United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service Research and Development

Tribal Engagement Roadmap

Highlights Report

Forest Service FS-1075 August 2016
U.S. tribes are an integral part of our 

American story, leaders in our natural 

resource heritage and the original 

stewards of the land we hold so dear.

—Tom Tidwell, Chief, USDA Forest Service
United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service Research and Development

Tribal Engagement Roadmap

Highlights Report

Forest Service FS-1075 August 2016
ii Forest Service Research and Development

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the following individuals:

Alicia Bell-Sheeter, Allen Brackley, Brian Brashaw, Tish Carr, 

James Chamberlain, Fred Clark, Mike Dockry, John Dramm, 

Marla Emery, Christopher Farley, Jennifer Hayes, Alison Hill, 

Serra Hoagland, Susan Hummel, Laura Kenefic, Linda Kruger, 

Frank Lake, Jonathan Long, Timothy Love, Carl Lucero, 

Kathy Lynn, Lisa Morehead-Hillman, David Nicholls, Sharon 

Nygaard Scott, Kathleen McGinley, Keith Moser, John Parrotta, 

Toral Patel-Weynand, Dean Pearson, Darren Ranco, Colleen 

Rossier, Fernando Sanchez-Trigueros, John Schelhas, Carolyn 

Sieg, Susan Stein, Peter Stine, Karen Terney, Nicole Vaillant, 

Alan Watson, Susan Wotkyns, Monique Wynecoop, Kimberly 

Yazzie, Michael Young, Jennifer Youngblood.

Editor and main author: Tania Ellersick tmellersick@fs.fed.us

Acting Tribal, Environmental Justice, and Wilderness 

Program Manager (July–November 2015) for Research and 

Development, Landscape Restoration and Ecosystem Services 

and Senior Policy Analyst for National Forest System, Forest 

Management 

Cover Photo: Northern Utah in 2014. Photo by Tania Ellersick

For more information, contact—

Carl F. Lucero

Director, Landscape Restoration and Ecosystem Services 

Research

Research and Development

Phone: 703–405–3823

E-mail: carlflucero@fs.fed.us

USDA Forest Service

1400 Independence Ave. SW

Washington, DC 20250–0003

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, 

its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating 

based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital 

status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil 

rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing 

deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, 

American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or 

contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages 

other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://

www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of 

the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter 

to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, 

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report iii

Contents

Introduction page 1

USDA Forest Service Research and Development 

Tribal Engagement Roadmap

Background page 3

Forest Service 

American Indians and Alaska Natives and Tribal Sovereignty

Federal Trust Responsibility

Overview of Tribal Engagement Highlights page 5

Intent

Methodology

Content

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement page 8

The Pacific Northwest—Alaska page 8

Coastal Geomorphology and Traditional Food in Southeast Alaska

Wood Energy and Forest Products in Alaska

The Pacific Northwest page 11

Mapping, Cultural Values, and Collaborative Restoration in Washington

Wildfire Risk, Fuels Management, and Technology in Oregon

Blending Traditional and Scientific Ecological Knowledge and Special (Nontimber) Forest Products 

in the Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Southwest page 14

Traditional Food in California

Agroforestry and Traditional Forest Management for Restoration in California

The Rocky Mountains page 17

Fisheries, Genetics, and Citizen Science in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington

Climate Change and Partnering in Arizona and New Mexico

Vegetation Recovery, Carbon Dynamics, Climate Change, and Post-Fire Management in Arizona
iv Forest Service Research and Development

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement continued

The South page 21

Land Management Training and Tools for the Southern and Eastern Regions of the United States

Climate Change Adaptation and Seed Banking in North Carolina

Tribal Climate Change Adaptation Partnership in the Southern Region

The North page 24

Forest Inventory and Special/Nontimber Forest Products in the Great Lakes Region

Sustainable Forest Management, Forest Products, and Partnership in Wisconsin

Youth Engagement and Restoration in Maine

Regional-Scale Engagement page 27

Sociocultural Impacts of Nonnative Insect Infestation From the Lake States to the Atlantic

Women’s Empowerment and Climate Change in the Northeastern United States

National Engagement page 29

U.S. Tribal Connections Map

Agroforestry Practices in the United States

Wildlife Research Assistantships Across the United States

Student Research Support Across the United States

Indian Forest Management and Research Across the United States

Nontimber Forest Product Assessment for the United States

International Engagement page 34

Invasive Species in the United States and Abroad

Traditional Forest Knowledge and International Engagement

Improving Forest Governance by Strengthening Public Forest Institutions on a Global Level

Moving Forward page 39

Contact Information and References page 41

Contents
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 1

Introduction

Johnny Velasquez from the 

Apache Tribe. Photo by Marvin 

Lychard, 2014, https://creative 

commons.org/licenses/by/2.0/.

USDA Forest Service Research and Development

The Research and Development (R&D) Deputy Area of the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, is a 

world leader in innovative science for sustaining global forest 

resources for future generations. With 81 experimental forests 

and rangelands and 7 research stations, including the Forest 

Products Laboratory and the International Institute of Tropical 

Forestry, the USDA Forest Service R&D employs approximately 

500 scientists working at the forefront of natural resource and 

social science to improve the health and use of our Nation’s 

forests and grasslands. Research has been part of the USDA 

Forest Service mission since the agency’s inception in 1905. 

R&D scientists develop information and solutions that help 

sustain forests and rangelands and the services they provide to 

the American public.

USDA Forest Service R&D has been conducting research for many 

years with tribes and in Indian country and has collaboratively 

developed the USDA Forest Service Research and Development

Tribal Engagement Roadmap (Tribal Engagement Roadmap) to 

help highlight and prioritize the agency’s efforts and raise 

the visibility of tribal engagement for the agency’s scientists, 

political leadership, tribes, and the public. The Tribal Engagement 

Roadmap supports and implements the goals and objectives 

outlined in the agency-wide Tribal Relations Strategic Plan

(http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/documents/plan/

TribalStrategicPlan2010-2013.pdf).

The agency-wide Tribal Relations Strategic Plan goals are the 

following:

•	 American Indian and Alaska Native Rights

Ensure the agency redeems its trust responsibility and 

protects American Indian and Alaska Native reserved rights 

as they pertain to USDA Forest Service programs, projects, 

and policies.

•	 Partnerships

Leverage partnerships to maximize mutual success.

•	 Program Development

Promote integration and utility of the Tribal Relations 

Program throughout the agency.
2 Forest Service Research and Development

Tribal Engagement Roadmap

USDA Forest Service R&D is progressively engaging with tribes 

and native communities to learn about and share knowledge 

on critical natural resource issues, such as climate change 

and fire. Historically, there has been a perceived disconnect 

between traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and Western 

science. There is, however, much to learn from the centuries 

of on-the-ground knowledge that tribes possess. Similarly, 

R&D can provide important science and tools to help tribes 

manage their millions of acres of forests and grasslands. The 

Tribal Engagement Initiative began in 2010 to improve R&D’s 

“corporate” engagement with tribes and indigenous groups. 

The goals were to improve two-way communication, partnerships, and joint research with tribes; better coordinate activities 

across stations on issues of national and global significance; 

institutionalize trust responsibilities into R&D programs; and 

incorporate diverse perspectives and traditional knowledge into 

USDA Forest Service programs and staff. Out of this initiative 

came the Tribal Engagement Roadmap that outlines an agenda 

for R&D staff regarding services to, engagement with, and 

learning from Indian tribes and other indigenous groups. The 

roadmap complements, not replaces, the agency-wide Office of 

Tribal Relations Strategy that provides program guidance and 

accountability. Essentially, the roadmap raises the visibility of 

tribal engagement for USDA Forest Service research scientists 

and others.

USDA Forest Service Research & Development Tribal Engagement 

Roadmap Objectives:

1. Build new and enhance existing partnerships with tribes, 

indigenous and native groups, tribal colleges, tribal communities, and intertribal organizations.

2. Institutionalize trust responsibilities and tribal engagement 

within USDA Forest Service R&D.

3. Increase and advance tribal and indigenous values, knowledge, and perspectives within USDA Forest Service R&D, 

including both operational and research activities.

4. Network and coordinate within R&D and across deputy 

areas to increase agency and R&D program efficacy.

5. Through a collaborative and participatory approach with 

tribes and tribal organizations, advance research on topics 

of joint interest, such as: climate change, fire science and 

management, traditional ecological knowledge, water and 

watershed protection, fish and wildlife, forest products and 

utilization, nontimber forest products, restoration, social 

vulnerability, and sustainability.

6. Develop and deploy research and technologies to support 

tribal decisionmaking on natural resources issues.

Major themes for future collaborative work between USDA 

Forest Service R&D and tribes include tribal youth engagement, developing the next generation of scientists; joint efforts 

on climate change science, including wildfire changes and 

impacts on culturally important species; and decision support, 

including tool development and application. For the past 

few years, USDA Forest Service R&D has been attempting 

to strengthen its partnerships with tribes, native groups, and 

intertribal organizations. Prior to this initiative, engagement 

with tribes and tribal organizations occurred mainly at the 

scientist level where individual scientists pursued partnerships 

and projects with these groups. R&D is institutionalizing a 

tribal research program to ensure that the organization, as 

a whole, is appropriately engaging with tribes and native 

communities. This institutionalization will ensure that ties are 

not broken if and when particular individuals leave. View the 

Tribal Engagement Roadmap at http://www.fs.fed.us/research/

docs/tribal-engagement/consultation/roadmap.pdf.

We firmly believe that engaging with tribes 

on projects that incorporate traditional 

cultural and spiritual approaches with the 

best available science will lead to new and 

effective ways to accomplish sustainable 

land management across all landscapes. We 

invite all our partners to join Forest Service 

Research and Development in this effort.

—Carlos Rodriguez-Franco, Acting Research 

and Development Deputy Chief, Forest Service 

Introduction
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 3

Background

Of all the acres held 

in trust for tribes and 

individuals, nearly 

4,000 miles border 

Forest Service lands.

USDA Forest Service ranger in the Cabinet Mountains of Montana. USDA Forest Service photo, 1909.

Forest Service

With approximately 818 million acres (331 million hectares)

of forest area (USDA Forest Service 2014)—about one-third of 

land area—the United States is the fourth most forested country in the world. U.S. forests store and filter more than half of 

the Nation’s water supply and absorb approximately 12 percent 

of the country’s carbon emissions. The U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service supports the sustainable 

stewardship of 18 million acres (7.2 million hectares) of forest 

lands on Indian reservations, 68 million acres (27 million 

hectares) of State forest land, more than 137 million acres (52 

million hectares) of urban and community forests, and 423 

million acres (171 million hectares) of private forest land, as 

well as manages 193 million acres (78 million hectares) of 

National Forest System land. These National Forest System 

lands include 154 national forests, 20 national grasslands, and 

1 national tallgrass prairie and cover 43 States, Puerto Rico, and 

the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The USDA Forest Service is the Nation’s foremost Federal forestry 

organization, providing leadership in the management, protection, use, research, and stewardship of natural and cultural 

resources on the United States’ vast forests and grasslands. The 

USDA Forest Service was established in 1905 to sustainably 

manage our national forests and promote conservation across 

the land. The USDA Forest Service is committed to retaining 

forests and grasslands for present and future generations.

The mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of 

the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.
4 Forest Service Research and Development

Background

Huckleberry picking on the Gifford 

Pinchot National Forest in Washington. 

USDA Forest Service photo, date 

unknown.

All or part of every national forest and grassland is carved out of the ancestral 

lands of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples. Indigenous communities 

across the country still maintain strong historical and spiritual connections to 

the land and connections that have not been extinguished despite changes in 

land ownership.

—Leslie Weldon, National Forest System Deputy Chief, USDA Forest Service

American Indians and Alaska Natives and Tribal Sovereignty

According to 2010 Census data, the combined American Indian 

and Alaska Native population is 5.2 million. Numerous distinct 

indigenous groups exist as well, including those of Pacific 

Islanders in Hawaii, American Samoa, and Guam. Within the 

United States, 567 federally recognized tribal nations currently 

exist as sovereign governments. Approximately 229 of these 

ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse nations are 

located in Alaska; the other federally recognized tribes are 

located in 33 other States.

American Indian tribal governments have always retained 

sovereignty and maintained the sole right to self-determination. 

This sovereignty includes lawmaking and enforcement, 

defining territory, determining citizenship, regulating trade 

and property, and forming alliances with other nations through 

treaties and other agreements.

Federal Trust Responsibility

Since the arrival of European colonists and the formation 

of the United States, Indian tribal governments have lost up 

to 98 percent of their aboriginal land base (Smith 2004). In 

addition to the 18 million acres (7.2 million hectares) of forest 

lands on Indian reservations, approximately 52 million acres 

(21 million hectares) of land are held in trust by the United 

States for various Indian tribes and individuals. Much of the 

lands managed by the USDA Forest Service and other Federal 

agencies were ceded to the United States by tribes. Although 

they no longer reside on these lands, many tribes retain rights 

and interests in national forests and grasslands by treaty. Of all 

the acres held in trust for tribes and individuals, nearly 4,000 

miles (≈ 6,400 km) border USDA Forest Service lands.

Federally recognized tribal governments and Alaska Native 

Corporations have a government-to-government relationship 

with the United States, as set forth in the Constitution of the 

United States, treaties, statutes, court decisions, Executive 

orders, and Presidential memoranda. From 1778 to 1871, 

the U.S. Government ratified approximately 400 treaties with 

Indian nations, agreeing to preserve their ability to exercise 

their sovereign rights as were reserved by the signatory tribes.
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 5

Overview of Tribal Engagement 

Highlights

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2014.

The Forest Service Research and Development Tribal Engagement Roadmap is a strong 

step forward to mobilizing the ingenuity, skill, and effort of USDA Forest Service, Research 

and Development with the expertise and wisdom of Indian people in order to tackle the 

large natural resource issues facing our nations. There is so much we know but have been 

unable to effectively share across cultures. Every day, working together lets us share and 

learn new lessons, both in improving our understanding of the world we live in and in 

how to more effectively work together on our common problems. By integrating different 

ways of understanding, we can learn together to better manage our resources, not only 

for the benefit of historically underserved tribal communities, but also for the American 

public broadly.

—Chris Farley, lead editor of the Forest Service Research and Development Tribal Engagement Roadmap 

and management analyst for the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 

Strategic Management and Accountability program 
6 Forest Service Research and Development

It is important to conduct research with 

American Indian tribes and communities to 

incorporate their values, knowledge, and 

shared interest with natural and cultural 

resource management approaches of mutual 

benefit to address the threats and stressors 

of climate change, ecological disturbances, 

and related socioeconomic pressures.

—Frank Lake, Karuk descendant, research 

ecologist and tribal climate change point of 

contact for the USDA Forest Service, Pacific 

Southwest Research Station. 

Frank Lake and his son Leland, Karuk descendants, after using 

prescribed fire in northern California to reduce fuels for wildfire risk 

reduction, to reduce insects and disease, and to improve future harvests 

of acorns, a culturally valued food source. Photo by Luna Latimer, 2015.

Intent

This USDA Forest Service Research and Development Tribal 

Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report is intended to provide 

recent examples of tribal engagement that reflect the aims 

of the USDA Forest Service Research and Development Tribal 

Engagement Roadmap (Tribal Engagement Roadmap), share that 

information internally and externally across different sectors, 

interests, and geographic regions; and identify areas where the 

agency should move forward. The creation of this document 

helps us, as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest 

Service employees, to institutionalize our Trust responsibilities; 

communicate areas and opportunities for tribal engagement; 

increase and advance tribal and indigenous values, knowledge, 

and perspectives within USDA Forest Service, Research and 

Development (R&D); and network and coordinate within 

R&D and across deputy areas to increase R&D program and 

USDA Forest Service effectiveness. This document also serves 

to communicate and connect some of the existing partnerships 

and endeavors with tribes, indigenous and native groups, tribal 

colleges, tribal communities, and intertribal organizations (all 

objectives of the Tribal Engagement Roadmap).

Methodology

The USDA Forest Service R&D has tribal liaisons at each of 

the seven research stations: 

(1) Pacific Northwest Research Station, 

(2) Pacific Southwest Research Station, 

(3) Rocky Mountain Research Station, 

(4) Southern Research Station, 

(5) Northern Research Station, 

(6) Forest Products Laboratory, and 

(7) International Institute of Tropical Forestry.

These research scientists/tribal liaisons provided updates on 

current research efforts, partnerships, agreements, youth 

engagement, assistantships, internships, and collaborative 

People tell me that working with tribes is the 

most rewarding aspect of their jobs. 

—Fred Clark, Office of Tribal Relations 

Director, USDA Forest Service

Overview of Tribal Engagement Highlights
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 7

initiatives. Of the multitude of recent efforts relayed to the 

Washington Office, R&D staff chose 27 items to highlight 

in this report. The items focus on, but are not limited to, the 

work of the USDA Forest Service Research and Development 

(R&D) Deputy Area. These highlighted items were chosen 

to reflect examples from broad geographic regions across the 

United States (Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest, the Rocky 

Mountain region, the South, and the North) at various scales 

(local/landscape, regional, national, and international). USDA 

Forest Service research scientists and tribal partners, including 

some of the agency’s student research scientists and interns, 

provided information, text, edits, photographs, and quotes. The 

items that are highlighted were also chosen to present a broad 

suite of benefits and values the agency is tasked to provide and 

protect, as well as to describe some of the many research methodologies and technologies that can support tribal decisionmaking 

on natural resource issues (Tribal Engagement Roadmap 

objectives 4 and 5).

Content

The topics highlighted in this report reflect many of the traditional 

issues managed by the USDA Forest Service. Governments in 

the United States and abroad are contending with past human 

disturbance, degraded and shifted ecosystems and habitat, invasive 

insects and plants, fire risk, and increased human populations 

and related energy demands, development, and loss of forest 

cover. The USDA Forest Service and tribal governments are 

interested in forest products and their inventory, sawmill operations, fuel reduction, and restoration, and the highlighted items 

demonstrate the interest and need for partnering and collaboration across landscapes. The effects of globalization, climate 

change,1 and environmental injustice are evident, and the need 

to respond to these issues urgent. Indigenous populations are 

particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts and are confronting disproportionate risks to their culture and economies 

(Parrotta and Agnoletti 2012, Lynn et al 2011). Much, if not 

most, of tribal engagement resources are utilized to protect 

remaining species, habitats, and places of cultural value, as well 

as the people that depend on them. These items illustrate the 

importance of efficient institutional/forest governance processes 

and a need for increased capacity and resources.

These examples also illustrate an intrinsic understanding of 

connectivity across the landscape and across elements of forest 

ecosystems (e.g., the integration of trees and understory plants 

and fungi or the link between the headwaters of streams and 

resulting fish spawn). Tribes have a unique reciprocal relationship with respect for and responsibility to ecological processes, 

places, and species that demonstrates a holistic view of natural 

resource management that has evolved over centuries (Lynn 

et al. 2013). These tribal engagement endeavors help describe 

the multiple values and benefits, the “ecosystem services” that 

forests provide, including the cultural benefits that are integral 

to tribal identity and existence. Topics such as traditional ecological knowledge, traditional forest management, agroforestry, 

traditional foods, and socio-cultural impacts are also highlighted. These examples from various geographic regions provide 

cases where place-based information and local history links 

to ecological, economic, and sociopolitical global processes. 

These cases of tribal engagement have informed USDA Forest 

Service responsibilities within the International Union of Forest 

Research Organizations and the World Forestry Congress and 

are integral to the agency’s participation in global issues such as 

Forest Landscape Restoration2 and carbon sequestration.

Again, there are similarities in the traditions of tribal communities and the traditions of the USDA Forest Service—all share 

a respect for individuals who have engaged in these natural 

landscapes throughout their lives and for communities who 

have these areas and identities entwined over generations. 

These traditions, both agency and tribal, are committed to 

restoring and protecting these areas for present and future 

generations. Developing relationships with American Indian, 

Alaska Native, and other indigenous peoples is fundamental 

to protecting traditional knowledge and culture and finding 

effective solutions to landscape-scale challenges in the context 

of climate change and development. The commitment reflected 

in this tribal engagement document illustrates how cross-cultural learning, transparency, and relationship building can 

help revitalize tribal communities and rural America, reduce 

poverty, and facilitate environmental justice.

1

 “Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of 

severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems. Limiting climate change would require substantial and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas 

emissions which, together with adaptation, can limit climate change risks.” – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2015

2

 To find out more about Forest Landscape Restoration and the U.S. pledge to restore 37 million acres (15 million hectares), visit http://www.forestlandscaperestoration.

org/topic/bonn-challenge.
8 Forest Service Research and Development

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The Pacific Northwest—Alaska

Copper River Delta, Alaska. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2013.

Coastal Geomorphology and Traditional Food in Southeast Alaska

Yakutat, Hoonah, Angoon, Kake, Klawock, and Kasaan

Over the past 60 years, the average temperature across Alaska has increased by approximately 3 °F, more than twice the 

warming seen in the rest of the United States (Chapin et al. 

2014). Rising temperatures in Alaska are already thawing 

permafrost, decreasing Arctic sea ice, shifting ecosystems, 

and threatening the traditional livelihoods of Alaska Natives. 

