years, is going to be that much more important for us, as well as all of you out in the audience.”

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James e. Zorn

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James E. Zorn is the Executive Administrator for GLIFWC. Prior to assuming his leadership role as GLIFWC Executive Administrator, Jim served as the agency’s lead attorney/policy analyst from 1987 to 2006. He has been extensively involved in the affirmation and implementation of Ojibwe ceded territory treaty rights, particularly regarding the Lac Courte Oreilles v. State of Wisconsin, or the Voigt case, and the Mille Lacs Band v. Minnesota case. Prior to joining GLIFWC's staff, he served as tribal attorney for the Lac Courte Oreilles Band and represented the tribe in the Voigt treaty case. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (1978) and University of Wisconsin Law School (1981).

“So what do we hope that we can take away from our co-management discussion? We, at the Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Commission, and me at my job, and whoever comes after me, as we look to the future, we go forward with an understanding of how we got to today. What you have heard from these particular panelists today regarding co-management is that there should be no decision made that affects the tribes, their rights, the resources they depend on, or the habitat to support those resources without the tribes being involved.”

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