The Shivwits Band of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (PITU) has recognized the need to identify and assess the potential impacts of landscape-level stressors, such as climate change and drought, on tribal and ancestral lands and resources, such as water resources and culturally significant species and the habitats and ecosystems that support them. With funding from the Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the Shivwits hired Barbara Dugelby1 of Round River Conservation Studies to conduct the assessment and prepare this report. The results of this report and the assessment will be integrated into the overall landscape level assessment of SRLCC priorities. This report presents a summary of the findings to date concerning Band priorities and conservation and research opportunities on and off reservation as well as lays groundwork for future land and resource management planning efforts.
In 2011 and 2012, Round River gathered ecological and cultural value information concerning the Kanosh, Koosharem, and Indian Peaks Bands of PITU. The goals of the previous work for PITU Bands were to:
Facilitate the creation of Band-specific long-term visions of land and natural resource use and management. Create maps and reports describing land status, land and natural resource use, and the historic, socio-political, and economic context of each Band, on and off reservation. Identify challenges, opportunities, resources, and needs to facilitate dialogue and decision-making within each Band. Compile a list of agencies, resources, contacts, literature (Appendix 1), and important Band documents that each Band can use to address land and natural resource issues.
Reports resulting from the above work are available from the PITU office in Cedar City or Round River Conservation Studies2. Much of the information in this report is based on earlier reports prepared by Round River for the Koosharem, Kanosh, and Indian Peaks Bands of PITU. Gavin Noyes, Barbara Dugelby, and Rick Tingey prepared those reports, including maps, figures, and tables, with fieldwork (elder interviews) conducted by Will Tyson.
FY2012This project helped the Shivwits Band of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (PITU) identify and assess the potential impacts of landscape-level stressors on tribal and ancestral lands and resources. Stressors included climate change and drought, and resources of interest were water and culturally significant species and the habitats and ecosystems that support them. With funding from the Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the Shivwits Band conducted an assessment of priorities and conservation and research opportunities on and off reservation. The final report lays groundwork for future land and resource management planning efforts