U.S. Geological Survey Activities Related to American Indians and Alaska Natives Fiscal Year 1997

Future Opportunities

Partnership with Indian School. The USGS and the BIA will continue to explore and expand opportunities to enhance science education for Indian students. Partnerships between USGS offices and individual schools are one approach that is being developed in South Dakota, between the Flandreau Indian School and the USGS' EROS Data Center. We hope that this partnership will be consummated and will then serve as a model for similar partnerships. The EROS Data Center hopes to provide a mentoring or student shadowing program, surplus equipment, and technical support and guidance in computer operations for the school (located on the Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation. Contact: Mark Barber, 605-594-6176, barber@usgs.gov

Continuing Progress with EdNet. Additional BIA schools will be linked through the EdNet program. The USGS and the BIA will work together to help teachers use this vast system to find and use resources to assist Indian students. Contact: Tim Lee, 303-236-4955, tlee@usgs.gov

Installation of a Nested Piezometer on the Lands of the Pueblo of Sandia. The objective of this work is to drill, complete, and instrument a nested piezometer for the continuous collection of hydraulic-head data and the annual collection of water-quality data from specific zones in the aquifer system. Data from this nested piezometer will be incorporated into a regional ground-water monitoring network for Albuquerque, New Mexico, and surrounding areas. Contact: Condé Thorn, 505-262-5311, crthorn@usgs.gov

Stream Monitoring with the Washoe and Walker River Tribes. The USGS Nevada Water Resources District has proposed stream and stream-quality monitoring on tribal lands of the Washoe Tribe of California and Nevada to better define their water resources. The Nevada District has been in active consultation with a hydrologist of the Walker River Paiute Tribe regarding better definition of surface- and ground-water resources of the Walker River Reservation. The Walker River Tribe is also interested in upstream non-Indian water uses and their contribution to the continuing decline and resulting salinity of Walker Lake, the terminal sink to the Walker River Basin. Contact: Jon Nowlin, 702-887-7600, jlnowlin@usgs.gov

Ground Water Modeling on Umatilla Lands. The USGS Oregon Water Resources District has been discussing a possible ground-water modeling study with the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation. Contact: Dennis Lynch, 503-251-3265, ddlynch@usgs.gov

D-Q University. The USGS will be meeting with faculty and students of D-Q University near Davis, California, in January 1998, to discuss USGS activities, personnel needs, and internship opportunities. D-Q University is two-year university with an Environmental Studies program and a predominately American Indian student body. Contact: Charles Alpers, 916-278-3134, cnalpers@usgs.gov

Geographic Information Systems Training in Alaska. Preliminary talks have begun in an attempt to combine efforts in training on Geographic Information Systems (Geological Science Center is hosting workshops as part of its National Spatial Data Initiative benefits grant, and the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society has begun to schedule similar GIS sessions. Contact: Director, Alaska Biological Science Center, 907-786-3512

Monitoring Stations.

Surface-Water Monitoring	Cooperator
1	Hualapai Tribe
	Contact: Christopher Smith-Arizona, 520-670-6671 x131, cfsmith@usgs.gov
6-8	Bureau of Indian Affairs (Nooksack Indian Tribe)
	Contact: Thomas Zembzruski-Washington, 253-593-6510, tjzembrz@usgs.gov

Ground-Water Monitoring	Cooperator
1	USGS and the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes (Fort Belknap Reservation)
	Contact: Clarence Chambers-Montana, 406-441-1319, chambers@usgs.gov

Sediment Monitoring	Cooperator
1	Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe
	Contact: Thomas Zembzruski-Washington, 253-593-6510, tjzembrz@usgs.gov

U.S. Geological Survey Activities Related to American Indians and Alaska Natives — Fiscal Year 1997

By U.S. Geological Survey

Future Opportunities