Forest Service and Tribal Partnerships

The Forest Service recognizes its trust responsibility towards federally recognized Indian Tribes. The Forest Service also believes that it can partially fulfill this responsibility by promoting partnerships with Tribes. Therefore, the Office of Tribal Relations is committed to increasing opportunities for Tribes to benefit from Forest Service programs, and to help the Forest Service benefit from tribal input, especially regarding traditional knowledge. We want to partner in support of tribal sovereignty, self-governance, and self-determination, as well as the Forest Service's land management mission.

Research with Traditional Ecological Knowledge

• Federal Financial Assistance Award between the Douglas Indian Association and the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station (PDF, 980 KB)

Job Training for Tribal Members to Work on Forest Service Lands

• Master Participating Agreement Between Klamath Tribes And The USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region Fremont-Winema National Forest (PDF, 0.9 MB)
• Master Participating Agreement Between The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe Of Texas And The USDA Forest Service, Southern Region (PDF, 669 KB)

Forest Service Hiring Tribal Interns

• Participating Agreement 05-PA-11111104-049 between Sustainable Development Institute Of College Of Menominee Nation And United States Department Of Agriculture USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (PDF, 365 KB)

Collaborative Forest Restoration

• Interagency Agreement Between The USDI, Bureau Of Indian Affairs And The USDA, Forest Service Plumas National Forest, Keddie Ridge - Mud Lake Baker Cypress Fuels Reduction Project (PDF, 5.2 MB)
• Master Stewardship Agreement Between The Pit River Tribe And The Lomaka Tsi Restoration Project And The USDA Forest Service, Lassen, Modoc And Shasta-Trinity National Forests (PDF, 7.2 MB)
• Master Stewardship Agreement Between Klamath Tribes, Lomakatsi Restoration Project, The Nature Conservancy, And The USDA Forest Service, Fremont-Winema National Forest (PDF, 0.6 MB)

Establishing Tribal-Forest Service Relationships

• Memorandum Of Understanding Between The Pueblo Of Jemez And The USDA, Forest Service, Santa Fe National Forest (PDF, 379 KB)
• Memorandum Of Understanding Regarding Tribal - USDA-Forest Service Relations On National Forest Lands Within The Territories Ceded In Treaties Of 1836, 1837, and 1842 (PDF, 125 KB)
  • Lac Courte Oreilles Band of lake Superior Chippewa Indians Notice of Ratification of the Proposed 2012 Amendments (PDF, 118 KB)
  • Forest Service's Notice of Ratification of the Proposed 2012 Amendments (PDF, 343 KB)

Preparing for the Inadvertent Discovery of Native American Human Remains and/or Artifacts on Forest Service Lands

• Protocol for the Potential Inadvertent Discovery and Identification of Native American Human Remains, Funerary Objects, Sacred Objects and Objects of Cultural Patrimony (PDF, 24 KB)