The location, extent, and productivity of critical areas 

for vital plants, fish, and wildlife are expected to change, 

decreasing the availability of traditional foods for Alaska 

Natives. Many of these affected species are fundamental 

to the cultural identity of these communities. Because of 

their vital roles in diet, materials, medicine, and spiritual 

practices, they are considered cultural keystone species 

(Garibaldi and Turner 2014).

In the summer of 2015, the USDA Forest Service, Pacific 

Northwest Research Station initiated a coastal geomorphology 

and first foods study to explore coastal changes and potential 

impacts to Alaska Native and rural community foods. The 

USDA Forest Service is working with Alaska Natives in six 

southeast Alaska communities (Yakutat, Hoonah, Angoon, 

Kake, Klawock, and Kasaan). Researchers at the Pacific 

Northwest Research Station are working with high school 

students and adult mentors to identify cultural keystone 

species that are used by local residents, potential changes 

related to sea level rise, and other climate change-related 

effects. Using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ShoreZone database with near-shore 

Adelaide (Di) Johnson, a USDA Forest Service hydrologist, and 

Sierra Ezzrè, a Tlingit High School student from Juneau, AK, 

conducting a geomorphology beach survey in Yakutat, AK. 

Photo by Linda Kruger, 2015.
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 9

Sheridan Glacier, Cordova, Alaska. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2013.

ocean depths and available isostatic3 rebound, tectonic movement, and rates of sea level rise, the researchers derived change 

in shore width and unit length. Researchers compared physical 

attributes, including slope, substrate, and exposure, with the 

presence and abundance of species, such as blue mussels, green 

algae, eel grass, red algae, and bull kelp, as well as intratidal and 

intertidal ShoreZone database species groups.

High school student interns were selected, and subsistencerelated questions were identified through conversations with 

local residents. Interns met with local residents to identify the 

communities’ use of different species, typical characteristics of 

species habitat, and potential threats to habitats and species. 

Summaries of predicted coastal change and potential threats 

to species are being developed for each of the six underserved 

communities. Sierra Ezzrè, a Tlingit High School student from 

Juneau, Alaska, assisted with the research and gave a presentation on this project at the InterTribal Youth Climate Leaders 

Congress in the summer of 2015 at the Natural Conservation 

Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. More 

information on the impacts of climate change on traditional 

foods can be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/journals/

pnw_2014_lynn001.pdf. 

Wood Energy and Forest Products in Alaska

Sealaska Regional Native Corporation, Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority, 

Gulkana Village, and Gwitchyaa Zhee Corporation

The environmental, economic, and political challenges of 

using coal and oil have generated unprecedented collaboration 

between Federal agencies, the private sector, nongovernment 

organizations, and the public to provide renewable energy. 

Bioenergy programs and research regarding opportunities, 

such as woody biomass, have wide-ranging effects from local to 

international scales, including community economic development and reducing global carbon emissions. Woody biomass 

utilization must factor in issues such as terrain, accessibility, 

These lands are vital not only to our subsistence, but also to our sense of being as 

Tlingit people.

—Gabriel George, Tlingit, Angoon, Isthmus 

Town, speaking about subsistence at a 

USDA Forest Service public hearing in 1990 

(Thornton 2012)

3

 The equilibrium that exists between parts of the Earth’s crust, which behaves as if it consists of blocks floating on the underlying mantle, rising if material (such as an 

ice cap) is removed and sinking if material is deposited (Oxford).
10 Forest Service Research and Development

travel distances, and production costs, but technological improvements and consumer demand could make wood energy a 

viable competitor with other renewable energy sources such as 

solar, wind, and geothermal energy in certain areas. The Pacific 

Northwest Research Station is examining what is necessary 

to make wood-based energy a viable option for local heating 

and energy production. Over the past decade, Alaska has seen 

significant growth in the use of wood for energy, as well as the 

number of facilities heating with wood. The cost of alternative 

fuels, such as heating oil, was a primary factor in influencing 

the switch to wood energy. 

In coordination with representatives from the Sealaska Regional 

Native Corporation and the Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing 

Authority (both based in Juneau, Alaska), researchers at the 

Pacific Northwest Research Station recently conducted a wood 

energy case study regarding wood pellet systems. Case study 

work also included the examination of three cordwood energy 

systems, including one in Gulkana Village, a native village 

located in south-central Alaska. This research will assist tribes 

and native communities in planning for future wood energy 

systems, such as choosing the type of wood fuel to use for 

the greatest benefit. In addition, the USDA Forest Service has 

been working with the Gwitchyaa Zhee Corporation (Fort 

Yukon Tribal Government) with biomass harvesting, wood 

measurement, and moisture content determination. The Pacific 

Northwest Research Station scientists recently participated 

in various activities with the Gwitchyaa Zhee Corporation 

regarding scaling tree-length material (e.g., cotton wood) and 

estimating harvest material moisture content. Supervising the 

preliminary scaling of wood harvested in 2013, 2014, and 

2015 resulted in an initial estimate of scale for the corporation’s 

utilities manager. Scientists harvested material and processed 

and analyzed moisture content samples in coordination with 

USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry staff. The 

preliminary findings determined that there was not a significant 

difference in drying rates for material harvested over the 3-year 

period.

Bioenergy is more commonly used in Europe than in the 

United States, and much could be learned by examining 

the policies and technology that have facilitated its use 

there. Wood-based energy and wood products, especially in 

niche locations and with new market initiatives, can lead to 

numerous benefits, including lower energy costs and reduced 

greenhouse gas emissions. In 2010, the Sealaska Corporation 

installed Alaska’s first large-scale pellet boiler at its corporate 

headquarters in Juneau, Alaska. The Tok School in southeast 

Alaska installed a chip-fired boiler that displaces approximately 

65,000 gallons of fuel oil annually. More than 20 schools, 

forest products producers, or government agencies are using 

wood heating systems in Alaska, and this use of wood energy 

has enabled rural communities to become more self-sufficient 

while reducing energy costs. To read more about this issue, 

visit http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/sciencef/scifi174.pdf.

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The Pacific Northwest—Alaska
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 11

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The Pacific Northwest

Republic Ranger District, Colville National Forest. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2010.

Mapping, Cultural Values, and Collaborative Restoration in Washington

Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation

The USDA Forest Service Collaborative Forest Landscape 

Restoration Program (CFLRP) has identified 23 high-priority landscapes in 15 States for collaborative, science-based 

restoration that is focused on fuel reduction to mitigate wildfire 

risk and support ecological, economic, and social sustainability. 

In 2012, the Northeast Washington Forest Vision 2020 project 

(NWFV 2020) was selected for funding under the USDA Forest 

Service High-Priority Restoration Program and assimilated 

into CFLRP in 2013. The NWFV 2020 project is focused on 

restoring fire-regulated forests to increase forest ecosystem 

resilience and the sustainability of the human-environment 

systems in and around the Colville National Forest. A new 

effort is underway between the USDA Forest Service Rocky 

Mountain Research Station, NWFV 2020, the USDA Forest 

Service Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, the School 

of Geography at the University of Leeds, the College of Natural 

Resources at the University of Idaho, and the Colville Indian 

Agency to study native ecosystems and national forest uses 

of cultural interest to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville 

Reservation (CTCR).

The project is applying a Participatory Geographic Information 

Systems (PGIS) protocol for a collaborative effort between the 

Colville National Forest staff and tribal members and descendants with knowledge of the Republic Ranger District of the 

Colville National Forest. This effort would map, document, and 

monitor the distribution and qualities of culturally important 

places to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation 

and examine how they might be affected by the treatments 

planned via the restoration project. The project aims to explore 

the associations between the distribution of those identified 

conservation risks and other attributes, such as land cover, 

land use, fire regime history, and the interactions between 

plant species. Tribal representatives will be asked how they feel 

about the ways in which management-ignited fires, mechanical 

understory thinning, and wildland fire policies interact with the 

values and meanings they attach to national forest lands and 

cultural uses (e.g., hunting, fishing, firewood gathering, and the 

gathering of food plants and resources used for medicines and 

clothing). Tribal representatives will also be asked to map areas 

they believe need one or more of these types of treatments and 

why the treatments are needed. They will also be asked to map 

and discuss places that should not be treated in any of these 

ways, and why not. This will allow the information regarding 

culturally significant resources to be integrated into the larger 

context of the CFLRP project.

PGIS provides a methodology that can include different stakeholders in collaborative spatial planning processes (Kingston 

2007), store and manage geospatial data (Elwood 2006), and 

enable landscape classifications that are based on values that 

people have attached to certain locations when coupled with 

multimedia data such as participant comments and or photographs (Sanchez-Trigueros et al. 2014). All data will remain in the 

ownership of the tribes and will be used with their permission 

for CFLRP reporting. For more information on CFLRP, visit: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/CFLRP/index.shtml. For more 

information on PGIS, read about Mapping Meanings (Map-Me), 

a PGIS tool developed in partnership by the Aldo Leopold 

Wilderness Research Institute and the School of Geography at 

the University of Leeds at http://www.map-me.org.
12 Forest Service Research and Development

Wildfire Risk, Fuels Management, and Technology in Oregon

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs

Decades of fire suppression and past land management 

practices, in combination with a changing climate, have 

resulted in the largest and/or most destructive fires that many 

States have seen in decades. Researchers have shown a 78-day 

increase in the western fire season since 1970, possibly due to a 

gradual rising of average spring and summer temperatures and 

the time of snowmelt (Westerling et al. 2006). If these patterns 

persist, scientists predict the Western States will continue to get 

hotter and drier by the end of the century. In such conditions, 

fire seasons will grow longer and fires will likely increase in 

number and intensity.

The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment 

Center (WWETAC), a unit of the Pacific Northwest Research 

Station, generates and integrates knowledge and information to 

provide credible prediction, early detection, and quantitative 

assessment of environmental threats in the Western United 

States. WWETAC has been involved with technology transfer 

and training of fuel-management tools with the Confederated 

Tribes of Warm Springs in central Oregon. In February 2014, 

WWETAC organized a training for the Warm Springs fire and 

fuels management group, including 10 personnel from the fuels 

group, silviculture4 group, and Geographic Information System 

(GIS) staff, who participated in an ArcFuels training.

ArcFuels allows scientists, planners, and stakeholders to incorporate various sources of data to model forest growth and fire 

behavior for a single forest stand or a large landscape. Information from ArcFuels can aid in vegetation management, fuel 

treatment planning, wildfire behavior modeling, and wildfire 

risk assessments. Since then, a fire ecologist at WWETAC has 

supported the tribes’ planning efforts, assisting in the preparing 

of the tribes’ data for use in the Landscape Treatment Designer 

program to develop an all-lands fuels treatment and silviculture 

plan. This landscape treatment program helps design fuel 

treatment scenarios using forest stand conditions, potential fire 

behavior, and the location of features such as critical habitat or 

homes that are susceptible to fire. View the WWETAC Web site 

to learn more: http://www.fs.fed.us/wwetac/wwetac.html.

