I ntertribal T ransportation A ssociation NEWSLETTER Volume 5, Issue 2

Transcription

1 I ntertribal T ransportation A ssociation Volume 5, Issue 2 SUMMER 2007 REMINDER: ITA MID-YEAR CONFERENCE June 6-7, 2007 Albuquerque, NM Inside this issue: Message from ITA President Tribal Transit Program Funding IRRPCC forms a Road Maintenance Task Force IRRPCC Road Maintenance Task Force Work Plan A Transportation Planner s View on ADT/VMT ITA Mid-year Conference 8 Registration Form ITA Mid-year Conference 9-10 Draft Agenda Calendar of Events 11 ITA Membership Form 11 Message from the ITA President C. John Healy Sr., Fort Belknap Indian Community Writing this article before the Easter Holiday brings me to reflect on the many facets of ITA, ranging from the good to the not so good. As I ve previously stated, a majority of start up organizations will have fluctuations. Anyone who has been involved in developing a small business knows it takes commitment to celebrate the successes and also be able to weather the storm in times of peril. At present ITA has dropped its 501 (c) (3) non-profit status in Oregon and is reorganizing under a 501 (c) (6) status in the state of Montana. This will put ITA into a business association category which may suit our goals & objectives better. When I was elected as President of ITA, I stated that the organization would move forward in addressing our goals & objectives for our membership. I truly believe this however lets be realistic, to effectively do this it will take some funding. To that end we have been working on a couple different fronts, neither which have beared fruit. I remain optimistic that they will. At this point, it s almost like being in a good hand of poker. If we are successful all of Indian Country will benefit from the Scope of Work we have in mind to better serve our membership. There are opportunities for ITA to assist in the Transportation Arena such as seeking public/tribal comments/input with respect to implementing any remaining issues with SAFETEA-LU as well as issues regarding the next Transportation Reauthorization Bill. We would utilize the Tribal Technical Assistance Programs (TTAP) Centers as a support mechanism in each of the regions as these Outreach Meetings unfold. We also would like to explore other opportunities with regard to working with the TTAPs. Most recently we have been asked to submit comments relative to Tribal Transportation Issue to the National Surface Transportation Policy And Revenue Study Commission and the Western Governors Asso- (Continued on page 2) ITA Membership TRIBES & COMMUNITIES Absentee Shawnee Apache of Oklahoma Blackfeet Nation Cherokee Nation Chippewa Cree Tribes Citizen Band of Potawatomi Cowlitz Indian Tribe Colville Confederated Tribes Comanche Tribe of Oklahoma Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Fort Belknap Indian Community Fort Peck Tribes Gila River Indian Community Jamestown S Klallam Tribe Kalispel Tribe Kawerak Inc. Kaw Nation Kootenai Ketchikan Indian Community Lummi Nation Makah Nation Muckleshoot Tribe Native Village of Eyak Navajo Nation Nez Perce Tribe Northern Cheyenne Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation Oglala Sioux Tribe Onieda Tribe of Wisconsin Prairie Band of Potawatomi Quinault Indian Nation Salt River Indian Community San lldefonso Pueblo Shoshone & Arapahoe Tribes, Wind River Shoshone Bannock Tribes, Ft. Hall Southern Ute Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Susanville Tanana Chiefs Conference Warm Springs Confederated Tribes INDIVIDUAL Mike Clements Joseph Kamkoff Richard Rolland Jeff Swan ASSOCIATE Dept. of Interior (Heidi Muller) Eastern Washington University TransCivil (Jimmy Young)

