PORTLAND, Ore., June 24, 2024 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced it will invest $4.9 million in seven projects across Washington and Oregon in projects to be implemented in co-stewardship with Tribes to improve forest health, address Tribal priorities, and accomplish other shared restoration objectives on national forests and grasslands in the Pacific Northwest.
The funds are part of the $18 million USDA recently announced it will invest in Tribal Forest Protection Act projects nationally during fiscal year 2024, using funding made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“This funding is essential for protecting tribal lands and resources,” said Jacque Buchanan, USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Regional Forester. “Being able to support these projects honors our trust responsibilities and benefits both Tribal and national forest lands.”
Projects to receive funding in Washington and Oregon include work to increase Tribal involvement in forest planning, reducing wildfire risk, historical preservation, planning to support continued availability and harvest of culturally-significant forest products and First Foods, and implementation the national Native Seed Strategy.
“All of these projects are important and it’s exciting to see a couple of them will advance the National Seed Strategy,” said Buchanan. “By having the right seeds in the right places at the right time, we’ll be able to better tackle issues like invasive species and extreme weather and make a real difference in large-scale restoration efforts across the States.”
The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 authorizes tribes to engage in natural resource management and restoration that protects tribal lands and communities.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law offers funding that can be used to work directly with Tribes, using authorities provided in the Tribal Forest Protection Act, on watershed health, fuels reduction, and timber management projects, to promote co-stewardship objectives, and to plan future projects.
Projects funded in the Pacific Northwest Region for fiscal year 2024 include:
Oregon
- Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland, Deschutes National Forest, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Burns Paiute Tribe, and Klamath Tribes: This funding will finance an agreement with the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers to support tribal 106 consultation with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Burns Paiute Tribe, and Klamath Tribes on Traditional Cultural Property inventory, evaluation, and mitigation activities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. $450,000
- Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Nez Perce Tribe: This project will fund creation of a restoration strategy based on Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation First Foods to assist the Forest Service and Tribes, and their forestry and botanical staffs, to more fully engage and work as equal partners on co-stewardship related planning and activity. $500,000
- Umatilla National Forest, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Malheur National Forest, and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation: This funding will be used to implement the National Native Seed Strategy, with a specific emphasis on tribal interests. The project will focus on seed collection, seed increase, container stock, and outreach and education. $150,000
- Umpqua National Forest, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, and Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians: Funds will assist in implementing the National Native Seed Strategy, with specific emphasis on tribal interests pertaining to gathering native plants for cultural use. Work will focus on seed collection, seed increase, native plant nursery work, and outreach and education. $150,000
- Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and Nez Perce Tribe: This project will fund Tribal work to capture traditional usage history of locations on Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, with the shared goal of enhancing exercise and protection of cultural and treaty rights. The results of this project will help inform to land use management activities to ensure they support long term, sustainable forest uses that are historically and culturally significant to the Nez Perce people. $150,000
- Fremont-Winema National Forest and Klamath Tribes: The Klamath Tribes will receive funding assist the tribe in conducting work that reduces wildfire risk to the Chiloquin wildland urban interface through mechanical treatments, prescribed fire, and cultural burning. $1 million
Washington
- Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation: This project will support planning and implementation capacity of Wildfire Crisis Strategy objectives by Tribes, focusing on increasing tribal capacity to become more involved in wildfire risk reduction efforts on the forest and to assist the forest in complying with cultural and natural resource goals. $2.5 million
Additionally, the Forest Service announced an investment of over $2.88 million to fund five Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) projects in the Pacific Northwest for fiscal year 2024. This funding is part of a larger $12 million national investment in GNA projects for the same period.
These projects aim to enhance watersheds, restore forest health, and reduce wildfire risks in Washington and Oregon.
The funding, also made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, allows the Forest Service to partner directly with state agencies to support watershed restoration, improve forest health, and reduce wildfire risks through state-implemented projects.
Pacific Northwest Region projects for fiscal year 2024 include:
Oregon
- Oregon Department of Transportation: Received $485,000 to mitigate hazard trees along forest roads and state highways crossing Forest Service lands, improving access and safety.
- Oregon Department of Forestry’s Federal Forest Restoration Program: Received $1 million to support forest restoration on federal lands, providing NEPA planning, commercial timber sale implementation, and restoration services.
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife: Received $200,000 for priority fish passage projects, including the removal of the Pomeroy and Parrott Creek dams on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
Washington
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: Received $200,000 to implement two aquatic organism passage projects on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
- Washington Department of Natural Resources’ Forest Resiliency Division: Received $1 million to support forest restoration on federal lands, providing NEPA support, implementing commercial timber sales, conducting aquatic improvement projects, maintaining and decommissioning forest roads, and other restoration efforts.
“These projects are important for forest health and resiliency,” said Jacque Buchanan, USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Regional Forester. “It’s also good forest management to leverage the capacity, resources, and expertise across federal, state, Tribal, and local agencies. Using the Good Neighbor Authority strengthens our collective efforts and also greatly benefits the local community.”
Established by Congress in 2014 and amended in 2018, the Good Neighbor Authority provides federal land managers with a tool for creating management agreements with local governments. Forest health projects are identified and implemented at the local level and managed by states, Tribes, and county agencies.
Related news releases:
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Actions to Strengthen Tribal Food Sovereignty, Co-Stewardship, and Knowledge of Tribal Agriculture Policy
USDA Announces Nearly $66M for Conservation Work with States, Tribes, Private Landowners as Part of Investing in America Agenda
Additional information:
For more information about the Tribal Forest Protection Act, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/
For more information about Good Neighbor Authority, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/
For more information about the USDA Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/r6.
For more information about the USDA Forest Service visit https://www.fs.usda.gov.