Blending Traditional and Scientific Ecological Knowledge and Special 

(Nontimber) Forest Products in the Pacific Northwest

Grand Ronde, Karuk, Siletz, and Yakama Tribes in California, Oregon, and Washington

Thousands of nontimber forest products (NTFPs)—or special 

forest products—are collected for food, medicine, fiber, dye, 

building materials, arts, etc. The harvesting of NTFPs is quite 

different than the wood products that are the primary focus of 

forest management; moreover, this understory vegetation and 

fungi shifts with changes in tree cover. Integrating these resources 

into silvicultural plans for producing wood and reducing fuels 

can create management efficiencies but requires information 

about them. Knowing about the ecology, abundance, and 

spatial distribution of NTFPs, for example, and how harvesting, 

forest management practices, and social dimensions impact 

them will aid in sustaining populations of special forest products.

Recent research advanced methods to blend traditional 

ecological and Western scientific knowledge to learn about 

good sites for harvesting beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax) for tribal 

It is important for tribal weavers to communicate with people who have decisionmaking authority 

over our lands.

—Bud Lane, President, Northwest Native American Basket Weavers Association, 2014

4

 Silviculture is the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests and woodlands to meet the diverse needs and 

values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis.

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The Pacific Northwest
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 13

Forest Service employee conducting a beargrass plot survey. Photo by B. Gervais, USDA Forest Service, 2012.

weaving. This understory plant is native across an extensive 

range and is used by tribal communities and commercial floral 

markets in the Pacific Northwest. Many tribal communities 

locate and harvest beargrass for tribal basketry. The leaves of 

the plant are flexible and strong, and evidence suggests that 

some tribal basket weavers prefer thin, long, pliable leaves that 

are associated with postfire conditions (Hummel and Lake 

2015; Hummel et al. 2012). Expert weavers from the Grand 

Ronde, Karuk, Siletz, and Yakama Tribes in California, Oregon, 

and Washington participated in the study. Agency researchers 

examined what forest site conditions were associated with tribal 

basket weavers, classifying a particular beargrass site as “good, 

marginal, or poor.” Field measurements, such as the average 

number of trees per acre, average level of down woody material, and the density and color of beargrass plants were collected 

and evaluated. The ability to move around and harvest within 

the sites was also considered and was an important decision 

factor for the weavers.

As requested by tribal participants, research sites remained 

confidential. Effective communication between scientists, 

managers, and resource users is essential, and information 

regarding the management of culturally important plants 

derived from both scientific and traditional ecological 

knowledge can aid in designing silvicultural treatments 

to sustain desired population qualities and quantities. For 

more information on this effort, read Forest Site Classification 

for Cultural Plant Harvest by Tribal Weavers Can Inform 

Management, an Open Access article at http://www.fs.fed.us/

pnw/pubs/journals/pnw_2015_hummel001.pdf or download 

this USDA Forest Service brochure at http://www.fs.fed.us/

pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr912.pdf.
14 Forest Service Research and Development

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The Pacific Southwest

Giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) Southern Sierra Nevada, California. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2015.

Traditional Food in California

Yurok Tribe in Northern California

Traditional foods, particularly wild species utilized by indigenous peoples 

for thousands of years, are mostly harvested on public forests and 

grasslands. This is becoming increasingly difficult due to development, 

jurisdictional restrictions, and a changing climate, which is a profound 

detriment to indigenous communities and a threat to the fabric of culture, 

tradition, nutrition, trading-based economies, and identity. The need to 

maintain and enhance community health and well-being through ties to 

traditional food is essential. 

The Yurok people, members of the largest tribe in the State of California, 

used to live in more than 70 villages throughout their ancestral territory 

along the Lower Klamath River and the Pacific Coast. Beginning in the 

These foods are essential to our people’s health, 

wellness, and religious ceremonies. Our way was 

never to over harvest and to always ensure sustainability of our food supply for future generations. 

—Member of the Yurok Tribe

Kagat McQuillen, Yurok Tribal Member and Humboldt State University master’s degree 

student in the Pacific Southwest Redwood Experimental Forest. Photo by Frank Lake, 

USDA Forest Service, 2015.
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 15

www.istockphotos.com.

By putting fire back on the landscape, we 

intend to restore the currently wildfire-prone 

desert into a healthy, biodiverse, fruit-, nut-, 

and wildlife-rich forest.

—Leaf Hillman, Director, Karuk Department 

of Natural Resources

The Klamath is everything to me. It is my 

home, church, garden, highway, counselor, 

friend, brother, and provider.

—Barry Wayne McCovey, Jr., Yurok Tribal 

Fisheries Department, 2002

1850s, settlers and treaties removed the Yurok people’s lands, 

rivers, and fishing rights. By the end of the Gold Rush Era, at 

least 75 percent of the Yurok people had died due to massacres 

and disease. The Yurok people continue to collect traditional 

foods from the sea, rivers, and forests of northern California. 

Kagat McQuillen, a Yurok Tribal member in California and 

a master’s degree student at Humboldt State University, is 

inventorying Yurok traditional food plants in the USDA Forest 

Service Redwood Experimental Forest, which is administered 

by the Six Rivers National Forest in Yurok ancestral territory. 

The forest is on the coast and north of the community of 

Klamath, where the Yurok Tribal headquarters is located. The 

study, in coordination with the USDA Forest Service Pacific 

Southwest Research Station, is inventorying and mapping 

food plants. This research partnership with the Yurok Tribe 

will be used to suggest cultural management practices to be 

utilized by the USDA Forest Service to enhance the yield of 

traditional foods. Because the work is conducted within an 

experimental forest, there is opportunity for implementing 

research treatments as traditional food management practices 

to evaluate changes in the ecological qualities of these tribally 

valued plants.
16 Forest Service Research and Development

Frank Lake, USDA Forest Service, and Jesse Goodwin, Karuk food crew member, examine evergreen huckleberries. Photo by Colleen Rossier, 2014. 

Agroforestry and Traditional Forest Management for Restoration in California 

Karuk and Yurok Tribes in Northern California

Agroforestry systems, where trees are incorporated with crops 

(and/or livestock), have various and dynamic forms that have 

been used and enriched by communities around the world for 

centuries. These areas have been and are managed to provide 

food, fuel, building materials, tools, hunting and trapping 

equipment, baskets, art, and/or ceremonial spaces. In the 

United States, five agroforestry practices are usually described: 

forest farming, alley cropping, riparian forest buffers, windbreaks, and silvopasture.

Incorporating traditional ecological knowledge in an agroforestry context has allowed tribal communities to restore forest 

biodiversity and wildlife habitat in northern California, to some 

extent. The Karuk and Yurok Tribes, in partnership with the 

USDA Forest Service, University of California–Berkeley, and 

University of California–Davis, are using traditional agroforestry methods to revitalize some of their ancestral forests. The 

traditional land management systems of the Karuk and Yurok 

Tribes include forest-grown foods, such as acorns, pine nuts, 

huckleberries, hazelnuts, raspberries, deer, elk, and mushrooms, as well as salmon and eels that require cool, spring-fed 

water. While these foods are still present, they are scarce and of 

relatively poor quality compared to historic levels. Traditional 

land management systems incorporated a range of burns at 

different intensities and frequencies, as well as a variety of 

pruning, gathering, and hunting techniques.

With the recent publication of Indigenous Traditional Ecological 

Knowledge in Agroforestry, the USDA Forest Service National 

Agroforestry Center aims to: (1) acknowledge indigenous traditional ecological knowledge of agroforestry systems, (2) express 

a desire to learn from tribal communities that are currently 

practicing agroforestry, and (3) support others interested in 

practicing agroforestry. Find this publication at http://nac.

unl.edu/documents/agroforestrynotes/an44g14.pdf. For more 

information on agroforestry practices, please visit the Web site 

of the USDA National Agroforestry Center: http://nac.unl.edu/.

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The Pacific Southwest
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 17

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The Rocky Mountains

Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho. USDA Forest Service photo, date unknown.

Fisheries, Genetics, and Citizen Science in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, 

and Washington

Kalispel, Nez Perce, Shoshone-Bannock, and Snoqualmie Tribes 

Bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, are members of the 

salmon family and are native to Washington, Oregon, 

Idaho, Nevada, Montana, and Western Canada. Once an 

abundant species, bull trout have declined due to habitat 

degradation, population isolation, nonnative species 

invasions (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2014), and 

range reduction in response to climate change (Eby et al. 

2014). They are listed as threatened under the Endangered 

Species Act. Federal listing mandates that agencies have 

reliable and precise information about the distribution 

of bull trout in thousands of streams, but bull trout 

surveys are expensive because the fish are often rare and 

difficult to collect (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2008). 

Consequently, many potentially or historically occupied 

habitats have been sampled infrequently or not at all. The 

uncertainty about bull trout distributions comes at a cost: 

agencies may not be able to efficiently target their limited 

conservation resources, may forego or delay critical land 

management decisions for other objectives, and may 

even avoid monitoring populations because of the added 

burden of obtaining sampling permits.

Celilo Falls, traditional fishing grounds on the Columbia River, before the 

Dalles Dam was constructed. Oregon State University Special Collection, 

date unknown.
18 Forest Service Research and Development

Dan Bingham (former USDA Forest Service employee) and a bull trout. Photo by Michael Young, USDA Forest Service, 2009.

However, researchers at the USDA Forest Service’s National 

Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation have 

pioneered advances in the field of environmental DNA (eDNA), 

which provide precise, robust information about the presence 

of bull trout that can be collected quickly and at low cost across 

the entire range of this species. They have also developed 

the first reliable eDNA assay for salmonid fish species and a 

field-proven eDNA sampling protocol that requires only 15 

minutes of effort by one individual (Carim et al. 2014; Wilcox 

et al. 2014 and 2013). These collected samples are easily 

stored while in the field, can be processed in the lab in under 

48 hours, cost as little as $65 to analyze, and have been found 

to be remarkably sensitive. In earlier research, 100 percent 

detection efficiency of target species was achieved despite 

order-of-magnitude changes in stream discharge (Jane et al. 

2015).

USDA Forest Service scientists are engaging with the tribes in 

Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington to use this genetic 

sampling to detect bull trout and other species. Researchers 

are working with the Snoqualmie Tribe in Washington to 

detect bull trout presence and develop eDNA tools to detect 

other species such as redband trout and steelhead. The Shoban 

Tribe of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe in Idaho and the USDA 

Forest Service are working together to detect several culturally 

important species of interest through designing species-specific 

assays, including bull trout. The Kalispel Tribe in Washington 

is collaborating with the USDA Forest Service on nonnative 

brook trout detection associated with efforts to remove them 

and restore native cutthroat trout. In Montana, USDA Forest 

Service researchers are working with the Nez Perce Tribe to 

develop these eDNA tools for chinook salmon, steelhead, 

lamprey, and bull trout. This work with tribes is integrated 

into a larger effort to engage a diverse set of partners, including 

State and Federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, 

academic institutions, and local citizens. To learn more about 

these efforts, or to get engaged as a citizen science volunteer to 

collect samples, visit the USDA Forest Service Genomics Center 

Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/research/genomics-center/edna/.