2 PAGE 2 ITA President Update (Continued from page 1) ciation. This had been requested through Gwen Salt, Legislative Associate, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). We will be joining the Transportation Sub-committee under NCAI, to advocate for relative Tribal Transportation Issues. Lastly, we will be co-sponsoring a Special Meeting concerning Roads Maintenance Issues with the Rocky Mountain/Great Plains Region Tribal Transportation Planners Association. This meeting will be held in Bismarck, ND on May 3-4, 2007 at the Skills Center, Exhibit Hall United Tribes Tech. College, 3315 University Drive, Bismarck, North Dakota. SPECIAL NOTICE On Thursday, May 3, 2007 at 1:00 pm CST we will co-sponsoring a teleconference call regarding the upcoming Highway Reauthorization with the Tribal Transportation Coalition & Sonosky, Chambers. Join us for the teleconference: Thursday, May 3, :00pm EST. Teleconference Call on the next Highway Reauthorization to discuss Tribal Issues Call in number , participate code Limited # of lines. Two Notices on Tribal Transit Program Funding Notice at: DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTA- TION - Federal Transit Administration Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program; Tribal Transit Program ACTION: Notice of Award. SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects to be funded under Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 appropriations for the Tribal Transit Program (TTP), a program authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA- LU). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the appropriate FTA regional Tribal Liaison (Appendix A) for application-specific information and issues. For general program information, contact Lorna R. Wilson, Office of Transit Programs, at (202) , Lorna.Wilson@dot.gov. A TDD is available at (TDD/ FIRS). IRRPCC forms a Road Maintenance Task Force By Tim Ramirez, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (ITA Southern Plains Regional Representative) The primary focus of the Indian Reservation Roads Program Coordinating Committee (IRRPCC) is to make recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Department of Transportation (BIA- DOT) on issues that have a direct impact on the Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) system. Throughout the Negotiated Rulemaking process as well as current ongoing IRRPCC meetings, a reoccurring theme keeps surfacing - BIA Road Maintenance. The issue is spoken of by IRRPCC members, and testimony given by Tribal Leaders. The Road Maintenance funding comes from a Department of Interior Appropriation, and the IRR funding is derived from the Federal Gas Tax, allocated to BIA- DOT by FHWA Federal Lands. As of April 2004, the IRR system consisted of approximately 25,700 miles of BIA and tribally owned public roads and 800 bridges. This represents over $3.4 billion in federal investment back to 1982 when the IRR program was established through the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 and continued with subsequent reauthorization of the highway act. Maintenance of these roads/bridges is necessary to protect the federal investment and to provide needed transportation facilities for tribes and the general public traveling through Indian reservations. Cost comparisons with local governmental agencies (state and county) reveal that those agencies with similar purpose and goals provide more resources per mile than the BIA. The condition of the current BIA road system (2/3 of the system) is unimproved and earth surface or gravel and, therefore, requires far more extensive methods to maintain for public use. The program because of its close association with the FHWA funded IRR program requires that funds are provided and those IRR roads are maintained. Annual process reviews or product reviews are performed by the oversight agency, (Continued on page 3)

3 PAGE 3 Message from the ITA Vice-President Willie Tracey, Jr., Navajo Nation Ya at eeh (Greetings) to everyone across this wonderful and beautiful country of ours. As we prepare to witness our children, grandchildren, friends & relatives walk the stage to obtain their promotional recognition in the form of a diploma, certificate and/or a degree, the need to continue building a unique transportation system in Indian country lies challenging ahead. Come attend the Intertribal Transportation Association s midyear meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 06-07, 2007 at the Park Plaza Hotel & Conference Center. A draft agenda has been included in this newsletter, update narratives on local, state and federal transportation system governing methods, procedures and regulations will also be provided. We, as Native American tribes must join forces to develop a unified position as we address the fast approaching reauthorization of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). While there are many fine points within the national highway bill, there remains much to be included based on our experience while executing project maintenance and construction activities. Our needs are unique across Indian Country, yet our common goal is provide safe and dependable transportation for tribal members and the public. We need to share innovative techniques on how we can plan and coordinate projects in a timely fashion while meeting all applicable governing standards. Indian Country s transportation system has been underfunded far too long, let s join unite to voice our needs. The upcoming ITA midyear conference provides a prospect as tribal communities to evolve effectively as one. I hope to see you there. IRRPCC Road Maintenance Task Force (Continued from page 2) FHWA and this includes road maintenance. The FHWA believes that BIA roads are not adequately addressed relative to road maintenance. The formation of a Road Maintenance Task Force made up of IRRPCC members is another issue handed down from Washington D.C. There are many questions to be answered such as who is the product geared towards, the Interior Department, (OMB) Office of Management and Budget, or Federal Highway? Reviewing testimony from the US General Accounting Office (GAO) Indian Issues, the BIA s distribution of (TPA) Tribal Priority Allocations is the largest portion of direct appropriation, about 45%. TPA represents 10% of the federal funding appropriated to Indian Programs. The base funds are for activities such as law enforcement, social services, adult vocational training, child welfare, and natural resource management. The remaining nonbased funds are generally distributed to specific formulas that consider tribal needs. In general, tribes may not shift these funds to other activities without special authorization. Road maintenance, housing improvement, welfare assistance, and contract support are all included in this category. Road maintenance funds are distributed to BIA s area offices based on factors such as the number of miles and types of roads in each area. There are different types of BIA Road maintenance, PL-638, Force Account, Direct service, and now a percentage of a Tribes IRR fair share may be used for this purpose. Data of what Tribes in the twelve BIA regions perform these activities is being gathered. A Detailed Information on the BIA Operation and Maintenance of Roads Assessment can be viewed on the web under BIA Road Maintenance; this report was done in John Healy of the Rocky Mountain Region was appointed the Chair of this task force and during a conference call asked me to be a co-chair, I accepted because I know firsthand as a BIA-638 Road Maintenance Director this under funded federal government inherent function is a long time coming. Tribal representatives have a concern that by allowing IRR funds to be used for this purpose the federal government will reduce Department of Interior appropriations by a mirrored amount, and this will not at all address the tremendous backlog of needed Road Mainte-

