It was an exceptional week on the coast of Rhode Island for participants at the Northeast Regional Conference of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society during September 12-14. The conference was hosted by the Narragansett Indian Tribe and was attended by several Tribes and many federal agencies from throughout the Northeast. Agenda topics included eagle and hawk rehabilitation and aviaries, black ash restoration, wetland assessments, fish shocking, chronic wasting disease, human conflicts with wildlife, prescribed burns, and freshwater mussels and Tribal grant progress.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was invited to give several presentations at the conference, including an update on Tribal Wildlife Grants and Tribal Landowner Incentive Program activities in the Northeast, a four hour introduction to fish health management, and a presentation on developing a program for restoring freshwater mussels and revitalizing aquatic ecosystems. The Service events were conducted by Northeast Region Native American Liaison D.J. Monette, Lamar Fish Health Center Project Leader John Coll, and White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery Project Leader Catherine Gatenby, respectively.

Additional activities included a tour of the Narragansett Indian Reservation, a Tribal elders panel focusing on fish and wildlife-related topics, a traditional feast with all the trimmings, and conference planning activities for the upcoming National Conference of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society. The national event will be hosted by the society's Northeast Region and the Penobscot Indian Nation in Bar Harbor, Maine, May 22-25, 2006.

The Service values our relationships and partnerships with the Tribes in the Northeast in addressing fish, wildlife, and other natural resource issues of mutual concern. By using the setting of society conferences, the Service can better accomplish the requested training needs of the Tribes and have the opportunity to present technical fish and wildlife related topics at a place where most of the Tribes gather on an annual basis. As we have done over the past several years, the Service expects to continue its involvement at future conferences.

NORTHEAST REGION, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE -- Conserving the Nature of the Northeast