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The Rocky Mountains
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 19

Puerto Pueblo, New Mexico. Tania Ellersick, 2010.

Climate Change and Partnering in Arizona and New Mexico

Tribes of Arizona and New Mexico

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) 

based at Northern Arizona University (NAU) since 1992 

“strengthens tribal capacity and sovereignty in environmental 

and natural resource management through culturally relevant 

education, research, partnerships, and policy-based services.” 

In 2010, the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research 

Station entered into a joint venture agreement with NAU and 

ITEP to learn about the needs of tribes in the Southwest in 

regard to climate change. The aim was to assess the climate 

change adaptation and mitigation needs and concerns of tribes 

in Arizona and New Mexico, to research and communicate 

available opportunities and resources that tribes might utilize 

to address those needs and concerns, and to provide relevant 

management information to USDA Forest Service land managers. 

The Southwest Tribal Climate Change Network was developed 

in 2011 to encourage coordination and collaboration between 

agencies, organizations, and tribes to meet the needs tribes 

have in accessing climate change resources and information. 

The network has met by quarterly conference calls, engaging 

various entities on numerous topics (e.g., desert landscape 

conservation, restoring sacred waters, and climate change adaptation) and has served as a resource for ITEP to inform tribes 

and tribal organizations of available funding opportunities, 

upcoming events, and relevant resources. The ITEP relationship 

has expanded with partners from the University of Oregon and 

the Pacific Northwest Research Station, which formed the Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Project (http:tribalclimate.

uoregon.edu). This facilitates dialogue among northwest tribes, 

Federal agencies, landscape conservation cooperatives, climate 

science centers, and tribal organizations such as the Affiliated 

Tribes of Northwest Indians, Northwest Indian Fisheries 

Commission, Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, and 

the Intertribal Timber Council. Resources such as newsletters, 

fact sheets, an adaptation planning toolkit, and ITEP reports 

can be found on the ITEP Web site: http://www7.nau.edu/itep/

main/tcc/Home/. 

Havasupai member, Arizona. Photo by Terry Eiler, 1972, 

and courtesy of the U.S. National Archives.
20 Forest Service Research and Development

Prescribed burn in Arizona. USDA Forest Service photo, 2013.

Vegetation Recovery, Carbon Dynamics, Climate Change, and Post-Fire 

Management in Arizona

White Mountain Apache Tribe

The effects of climate change on forests around the world include shifts in species distribution, increases in drought-related 

mortality, and changes to disturbance regimes (e.g., increases 

in insect and disease outbreaks and fire). Understanding the 

interaction of fire and climate change is of key concern for 

fire-regulated forests of the Western United States, where increases in fire extent, frequency, and severity have been linked 

to climate change (Shive et al. 2014, Miller and Safford 2012, 

Littell et al. 2009, and Westerling et al. 2006) and where severe 

fires can shift large areas of carbon sinks to carbon sources, 

intensifying climate change (Shive et al. 2014, Restaino and 

Peterson 2013, Hurteau and Brooks 2011, and Dore et al. 

2008). Strategies to promote forest resilience must incorporate 

climate change and its effects, including how forests (and the 

associated carbon) respond to various fuel treatments and fire. 

The 2002 Rodeo-Chediski Fire in east-central Arizona was one 

of the largest and most severe wildfires recorded in the United 

States. The fire burned nearly 470,000 acres (190,000 million 

hectares), over half of which occurred on the White Mountain Apache Tribal lands. Rocky Mountain Research Station 

scientists collaborated with researchers from Northern Arizona 

University, University of California–Berkeley, and the University of Idaho to examine this area in coordination with the White 

Mountain Apache Tribe. The tribe was engaged in all phases of 

the research, from getting permission to sample, through the 

research process, in the presentation of results, to the permission for publishing the results.

The effort Managing Burned Landscapes: Evaluating future management strategies for resilient forests under a warming climate 

(Shive et al. 2014) modeled the post-fire growth in Ponderosa 

pine forests using the Forest Vegetation Simulator Climate Extension. This uses information such as pre-fire fuel treatments 

and fire severity (which is defined by the degree of overstory 

tree mortality). The results stress the need for site-specific 

adaptive management approaches that can promote ecosystem 

resilience and provide forest benefits such as timber, carbon, 

and habitat in a changing climate. Simulating post-wildfire forest 

trajectories under alternative climate and management scenarios

(Azpeleta Tarancón et al. 2014) describes the application of the 

Climate-Forest Vegetation Simulator (Climate-FVS) to compare alternative climate and management scenarios in severely 

burned multispecies forest. This study examines the effect 

of timber cutting alone, as well as combined with prescribed 

burning on post-wildfire vegetation recovery, fuels accumulations, and successional pathways that are changes in species 

structure over time. Current forest management does not 

mandate the modeling of climate change effects in evaluating 

future scenarios, but this study advocates for the incorporation 

of climate change in the comparison of alternative management 

actions. The research project Interactions of fuel treatments, wildfire severity, and carbon dynamics in dry conifer forests (Yokum 

Kent et al. 2015) quantified carbon in overstory trees, standing 

snags, and forest floor debris in a combination of burn severities and pre-fire treatments 2 years and 8 years after the Rodeo-Chediski Fire. Researchers found that fuel treatments can 

significantly influence fire severity and the associated carbon 

fuels and impart that long-term monitoring is vital to understanding post-fire carbon dynamics. Find information and links 

to the studies in the References Cited section of this report.

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The Rocky Mountains
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 21

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The South

Guadalupe Mountains in Texas. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2011.

Land Management Training and Tools for the Southern and Eastern 

Regions of the United States

Twenty-seven tribes through the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc.

Established in 1969, United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. (USET), is 

a nonprofit, intertribal organization that includes 26 tribes across 12 

States. USET is “dedicated to promoting Indian leadership, improving 

the quality of life for American Indians, and protecting Indian rights 

and resources on Tribal lands.” The USDA Forest Service, Southern 

Research Station has engaged USET through sharing planning and management tools with tribal representatives and providing online materials 

that are available for all USET members. Serra Hoagland, who is Laguna 

Pueblo and co-point of contact for the Southern Research Station’s 

Tribal Relations Initiatives, attended USET’s semiannual meeting in 

2015 to discuss and provide training for various land management tools 

developed by the Southern Research Station with the USET Natural 

Resource Committee. The USDA Forest Service has continued working 

with USET’s Natural Resource Committee leadership on forest management issues that impact member tribes. For more information on 

the types of USDA Forest Service resources that can support tribal land 

management, visit http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/compass/2013/08/07/

eastern-threat-center-tools-support-tribal-land-management/.

United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc., is “dedicated 

to promoting Indian leadership, improving the 

quality of life for American Indians, and protecting 

Indian rights and resources on Tribal lands.”

Addie Billie of Ochopee, Florida. Seminole women played a critical role in the formation of 

early tribal governance. Photo courtesy of the State Library and Archives of Florida, 1989. 
22 Forest Service Research and Development

Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2015. 

Climate Change Adaptation and Seed Banking in North Carolina

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

The impacts of changing climate and landscape patterns could 

limit tribal communities’ ability to gather and use resources, as 

these communities are often place-based and natural resource 

dependent. Communities who use wild-harvested native plants 

for food, medicine, and cultural practices are identifying ways 

to protect their natural and cultural resources in response to 

and in preparation for climate change effects. The Eastern Band 

of Cherokee Indians is the only federally recognized tribe in 

North Carolina and lives in the western part of the State, part 

of its traditional homeland. The Eastern Band of Cherokee 

Indians has developed a wealth of ethnobotanical knowledge 

over many generations across the southern Appalachian 

Mountain region. To protect this cultural heritage, the Eastern 

Band of Cherokee Indians; the USDA Forest Service, Southern 

Research Station; the North Carolina Arboretum; and the U.S. 

Geological Survey have formed a new partnership. Interested 

in integrating Western and traditional ecological knowledge 

(and recognizing that tribal knowledge is proprietary), the 

partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2014 to 

establish a framework for sharing information, monitoring, 

research, and resource management planning. Seeds and other 

genetic information—collectively called germplasm—from 

culturally significant native plants will be collected and stored 

safely at the North Carolina Arboretum Germplasm Repository. 

Most seedbanks focus on agricultural crops like corn, wheat, 

and others, but the arboretum focuses on ethnobotanicals 

native to the southern Appalachians. Edible and medicinal 

plants like ramps, black cohosh, and sochan (which is also 

called green-headed coneflower) are some of the species 

whose seeds may be stored under the terms of the agreement. 

Climate change could affect the timing and availability of 

these resources, and reservation boundaries mean that tribal 

members have limited options for off-reservation gathering or 

harvesting. By identifying and documenting traditional natural 

resources in the southern Appalachians, the partnership aims 

to protect natural resources, as well as the Native American 

communities that rely on them. To find out more about the 

work of the Southern Research Station, visit http://www.srs.

fs.usda.gov/compass/.

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The South
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 23

Tribal Climate Change Adaptation Partnership in the Southern Region

Multiple Tribes Across 13 States

The USDA Forest Service is creating at least one Tribal Climate 

Flagship Partnership in each of the USDA Forest Service’s nine 

regions to develop and implement climate adaptation strategies 

for tribal lands and adjacent national forests and grasslands. 

Through increased intra- and inter-agency collaboration, 

these partnerships will develop new and expand existing 

opportunities to assist tribal communities in preparing for and 

recovering from the impacts of climate change. One example is 

the growing relationship between the USDA Forest Service and 

the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the Southern Region. 

Previous engagement and collaboration with the tribe includes 

a Memorandum of Understanding for the reburial of ancestral 

remains, the purchase of land within a tribal traditional use 

area that will be used for a learning and research site, and 

active participation by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in 

the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest Land Management Plan 

revision process.

This successful relationship has flourished into a tribal 

flagship adaptation partnership through the creation of a new 

Memorandum of Understanding with other Federal and State 

partners to promote cooperation in research and improve the 

integration of traditional and Western systems of knowledge 

for addressing climate and landscape change in the southern 

Appalachians. The emphasis of this science-management 

Memorandum of Understanding is to provide for the protection 

of, and tribal access to, information and resources of cultural 

significance through creation of a framework for cooperation 

in sharing information, monitoring, research, and resource 

management planning and identifies management priorities, 

including restoration of traditional species and prescribed 

burning, better cultural resource surveys, and consideration 

of traditional ecological knowledge in forest management. 

