Risk Concerns, Land Use, Stewardship, and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory: Attitudes of the Shoshone–Bannock and Other American Indians

This paper examines the attitudes and perceptions of 277 American Indians about hunting and fishing, risk, and future land use of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) in southeastern Idaho. Nearly half of our sample were Shoshone–Bannock tribal members living on the nearby Fort Hall Reservation, and half were American Indians from elsewhere in the western United States. We also interviewed an additional 44 White people. We examine the hypothesis that there are differences in environmental concerns and attitudes toward future land use at INEEL as a function of tribal affiliation (ethnicity), educational level, gender, and age. Such perceptions are important because of the existence of tribal treaties that govern the legal and cultural rights of the Shoshone–Bannock. Returning INEEL to the Shoshone–Bannock Tribes, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and a National Environmental Research Park ranked as the highest preferred future land uses, whereas continuing nuclear materials reprocessing and increasing the storage of nuclear wastes ranked as the lowest. There were tribal differences in land use preferences, with those of the Fort Hall Indians being more similar to those of the local Whites than to other American Indians. All groups ranked storage of nuclear material, storage of additional nuclear material, and spills and accidents as the most serious of a list of concerns provided about the site. Fort Hall Indians answered an open-ended question with concerns for population levels and migration routes of game animals and other wildlife, more than hunting and human health. The Shoshone–Bannock from Fort Hall showed an environmental sensitivity for the well-being of wildlife and the health of the ecosystem and were interested in long-term stewardship, in addition to concern for human health