Under the five-year agreement, federal funds of up to $300,000 will be invested in a variety of programs and projects connecting community-led indigenous stewardship, technical knowledge, conservation science and natural resource management of the national forest system ad adjacent lands throughout Southeast Alaska.
“This agreement with the Forest Service recognizes the critical role and inherent sovereignty of tribes in all aspects of stewardship of our homelands and waters and importance of a co-management governance structure to monitor, protect restore and manage our natural and cultural resources to ensure our customary and traditional way of life for our future generations,” said Tlingit & Haida President Richard Chalyee Eesh Peterson.
The agreement, announced on Friday, Oct. 9, will ensure the integration of diverse perspectives into activities and efforts associated with shared stewardship to bring new capacity to watershed restoration efforts, adaptation planning to ensure integration of diverse knowledge into vulnerability assessments and adaptation efforts; heritage to provide assistance in monitoring and protecting heritage sites and resources; and subsistence to increase information sharing and opportunities for public and tribal involvement related to the Federal Subsistence Management Program.
Alaska Regional Forester Dave Schmid said that the Forest Service recognized that the tribes are the land’s first stewards, conservationists and multiple users of the Tongass National Forest.
“Through this agreement, we will continue to enhance our collaboration and identify priorities to meet the needs of the people in our communities who depend on forest resources for food security, health and sustainable economies,” he said.