These partnerships will leverage an existing, coordinated effort 

in tribally focused research—the Tribes and Climate Change 

Research Project—that incorporates traditional knowledge and 

western science to meet tribal natural resource needs. For more 

information about the work of the USDA Forest Service, Office 

of Sustainability and Climate Change and the tribal adaptation 

partnership, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/climatechange/updates/

March%202015%20Climate%20Update.pdf.
24 Forest Service Research and Development

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The North

Forest Inventory and Special/Nontimber Forest Products in the 

Great Lakes Region

Anishinaabe (Ojibwe or Chippewa)

Paper birch (Betula papyrifera L.; wiigwaas in the Ojibwe 

language) has provided American Indians in the Upper 

Midwest with the material for canoes, food storage, tinder, and 

material for etching traditional stories and images and has been 

crucial to the economic welfare of tribal artisans. Paper birch is 

central to the creation story of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) and is 

fundamental to their culture and livelihood.

The Ojibwe and other Native American tribes of the Upper 

Midwest signed treaties in 1836, 1837, 1842, and 1854 ceding 

land (“ceded territories”) in northern Michigan, Wisconsin, 

and Minnesota to the Federal Government, but retained certain 

rights in the region. To help implement these retained rights 

on national forests in the ceded territories, member tribes of 

the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, which 

represents 11 Anishinaabe Tribes, and the USDA Forest Service 

entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in the early 

2000s. Tribal communities in the Great Lakes region have been 

concerned about a possible diminishing supply of bark from 

paper birch, which is considered a cultural keystone species. 

Tribes are permitted to regulate their members’ harvest of nontimber forest products (including paper birch bark) on national 

forest lands under the Memorandum of Understanding.

The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission and 

USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station have collaborated to evaluate the availability of birch bark for use by tribal 

artisans. Results include 30 years (1980–2010) of birch bark 

inventory, an inventory field guide integrating traditional ecological knowledge and Western science to inventory a culturally 

important resource, a report on inventory results, and a USDA 

Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) report that 

addresses the particular resource needs of the Anishinaabe.

Birch bark inventory by Northern Research Station scientist. 

Photo by Mike Dockry, USDA Forest Service, 2015.
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 25

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe 

in wild rice Manoomin fields 

on Leech Lake. Photo by H. 

Trevor Booth and courtesy of 

the Mathers Museum of World 

Cultures, date unknown.

Eight gatherers from five member tribes shared information 

about bark characteristics necessary for specific uses and their 

approaches for finding and identifying trees with the desirable 

bark features. Information from these experts was collected by 

interview notes, photographs, and audio recordings. By using 

the collaborative inventory methods as a supplement to the 

USDA Forest Service, FIA program, researchers found that the 

number of paper birch trees has decreased by 49 percent, and 

total bark supply has decreased by 45.5 percent on forest land 

in the ceded territories since 1980. The decline in paper birch, 

both in number and as a proportion of all trees, across the 

ceded territories should not materially diminish near-term bark 

harvest in the region as a whole, but may do so in particular 

locations. The long-term trend suggests a lack of regeneration 

and a continued decrease in the total number of trees across 

the region. A Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission 

and Northern Research Station technical advisory group 

continues to work on the next steps in ensuring supply and 

inventory of paper birch for Native artisans.

Find out more at http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/45701, http://

www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/48342, and http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/

pubs/49374.

Sustainable Forest Management, Forest Products, and Partnerships 

in Wisconsin

Menominee Indian Tribe

The USDA Forest Service and the College of Menominee 

Nation Sustainable Development Institute are collaborating 

to promote sustainable forestry on public and private forests, 

sustainable utilization of best practices, and sustainable rural 

development on native timber lands. In the fall of 2003, the 

USDA Forest Service and the College of Menominee Nation 

Sustainable Development Institute signed a Memorandum 

of Understanding to establish a sustainable forestry research, 

education, and extension center, called the Center for First 

Americans Forestlands (CFAF). The USDA Forest Service 

provides a tribal liaison to the College of Menominee Nation to 

work collaboratively with the CFAF director to advance the vision, mission, and programming goals of the center. The liaison 

position is supported by the USDA Forest Service’s Northern 

Research Station, Forest Products Laboratory, Northeastern 

Area of State and Private Forestry, and Northern Region. The 

center’s goal is to promote sustainable forestry management 

practices through research, education, policy analysis, and 

technical assistance though the synthesis of the best practices 

of forest ecology, utilization, and Native American expertise 

and the application of this knowledge to sustainable forestry 

practices and sustainable development. The mission of the 

College’s Sustainable Development Institute is “to share and 

implement the Menominee values of sustainability through 

education, applied research, community engagement, and the 

sharing of indigenous wisdom.”

A facet of this effort is through the center’s work with Menominee Tribal Enterprises, a tribally owned and operated forest 

management and wood products manufacturing operation in 

Wisconsin. In 2012, the CFAF and the USDA Forest Service, 

Forest Products Laboratory, initiated a cooperative agreement 

to assist the Menominee Tribal Enterprises’ Millwork Division. 

The 2-year agreement, with matching funding, provided 

technical assistance, market research, and marketing plan 

development for cabinetmaking operations. It involved the 

Madison Area Technical College (known as one of the best 

programs for molding), which provided basic and advanced 
26 Forest Service Research and Development

principles of manufacturing processes related to cabinetmaking, 

as well as a student internship that focused on communications 

and marketing materials.

A renewed Memorandum of Understanding between the 

USDA Forest Service and the College of Menominee Nation is 

underway to reiterate CFAF’s holistic approach to forest land 

sustainability through program areas of education, research, 

outreach, and technical assistance. To learn more about CFAF, 

visit the College of Menominee Nation Sustainable Development 

Institute Web site at http://sustainabledevelopmentinstitute.org/

cfaf/. For more information on the Forest Products Laboratory, 

visit http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/index.php. For more information 

on Menominee Tribal Enterprises visit: http://www.mtewood.

com/index.html.

Youth Engagement and Restoration in Maine

Penobscot Nation

The USDA Forest Service is cooperating with the Penobscot 

Nation and the Wabanaki Center at the University of Maine in 

Wabanaki Youth in Science (WaYS). WaYS is a multi-faceted 

model education program for Wabanaki Youth that was 

developed to encourage persistence in science through high 

school and post-secondary education. One WaYS opportunity 

is the Penobscot Indian Nation WaYS Forward Program that 

provides employment, training, and mentoring to Wabanaki 

youth in Maine. This has involved a 2-year internship for Native American youth in which they are working with Western 

scientists and Cultural Knowledge Keepers on a combination 

of Western science and traditional ecological knowledge. 

Linking the two perspectives strengthens the understanding 

and relevance for Native youth and ultimately their desire 

to learn. WaYS Forward students have been conducting 

monitoring and controlling for nonnative invasive plants in 

a habitat restoration project at the Penobscot Experimental 

Forest, the location of 60-plus years of USDA Forest Service 

research and demonstration in forest ecology and management. 

WaYS is funded by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research 

Station; the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; and Wells 

Fargo, through one of Wells Fargo’s “Environmental Solutions” 

grants. Field work was completed over the summer of 2015, and 

the Northern Research Station is now working with the students 

through the school year on entering and analyzing data and developing a treatment plan for invasive species (mechanical, chemical, 

and no treatment). The students will also be developing their 

interpretative trail plan and potentially creating a Geographic 

Information System map. In the spring of 2016, the students will 

implement the mechanical treatment and the USDA Forest Service 

will implement the chemical treatment in the designated plots. 

Data will be collected after the treatments, and the interpretation 

trail will also be built. For more information on the Northern 

Research Station, visit http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/ and, for more 

information on the University of Maine’s Wabanaki Center, visit 

http://www.naps.umaine.edu/.

WaYS students monitoring and controlling 

for nonnative plants in a habitat restoration 

project at the Penobscot Experimental 

Forest in Maine. Photo by Tish Carr, 2015. 

Local and Landscape-Scale Engagement

The North
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 27

Regional-Scale Engagement

Helena National Forest in Montana. USDA Forest Service photo, date unknown.

Sociocultural Impacts of Nonnative Insect Infestation From the Lake States 

to the Atlantic

Anishinaabe (Ojibwe), Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), and Wabanaki (Maine) Tribes

Emerald ash borer, an Asian beetle introduced to North America in the 1990s, was discovered targeting ash trees (Fraxinus

species) in southeast Michigan in 2002. Metallic green, 1⁄2-inch 

long adult beetles feed on ash tree foliage causing little damage, 

but white or cream-colored larvae (the immature stage) feed on 

the inner bark and sapwood of ash trees, disrupting the tree’s 

ability to transport water and nutrients and killing the tree 

within 1 to 4 years. The nonnative invasive species has since 

killed tens of millions of ash trees in southeastern Michigan 

alone. Tens of millions more trees have been lost in Arkansas, 

Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, 

Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, 

Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North 

Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Quebec, 

Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The issue has caused 

regulatory agencies and the USDA to enforce quarantines and 

fines in 21 U.S. States and Ontario and Quebec to prevent 

potentially infested ash trees, logs, or hardwood firewood from 

moving out of areas where the insect has been documented.

The insect targets the black ash tree (Fraxinus nigra), a cultural 

keystone species used by tribes from the Lake States to the 

Atlantic for making baskets, pipes, flutes, lacrosse sticks, and 

medicines. Adaption planning to date has focused on the 

ecological implications of the insect, but the issue also has 

profound social and cultural effects in Anishinaabe communities in Michigan, where the emerald ash borer first established 

itself. In FY 2016, traditional ecological knowledge experts, 

tribal professionals, and researchers are convening to identify 

culturally appropriate ways to support communities already 

experiencing the sociocultural effects of the insect, and help those 

who are not yet affected prepare for its almost certain arrival. This 

regional adaption planning is in coordination with the Penobscot 

Nation faculty, University of Maine, and the St. Regis Mohawk 

Environmental Division based in New York. One of the outcomes 

will be development of a model sociocultural adaptation module 

for tribal emerald ash borer adaptation planning.

More information on the insect and how Emerald ash borer 

impacts American Indian communities can be found at http://

www.emeraldashborer.info/files/EABImpactsOnAmericanIndianCommunities.pdf.

Invasive emerald ash borer. Photo by Macroscopic Solutions. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/107963674@N07/16292189779. 
28 Forest Service Research and Development

Women’s Empowerment and Climate Change in the Northeastern 

United States

Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Wabanaki (Maine) Tribes

In September 2015, 80 heads of State recommitted to women’s 

empowerment at the 20-year anniversary of the historic gender 

equality conference in Beijing. President Barack Obama recommitted the United States to the basic principle affirmed in Beijing:

President Obama noted that “Within the United States, we are 

taking steps to support working families, encourage women 

and girls to pursue careers in the STEM [Science, Technology, 

Engineering, and Math] fields, and provide additional opportunities for women entrepreneurs. But we know that much work 

remains ... my Administration continues to work to advance 

the empowerment and education of women and girls here 

and abroad. It’s why we are dedicating additional resources 

to address violence against women and girls. It’s why we are 

investing in job training and apprenticeships to help women 

earn better-paying jobs. It is why we launched ‘Let Girls Learn’, 

to address the challenges adolescent girls around the world face 

in enrolling, completing and succeeding in school. And it is 

why my Administration’s Stand with Civil Society initiative is 

supporting the right of women and all people around the world 

to work peacefully for the betterment of their societies without 

fear that their rights and freedoms will be unjustly abridged. 

