A Worley resident says he has been fending off tribal members hunting on his private property for years, in spite of a tribal spokesperson's claims that there are no such issues in the area.

"I just want my private property rights. Period," said Jon Gress, who has lived in a cabin on reservation property for three years. "If they have issues with hunting, they should buy back their property."

The legal enigma of whether tribal members have the right to hunt and fish on reservation property owned by non-tribal members has been a hot topic of late.

A public meeting on the issue is scheduled tonight in Plummer, where Idaho's U.S. attorney will be present. The Benewah County prosecutor has insisted that tribal members trespassing has been an increasing plight for local landowners.

It's an issue inKootenai County, too, Gress said. At least on his property.

It starts on the opening day of hunting season, he said, tribal members with hunting gear rumbling across his property on four wheelers, trucks and motorcycles.

"They'll come up and flash this (tribal membership) card and say, 'I'm a tribal member and I can hunt anywhere I want to,'" he said.

The 55-year-old's main objection is that he believes his property rights are being violated, he said.

Gress acknowledges and respects the love for hunting in the region, he added, but there are also safety concerns for himself, his dogs and his neighbors.

"There's multiple homeowners up here. I'm not the only one who could be hit by a stray bullet," said Gress, who has posted "no hunting" signs on his 80 acres.

For some confrontations, he added, he has contacted the sheriff's department, which in turn notified the tribal police.

The police have always escorted the individuals off his property, he added.

"They've stated that they don't have permission to hunt on private property," Gress said.

When he took his complaints to the Tribe's attorney last fall, he added, he was told there are no documents clarifying whose rights trump the other's.

"I think it's common sense and common decency," Gress said of hunters avoiding his acreage.

He offered to sell his land back to the Tribe two weeks ago, he added, and hasn't received a response.

Opinions have been long divided on the issue.

Benewah County Prosecutor Doug Payne insists that the Coeur d'Alene Tribe has no written privilege to hunt on all reservation land, as deemed in a 1960 opinion by an official with the Department of Interior.

But tribal spokesperson Helo Hancock contends that opinion was overturned by a later U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Hancock said he is aware of one incident when the tribal police was called to Gress' property. A tribal member was removed in that case, Hancock said, to avoid a conflict.

He added that the tribal attorney has denied having the conversation Gress described.

The Tribe has been hunting across all reservation land for decades, Hancock reminded, reaffirming his previous statements that members have every right to do so.

"I think incidences of trespassing are far more the other way, you have non-Indians hunting on tribal land," Hancock said.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department received a call from Gress last year and this year about the matter, noted Lt. Stu Miller, adding that deputies were dispatched but tribal police arrived on scene first.

The sheriff's department responds to calls from non-tribal members, Miller added, but notifies the tribal police about situations involving tribal members.

"Our two agencies work so close together, we share our resources constantly," he said.

Gress promised to be at tonight's 6:30 meeting at Plummer Community Hall, to voice his opinion.

All he desires is for everything to be spelled out clearly, he said.

"This has to be aired out and settled, because the opinions don't really mean much," he said. "It's not about opinions. It's about what's the law."