Tweets,
I had heard that the Lummis would give use permits to bird the
reservation beaches. So, today I went up to try and get one. It was a
slightly frustrating event with a few office shuffles before I got to
where the permits are issued. The pleasant young lady that had me fill
out the application didn't really know what the permit term was, and
when she asked another member, he said it was daily only. Confused, I
asked if it would be possible to use the reservation on weekends since
the tribal office is only open Monday through Friday - he said that it
was expected that you would get your permit on Friday for use on the
weekend.
I had understood that permits were available for a longer term than
that, but that's not what I found today. I don't really know if they
changed policy or that the fellow was just having a bad day and not
really interested in my request.
If others try to get a permit and have a different experience, I would
appreciate a note. Maybe another approach or another resource on the
reservation would help.
Putting it into perspective, it is their reservation and they certainly
don't get much benefit from non tribal folks running around looking at
birds. There is only a small casino and one little store by the ferry dock.
It sure was a different experience than I expected.

--
Jeff Osmundson
Arlington