Today, we renew our resolve to work tirelessly towards a world 

where every woman and girl can enjoy the rights and freedoms 

that are her birthright.”

The connection of people within their environment and the 

responsibilities associated with those relationships are often 

gendered. This is reflected in indigenous communities in the 

United States where race and gender are major factors in their 

colonization history and current conditions of oppression. 

The colonial history of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and 

Native Hawaiians, combined with the effects of climate change, 

manifest into distinctive vulnerabilities for tribal communities 

(Vinyeta et al. 2015). Historically, native women have played 

vital roles in bringing their families and communities through 

times of social and ecological change, and they continue to do 

so today. In August 2015, the USDA Forest Service, Citizen 

Potawatomi Nation faculty, and the Center for Native Peoples 

and the Environment (at the College of Environmental Science 

and Forestry of the State University of New York) agreed to 

organize and fund a summit regarding native women and climate change. The event, Voices of Mother Earth: Native Women’s 

Climate Change Summit, will bring together women leaders from 

northeastern tribes to identify the tools and strengths native 

women bring for responding to the challenges presented by 

climate change. This effort will include a culturally appropriate 

communication product to share results with tribes and others 

in the region, and the summit is expected to serve as a model for 

other regional and national gatherings. For more information on 

gender issues in indigenous communities, see the USDA Forest 

Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station’s General Technical 

Report completed in collaboration with scientists from the 

Michigan State University and the University of Oregon: Climate 

Change Through an Intersectional Lens: Gendered Vulnerability and 

Resilience in Indigenous Communities in the United States available 

at http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/49888.

Black ash baskets. Photo by Alan R. Pierce, 2015.

Women’s empowerment and their full participation 

on the basis of equality in all spheres of society, 

including participation in the decisionmaking process and access to power, are fundamental for the 

achievement of equality, development, and peace.

Chippewa women picnic at Grand Portage Reserve on the 

Superior National Forest, Minnesota. Photo by C.R. Randall, 

1936, and courtesy of the Forest Historical Society.

Regional-Scale Engagement
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 29

National Engagement

Abies lasiocarpa. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2015.

U.S. Tribal Connections Map

The USDA Forest Service’s Office of Tribal Relations and 

Geospatial Service and Technology Center has developed Tribal 

Connections, a new online interactive tool that shows how lands 

managed by the agency connect or overlap with current tribal 

trust lands and lands that tribes exchanged with the Federal 

Government prior to 1900. Nearly 4,000 miles of shared 

boundaries between tribal lands and USDA Forest Serviceadministered/owned land are identified. Tribal Connections

compiles information from hundreds of Smithsonian Institute 

maps and displays them in a single visual presentation. 

USDA Forest Service mapping experts have used information 

published in 1899 by Smithsonian ethnographer Charles C. 

Royce who used the best tools and information available at the 

time but incorporated geographic descriptions that have been 

difficult to replicate with modern technology. Clicking on the 

map provides additional current and historical detail for each 

location. Tribal Connections uses the most current data available from Federal Census Bureau, USDA Forest Service, Smithsonian, and other sources. This reference tool will help USDA 

Forest Service employees and the public better understand 

historical treaties and the role they play in making current land 

management decisions. The USDA Forest Service will use the 

map to help improve decisionmaking on incident and resource 

management and to honor and strengthen treaty rights and the 

Federal trust responsibility. It will improve the efficiency of 

agency-tribal coordination, collaboration, and consultation and 

help identify opportunities for new and expanded partnerships 

between tribes and the agency. The Tribal Connections viewer 

is available online through the USDA Forest Service Geodata 

Clearinghouse, the online collection of digital data related to 

forest resources, at http://usfs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=fe311f69cb1d43558227d73bc34f3a32.

Our country has a deep, yet sometimes 

forgotten, connection to indigenous people 

and their lands, which all Americans now 

call home. By showing historical and modern 

connections to public lands in one place, we 

can all understand that land management 

decisions should take into account more 

than what meets the eye.

—Arthur “Butch” Blazer, former Deputy 

Under Secretary for Natural Resources and 

Environment, U.S. Department of Agriculture
30 Forest Service Research and Development

Agroforestry Practices in the United States

Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and shrubs 

with crops and or animals and has been practiced in the United 

States and around the world for centuries. Agroforestry has 

diverse and evolving forms, but there are five agroforestry 

practices typically described in the United States: forest 

farming, alley cropping, riparian forest buffers, windbreaks, 

and silvopasture. Communities in the United States and abroad 

have developed intricate ways to manage bioculturally diverse 

ecosystems (Maffi 2007) to provide food, fuel, building materials, agricultural and plant-tending tools, hunting and trapping 

equipment, baskets, and ceremonial spaces essential to life and 

maintaining cultural traditions. Many agroforestry practitioners 

in the United States are learning from these complex systems. 

While some indigenous communities have been able to 

continue managing their ancestral homelands, altered political 

boundaries, laws, regulations, economic incentives, and 

sociocultural practices mean that most indigenous and tribal 

communities’ ancestral homelands have not been managed in 

their traditional ways for more than a hundred years, which has 

made it difficult—if not impossible—to continue traditional 

management practices.

Traditional ecological knowledge can describe additional practices within and beyond the five widely recognized agroforestry 

practices in the United States. In northern California (see page 

8), tribes light understory fires beneath acorn trees in the early 

fall to remove weevil- and moth-ridden nuts prior to the full 

acorn harvest (Anderson 2007), and, later, mushrooms and 

huckleberries are harvested in the same landscape. Tribes have 

used fire to enhance huckleberry growth in forest understories. 

Huckleberry grows more vigorously after being exposed to fire, 

producing more berries in the third or fourth year and thriving 

in the enhanced light conditions when the canopy is opened 

up after the fire. The Tohono O’odom and Pima manage and 

consume saguaro cactus fruit, tepary beans, chia seeds, acorns, 

and mesquite tree pods (which are eaten fresh or ground into 

flour), among many other desert foods that are part of their traditional systems (Curtin 1984). For centuries, native Hawaiians 

have used traditional agroforestry systems, sometimes including 

a breadfruit overstory with an understory of traditional cultivars 

of sweet potatoes, bananas, and taro (Abbot 1992), and sometimes 

also ‘awa (kava), medicinal herbs, and maile (used for lei).

The USDA National Agroforestry Center has published a 

document describing these systems to help demonstrate how 

traditional ecological knowledge can inform agroforestry practices both on and off tribal lands. These robust and complex 

systems can produce multiple products from the same piece of 

land and emphasize the use of native plants suited to the local 

landscape and climate, producing foods and other materials. 

In 2012, the USDA estimated that less than 1 percent of the 

land in the United States with the potential for agroforestry had 

agroforestry in those areas. Traditional ecological knowledge 

can assist in bringing additional lands into agroforestry 

management (USDA 2013). Find more information about 

agroforestry at the USDA National Agroforestry Center, visit 

http://nac.unl.edu and view the document at http://nac.unl.

edu/documents/agroforestrynotes/an44g14.pdf. To learn more 

about how agroforestry can play a key role in addressing global 

hunger and malnutrition, see Forests, Trees and Landscapes for 

Food Security and Nutrition: A Global Assessment Report by the 

International Union of Forest Research Organizations at http://

www.fs.fed.us/blogs/forests-can-play-key-role-addressing-global-hunger-and-malnutrition.

Ron Reed with the Karuk food crew collects gooseberries 

in northern California. Photo by Colleen Rossier, 2014.

National Engagement
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 31

Wildlife Research Assistantships Across the United States

The USDA Forest Service, through a partnership with The 

Wildlife Society, is offering research assistantships for students 

as part of The Wildlife Society professional development 

program for Native Americans. The program facilitates native 

student mentoring opportunities with USDA Forest Service, 

Research and Development (R&D) scientists and promotes 

student advancement and training for careers in natural 

resource and conservation-related fields. The program targets 

upper level undergraduate (junior/senior) or graduate (MS 

or PhD) students interested in wildlife and forest resources. 

Students gain experience with laboratory or field data collection, data entry, and analysis as it relates to wildlife ecology 

and management and are able to improve their oral and written 

communication skills. Support for the 2016 assistantships 

includes a stipend of $5,000 to cover living expenses for the 

3- to 6-month assistantship time period.

Six assistantships are offered for 2016, providing opportunities 

for students to learn about:

•	 White-nose syndrome in bats and integrated disease 

management.

•	 Bat populations, restoration, cultural plants, and sharp tail 

grouse habitat management in Wisconsin.

•	 Wildfire risk in Mexican spotted owl territories on tribal 

lands in New Mexico.

•	 Aquatic wildlife habitat on Dzil Ligai Sian (Mt. Baldy) on 

White Mountain Apache tribal lands in Arizona.

•	 Climate change impacts on native Hawaiian stream fauna.

•	 Genetic technology and wolverine distribution on the 

Flathead Indian Reservation.

For more information, visit: http://wildlife.org/researchassistantships-available-for-native-americans/.

Pacific Southwest Research Station Native American research 

assistants Ray Gutteriez and Jessica Lackey examine plants 

at the cultural use demonstration site on the Sierra National 

Forest in North Fork, California. Photo by Jonathan Long, 

USDA Forest Service, 2015.

Student Research Support Across the United States

The USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station has 

partnered with the Intertribal Timber Council to provide Native 

American Natural Resource Scholarships. “These students are 

encouraged to reach out to our researchers, who can assist 

them with their research project development,” says Serra 

Hoagland, biological scientist with the Southern Research Station’s Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center 

and co-point of contact for Tribal Relations for the station. “I 

am sure both the students and our scientists will enjoy working 

together. This scholarship opportunity is a great way to uphold 

our Federal trust responsibility with tribal communities by 

supporting the advancement of these American Indian students 

in natural resources fields of study,” says Hoagland. Southern 

Research Station funds provided each student with a $4,000 

research scholarship and an additional $1,000 to offset the 

costs of presenting a research poster at the Intertribal Timber 

Council Annual Timber Symposium at the Coquille Indian 

Reservation in North Bend, Oregon, in June 2015. More than 

300 tribal forest managers, council members, and resource 

managers, along with Federal, State, and private groups from 

the United States and Canada, attended the symposium. The 

2015 scholarship recipients were:

•	 Grace BullTail, Crow Nation: Cornell University—Researching groundwater quality in oil and gas drilling areas around 

the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.