4 PAGE 4 IRRPCC Road Maintenance Task Force Work Plan By C. John Healy, Sr., Fort Belknap Indian Community (ITA President) Delivered at IRRPCC Meeting held Phoenix, AZ on April 19, 2007 INTRODUCTION: The primary purpose of any road maintenance program is to keep the transportation facilities in safe operating condition and to protect the public's investment. The entire transportation program is affected by the degree of efficiency of the maintenance work performed on the system. Management organization for road maintenance is also based on route designation and involves the same government entities, but follows different management paths. BIA ROAD MAINTENANCE PROGRAM SHORTCOMINGS: The BIA Road Maintenance Program undermines the ability of tribes to extend the useful life of IRR-financed routes and wastes money. As of 2003, over 66% of BIAowned roads are dirt and gravel roads which have a higher per mile maintenance cost than paved roads. Most of these roads are rated poor. Using 1999 data (Caterpiller Performance Handbook), the cost of a typical five-year maintenance cycle to maintain a gravel road is $4,160 (grading, resurfacing and re-graveling over a five-year cycle). If the BIA expended that amount just on IRR Program BIAowned and Tribally-owned routes (25,000 miles), the Road Maintenance Program budget would be$104 million annually or four times the current budgeted level. As IRR Program construction funds increase from $275 million/annually under TEA-21 to $450 million/annually under SAFETEA-LU, the Road Maintenance Program has not kept pace. BIA s own estimate for the Road Maintenance Program shortfall is $200 million, and $50 million alone is required to replace outdated equipment. SAFETEA-LU authority permitting Indian tribes to use 25% of their annual IRR Program allocation to cover maintenance needs shortchanges tribal road construction budgets; the law expressly states, however, that use of IRR Program funds for road maintenance are to be supplemental to, and not in lieu of, BIA appropriations for the Road Maintenance Program. **From the Cason Meeting PHASE I: EXISTING DATA COL- LECTION Collection of existing data from various sources including: GAO, BIA, Tribal, State, and local, sources. The data could include various materials including previous studies and maintenance programs functions. Road Mileage. As of April 2004, the IRR system consisted of approximately 25,700 miles of BIA and tribally owned public roads and 800 bridges. This represents over $3.4 billion in federal investment back to 1982 when the IRR program was established through the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 and continued with subsequent reauthorization of the highway act. Maintenance of these roads/bridges are necessary to protect the federal investment and to provide needed transportation facilities for Tribes and the general public traveling through Indian reservations. There are different types of BIA Road maintenance Programs: PL , Force Account, Direct Service, and now a percentage of a Tribes IRR fair share may be used for this purpose. Data of just what Tribes in the twelve BIA regions perform these activities is being gathered. A Detailed Information on the BIA Operation and Maintenance of Roads Assessment can be viewed on the web under BIA Road Maintenance; this report was done in Funding: Regional/Tribe GAO Document: BIA s Distribution of Tribal Priority Allocations (TPA). (Continued on page 5)

5 PAGE 5 IRRPCC Road Maintenance Task Force Work Plan (Continued from page 4) Collect Information for Previous Roads Maintenance Task Force (1995). PHASE II: MEETINGS, CON- FERENCE CALLS AND ANALYSIS Hold Regional Meetings Current Task Force. Intertribal Transportation Association TTAP Centers - Theodore J. Danks, Transportation Development Specialist, NPTTAP. The BIA Roads Maintenance Program has had some issues for some time now. The Road Safety Audits (RSAs), may bring to light the real safety issues, related to the lack of proper maintenance funding & practices, currently existing on the BIA IRR system. Those physical attributes are, improper signage (faded or shot up) or conflicting messages, no or faded asphalt stripping, poor or just plain wrong type of maintenance gravel, and running of the road type of accidents (poor or no in-slope of the road, obstruction in the recovery zone (ditch), back slopes to steep. Many crashes, can be attributed poor maintenance. The crash reporting reports don t give any or enough detail, to identify the root cause of the problem. The crash data under reported, the reporting isn t reflecting the root cause. Lets says the accident was, because of loose gravel the vehicle swerved and ran off the road & rolled over, you are more likely to see the crash report say vehicle left roadway and rolled over. For example, if a crash report reads vehicle runs off the road and rolled over and driver/occupant was killed, cause DUI, the question, was the running off the road on that section of the road survivable in the first place, was the cause of the running off the road cause by loose gravel, would that vehicle been able to recover if they were sober? The reality is that a large part of the current IRR inventory, is inherently unsafe, because of in large part poor or no road maintenance. Tribes are mandated to develop and maintain Safety Management Systems, that s assuming the system is safe to begin with. Point of fact is, what ever management system is applied, the assumption is the system is at normal or acceptable level when the management systems are started, and the goal is to keep them at or above that bench mark. In the case of all the Tribes in our service area, they would have to apply so serious cash to the BIA Roads Maintenance Department just to bring their BIA roads up to an acceptable level to start with, and Tribes tied to BIA Roads Maintenance funding may have the same issue. By default much of the future crash data collected will be skewed, because those crashes that are attributable to poor road maintenance, in the past, will be lessened a great degree by newly applied Safety Management Systems practices. This ultimately is a good thing for the motoring public on the IRR system. However that would not necessarily be the case as it applies to the county and township IRR mileage on their system. PHASE III: Analysis Current Task Force. Intertribal Transportation Association (ITA). ISSUES: The freeze-thaw issue as opposed to other areas (exceptional cost). Deferred Maintenance Issue: Miles of road on route by surface type (optimum maintenance cost provided by Central Office). Re-construction-vs-Deferred Maintenance Bridge Maintenance Funding: FY-06 ($27.3mill), FY-2007 ($25.3mill) Reduction in funding from FY- 06 to FY-07 was approx. 10%. FY-08 not determined. Policies: Use of the 25% provision under 25 CFR Part 170 Use of funds on which roads: BIA System roads? Issue: the 25% provision under SAFETEA-LU is having a detrimental effect on the IRR Program. Roads Maintenance Engineer, Central Office. Presently Vacant. Data from State & County Govts. Accident Data from NHTSA Procedures Continuing Resolutions (CR). Who does the work? PL Contract? Direct Service? Equipment Needs: Funding Issue (no funding source) Condition of existing equipment. Policy on Lease Purchase. PHASE IV: Plan Development/ Implementation/Lobbying Efforts Matrix development: Showing comparable cost. Data from State & County Govts. NCAI. Intertribal Transportation Association (ITA). Lobbying effort to be done by ITA & NCAI. Recommend that Roads Maintenance Funding be removed from TPA and placed under the HTF.

6 A Transportation Planner s View on ADT/VMT By Wesley Cochran, Transportation Planner, Fort Belknap Indian Community, including input from Mike Addy, Engineering Technician, BIA Rocky Mountain Region PAGE 6 It always seems quite intriguing that a simple application might cause an overall budget to increase or decrease. Much of our time as transportation planners is not spent on specific details due to our busy schedules. If 10% of all the tribal transportation planners in one region were to apply an effort in the Average Daily Traffic (ADT) application, we could change our budgetary outcome for the better. According to 25 CFR 170 Appendix C to Subpart C, Relative Need Distribution Factor, average daily counts are a critical asset for the formula to work on behalf of the overall Indian Reservation Road (IRR) program. Here in Fort Belknap Indian Community, some of our counts are quite old and we don t have any documentation to back up Road Inventory Field Data System (RIFDS). The notorious Green Book just had a value in the Average Daily Traffic (ADT) cell and who knows where it came from. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) is a mathematical application related to the relative needs distribution factor. VMT is a measure of the current Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) transportation system use. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) calculates VMT using the sum of the length of IRR route segments in miles multiplied by the ADT of a route segment. It is with this latter application that a tribe can improve their monetary distribution from the BIA. Due to the fact that our counts are old and our population has increased, our ADT will increase proportionately. All IRR route sections in the IRR Inventory are used to calculate VMT. Our situation here is not at all different than any other reservation. I m sure we would see an increase in all ADT s throughout Indian Country if one were to count all their roads today. It is with this scenario, I introduce our Rocky Mountain Region (RMR) Road Engineering Technician, Mike Addy, who is in charge of all the ADT s within this region. He has a certain interest in this obscure number that is generated from a car running over an empty tube. According to Mike, measuring traffic volumes on our IRR facilities provides valuable information in managing the IRR system. Addressing the safety and welfare of motorists on our facilities relies heavily on the volume of traffic utilizing the roadway on a daily basis. Making sound, reasonable decisions regarding roadway improvements depends on the data available with which to define the project scope. Therefore, measuring traffic volumes is a fundamen- (Continued on page 7)

7 PAGE 7 A Transportation Planner s View (Continued from page 6) tal planning tool in identifying current needs as well as forecasting future needs. It is also a valuable engineering tool in designing pavements, road geometry, cross section, design speed, and intersections. Traffic volumes also directly relate to how much funding an IRR facility generates. Determining traffic volumes provides a fair representation of a facility's demands. This information is then used in calculating tribal share funding percentages. The formula utilizes VMT in calculating tribal shares. VMT is determined by multiplying the ADT times the length of the roadway. This value accounts for 30% of a tribe's fair share of funding each fiscal year. Therefore, providing updated volumes is critical in order to be fairly represented in this component of the formula. Further, traffic volumes affect the Cost To Construct (CTC) portion of the formula, which accounts for 50% of a tribe's fair share of funding each fiscal year. A facility's future surface is derived from traffic volumes. Therefore, two of the four CTC components (gravel costs and pavement costs) rely on traffic data in order to compute need. If volumes are underrepresented due to lack of data, the default value will be applied, eliminating a pavement cost, and possibly a gravel cost for the facility. The RMR is working in consultation with the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) to develop a compatible database. This will allow both entities to share data and avoid overlapping traffic counts, thereby avoiding the unnecessary expenditure of resources. This is an ongoing process in which the RMR will adopt MDT site coding criteria in order to identify the count location. This coordinated effort is significant in improving relations between various governmental agencies in the state of Montana, which has a valued interest in improving the state's transportation infrastructure. On March 8, 2007, we had ADT Training with MDT in Billings. Mr. Randy Davies, MDT Traffic Specialist delves into the macabre world of traffic counts. He has 20 years of experience in this specific field and is very capable. Well, most of the tribal transportation planners went through the one-day training only to come out with a different outlook on ADT. I know that all the counts we have done so far have increased from the green book with the associated documentation needed for RIFDS. So, I challenge all tribal transportation planners to attempt to improve their average daily counts of IRR routes. Along with the good training we received that day, Mike had also showed interest in doing counts the same way the state does theirs. He also would like to see the BIA have the same hardware and software. I concur. It would be nice for two different agencies doing work hand in hand to improve roadways throughout the country. We could virtually help one another and share data directly with the state. We could do certain counts for the state and vice versa. I know we don t do manual counts here in Fort Belknap Indian Community but the state does and they could train us. Some if not all the reservations in the Rocky Mountain Region have state routes going through, and we could request the state to do a count in a specific location on the reservation not recognized by the state as being important. So it is with this jibe of a question I leave you with, does in fact an updated count improve or increase the money distributed by the BIA to the tribal transportation program?

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10 PAGE 10 ITA Mid-year Conference Agenda Continued from page 7.

11 PAGE CALENDAR Dates Location Event May 10 May May June 6-7 June June June Polson, MT Baltimore, MA Shelton, WA Albuquerque, NM Anchorage, AK Anchorage, AK Austin, TX ITA Executive Committee Meeting, Best Western Kwa Tuk Nuk Resort, Polson, MT. Contact is National Scenic Byways Conference ATNI Mid Year Conference ar.htm ITA Mid-year Meeting. Park Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. For hotel reservations contact National Congress of American Indians Mid Year Conference BIA Economic Conference. Contact Jennifer Cesar at th International Conference on Low-Volume Roads JOIN ITA TODAY Membership Application Membership Type (Select): Fee Tribal Membership (Voting Entity) Tribal Government Tribal Community Associate Memberships (Non-Voting) Organizations Private Sector Tribal Program/Department Federal Agency/Program/Dept State Agency/District/City/County Individual Membership (Non-voting) ITA Individual ITA Elder (55 years +) ITA Student/Youth (under 20 years) Contributor Membership (Tax-Deductible) TOTAL Name: Contact: Address: July Albuquerque, NM Navajo DOT Transportation Conference. Phone: August 6-8 Ketchikan IRR Program Coordinating Committee Meeting. Fax: September 5-7 September 3rd week November TBD TBA Denver, CO 11th Annual Northern Plains TTAP Conference. ATNI 54th Annual Conference ar.htm 64th Annual Convention of the National Congress of American Indians. Mail payments and/or contributions by check to ITA and send to: C. John Healy, Sr. c/o ITA Fort Belknap Indian Community 102 Tribal Way R.R. #1 Box 66, Harlem, MT Phone: Fax:

12 C. John Healy, Sr. c/o Intertribal Transportation Association Fort Belknap Indian Community 102 Tribal Way R.R. #1 Box 66 Harlem, MT Phone: Fax: Intertribal Transportation Association Officers and Executive Committee Members OFFICERS: John Healy Sr., President (Fort Belknap Indian Community) Willie Tracey Jr., Vice-President (Navajo Nation) Evelyn J. Roundstone, Secretary-Treasurer (Northern Cheyenne Tribe) GREAT PLAINS REGION: Jeff Whalen, Oglala Sioux Tribe (Rep) Sherman Wright, Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Alt) Ed Hall Sr., Three Affiliated Tribes (Alt) SOUTHWEST REGION: Edwin Tafoya, Pueblo of Laguna (Rep) SOUTHERN PLAINS REGION: Tim Ramirez, Prairie Band Potawotomie Nation (Rep) Chuck Tsoodle, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma (Rep) George Wallace, Comanche Nation (Alt) ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION: Don White, Blackfeet Nation (Rep) John Smith, Shoshone & Arapaho Tribes (Alt) EASTERN REGION: Jody Clark, Seneca Nation (Rep) Nelson Mars, Manshantucket Pequot Nation (Alt) ALASKA REGION: Al Ketzler, Sr., Tanana Chiefs Conference, Inc. (Rep) Dave Matsuno, Ugashik Traditional Village Council (Alt) Phillip Anderson, Evansville Tribal Council (Alt) MIDWEST REGION: Jim Garrigan, Red Lake Band of Chippewa (Rep) LeAnn Doxtater, Oneida Nation (Alt) Robert Blanchard, Bad River Tribe of Wisconsin (Alt) Chuck Houle, Bad River Tribe of Wisconsin (Alt) Bruce Danforth, Oneida Nation (Alt) EASTERN OKLAHOMA REGION: Mike Lynn, Cherokee Nation (Rep) NAVAJO REGION: Willie Tracey Jr., Navajo Nation (Rep) Lawrence Morgan, Navajo Nation (Alt) WESTERN REGION: Margaret Baha-Walker, White Mountain Apache Tribe (Rep) Dennis Smith, Shoshone Paiute (Alt) NORTHWEST REGION: Della Cree, Nez Perce Tribe (Rep) Bill Brower, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (Alt) Mike Marchand, Colville Tribes (Alt) Kirk Vinish, Lummi Tribe (Alt) PACIFIC REGION: Vacant (Rep) Randolph Feliz, Hopland Band of Pomo Indians (Alt)