•	 Cody Sifford, Navajo Nation: University of Washington—

Developing an impact assessment of local air quality as a 

result of biomass burns.

•	 Crystal Tully-Cordova, Navajo Nation: University of 

Utah—Studying stable isotopes in precipitation, surface, and 

ground waters: Recording the North American Monsoon in 

Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.
32 Forest Service Research and Development

Kimberly C. Yazzie, a Navajo Nation tribe member and graduate 

student, Environmental Science and Management at Portland 

State University. Photo by Kimberly C. Yazzie, 2015. 

•	 Victoria Walsey, Yakima Nation: University of Kansas—Bridging 

knowledge systems to improve ecosystem management along the 

Yukon River: How indigenous peoples can prepare themselves for 

climate change.

•	 Kim Yazzie, Navajo Nation: Portland State University—Examining 

aquifer recharge and watershed response to climate change in the 

Upper Umatilla River sub-basin using the Precipitation Runoff 

Modeling System.

For more information, visit the Southern Research Station Web site at 

http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/index.php, the Intertribal Timber Council 

Web site at http://www.itcnet.org, or email Serra Hoagland at sjhoagland@fs.fed.us.

Indian Forest Management and Research Across the United States

Native American forests and tribal forest management practices 

have sustained indigenous communities, economies, and resources 

for millennia. These systems provide a wealth of knowledge and 

successful applications of long-term environmental stewardship 

and integrated, sustainable forest management. Tribal forestry 

has received an increasing amount of attention to provide 

approaches for solving the most complex issues facing natural 

resource managers today. Tribal forest management provides 

numerous examples of balancing complex, multiple objectives 

in an era of shrinking budgets, novel ecologic interactions, and 

increasing human demands on our natural resources.

Native American research assistants Ray Gutteriez and Jessica Lackey 

sample wild strawberries during a tour of forest restoration projects at 

Blodaett Forest. Photo by Jonathan Long, USDA Forest Service, 2015.

Engagement of tribal leaders, professionals, and experts from each of the six National Climate 

Assessment regions is included in the cultural chapter of the Nontimber Forest Product assessment. 

Their involvement helped present management issues, interests, and on-the-ground practicalities 

that would otherwise not have been available to ensure a robust and balanced approach to the 

assessment. The assessment will be published in 2016 and available for use by tribal land managers and land managers in rural communities. 

—Toral Patel-Weynand, Director, Sustainable Forest Management Research, Research and Development, Forest Service

National Engagement
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 33

The Society of American Foresters’ Journal of Forestry is the 

most widely circulated scholarly forestry journal in the world. 

USDA Forest Service scientists from the Northern and Southern 

Research Stations are serving as editors for a special issue in 

2017: Indian Forest Management: Innovations for Sustainable 

Forest Management. This special issue of the journal seeks 

to capture the broad range of forest management practices 

occurring in Indian country to increase general recognition of 

the role that tribal forests play in the greater landscape and to 

engage broad audiences regarding the value of tribal forests 

and how they can serve as models for sustainability, integrated 

management, resilience, and restoration. Learn more about the 

Journal of Forestry at http://www.safnet.org/publications/jof/

index.cfm.

Nontimber Forest Product Assessment for the United States

Nontimber forest products (NTFPs) include foods such as 

fruits, nuts, berries, and wild edible mushrooms; medicinal 

plants and fungi; floral greenery and horticultural stocks; 

fiber and dye plants, lichen, and fungi; and oils, resins, and 

other chemical extracts from plants, lichens, and fungi. The 

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has been 

sponsoring international workshops on NTFPs since the 1980s. 

In the United States, local and regional conflicts in the 1980s 

and 1990s over NTFPs (such as beargrass, wild mushrooms, 

ginseng, and Pacific yew) became apparent to the wider public, 

and the loss of natural productivity for NTFPs began to concern 

forest scientists and forest products dealers (Jones et al. 2002). 

In 2002, a U.S. assessment, Nontimber Forest Products in the 

United States, was developed and published with the assistance 

of numerous USDA Forest Service R&D scientists (Jones et 

al. 2002). The message, which remains today, is that NTFPs 

are vital to U.S. society and to sustainable forest management. 

USDA Forest Service scientists, such as Marla Emery (research 

geographer and tribal liaison, Northern Research Station), 

remain committed to this issue where current conditions 

and projected future trends demonstrate that forests (Vose 

et al. 2012) and the societies and economies that depend on 

them will degrade with changes in climate and anthropogenic 

disturbances.

The USDA Forest Service R&D will publish a new U.S. NTFPs 

assessment in 2016. James Chamberlain (Research Forest 

Products Technologist, Southern Research Station), Marla 

Emery (mentioned above), and Toral Patel-Weynand (Director 

of Forest Management Sciences, R&D) are co-editors of A 

Comprehensive National Assessment of Nontimber Forest Products 

and Impacts from Climatic Variability and Change, which is a collaboration between numerous individuals and entities. While 

past climate reports have focused on forest trees, this endeavor 

focuses on the plants and fungi necessary for forest ecosystem 

health and resilience, native and nonnative culture and identity, 

and nonmarket and market economies. This technical report 

for the National Climate Assessment discusses the cultural, 

social, ecological, economic, and production consequences 

of climate change on the understory plants and fungi valued 

as nontimber products. Forests are not fully valued for all the 

benefits and values they provide; trees and their associated wood 

products have been the primary focus of forest management. 

In addition, one of the greatest constraints to creating effective 

NTFPs policies and programs is the lack of knowledge about the 

volumes and values of these products. This national assessment 

will serve as a vital resource for silvicultural management, 

integrated vegetation management, and collaboration between 

the USDA Forest Service and tribal communities. This document 

will reflect on how the ecology, abundance, and distribution of 

NTFPs are impacted by sociocultural values, harvesting, forest 

management practices, and climate change and assist stakeholders (including tribal harvesters with indispensable traditional 

and local knowledge) in the management and policy decisions 

that affect them. It is estimated that 20 to 25 percent of the U.S. 

population harvests NTFPs for personal use (Cordell and Tarrant 

2002). This publication will not only increase and advance tribal 

and indigenous values, knowledge, and perspectives but also will 

assist with the collaborative multifaceted programs and projects 

the USDA Forest Service aims to improve upon. For more 

information about this 2016 publication, visit the R&D Web site 

at http://www.fs.fed.us/research/.

Native American tribes medicinally use Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis 

Margaritacea). Photo by Hansen, date unknown. 
34 Forest Service Research and Development

International Engagement

Archaeological site in Turkey. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2015.

It is impossible to work in this place and not stop periodically to just stand 

in awe. The remarkable flora and amazing history converge into what is, 

at times, a scene no less than etheric. But our charter is clearly the study of 

plants, not history. This is evident as we bypass the entrance of Ephesus 

with all its bustling tourists to stop at a quiet spot a kilometer past the great 

city to photograph Campanula tomentosa, the largest harebell in the world, 

an endemic plant restricted to 40 square kilometers of land on the outskirts 

of the ancient city. A species that has both witnessed and survived the rise 

and fall of multiple civilizations, at least so far....

—Dean Pearson, USDA Forest Service principal investigator and research ecologist in 

Turkey for the biogeographic study of the causes and impacts of exotic plant invasions.
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 35

Invasive cheatgrass (in brown) across a Montana landscape. Photo by Dean Pearson, 2015.

Invasive Species in the United States and Abroad

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and communities in Turkey and Argentina

An invasive species is a nonnative species whose introduction 

is likely to cause or has the potential to cause economic 

or environmental harm to an ecosystem or harm human 

health or commerce (Executive Order 13112). Invasive 

species are among the most significant environmental and 

economic threats facing our Nation’s forest, grassland, and 

aquatic ecosystems. They endanger native species and threaten 

ecosystem services and resources, including clean water, 

recreational opportunities, sustained production of wood 

products, wildlife and grazing habitat, and human health and 

safety. Invasive species cause billions of dollars in damage each 

year—a 2001 study estimated damage from invasive species 

worldwide totaled more than $1.4 trillion per year, 5 percent 

of the global economy (Aukema et al. 2011, Kovacs et al. 

2010, Holmes et al. 2009, and Pimentel et al. 2005 and 2001). 

These severe impacts on the world’s ecosystems are driving an 

immense effort to understand the sources and results of species 

introductions (Gurevitch et al. 2011).

The USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station led 

a biogeographic study of the causes of exotic plant invasions 

and their impacts in recipient communities. The study involves 

extensive surveys and widespread experimental plots across 

Turkey (native range), west-central Montana, and central 

Argentina (invaded ranges). In Montana, the USDA Forest Service 

partnered with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, 

with study sites spanning nearly 5 million acres (20,000 km2) 

in bluebunch wheatgrass habitat. An average of 13 exotic 

species inhabited each grassland, and the average total exotic 

cover per grassland was 25 percent. In addition, 25 percent of 

the total identified flora was exotic plants. Of the 48 invaders, 11 

showed significant impacts on native plants; 5 of these invaders 

are classified as noxious weeds by the State of Montana (spotted 

knapweed, St. John’s wort, Dalmatian toadflax, Canada thistle, 

and oxeye daisy). The highest impact invader was cheatgrass, 

which is currently listed as a regulated plant but not a noxious 

weed in Montana.

More information on the Montana research can be 

found at http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_journals/2015/

rmrs_2015_pearson_d001.pdf and the primary biogeography 

publication will be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/rmrs-beta/

science-spotlights/invasiveness-and-impact-48-exotic-plantspecies-native-grasslands.
36 Forest Service Research and Development

Traditional Forest Knowledge and International Engagement

Traditional knowledge and practices contribute to ecosystem 

conservation and landscape restoration in traditional and 

contemporary ways and sustain the livelihood of communities. 

Involving local people by integrating traditional knowledge into 

conservation practices is an important factor for the success of 

conservation efforts. Traditional worldviews, particularly causal 

relationships based on religious or spiritual beliefs, must be 

considered in the exchange of knowledge and interactions with 

communities.

USDA Forest Service scientists are working with the International 

Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO)—the leading 

global network for forest science cooperation uniting more than 

15,000 scientists in almost 700 member organizations in over 

110 countries—to assist the global community with engaging 

indigenous people. Their efforts involve raising the awareness 

of traditional forest-related knowledge within the scientific 

community and its relevance for sustainable management and 

conservation among policymakers at national and international 

levels. This effort— ongoing since 2005—has resulted in 

the creation of two new permanent working groups within 

IUFRO that focus on traditional forest knowledge in boreal and 

temperate regions and tropical and subtropical regions. Both 

of these international units have been very active over the past 

4 years. IUFRO published the book Traditional Forest-Related 

Knowledge, Sustaining Communities, Ecosystems and Biocultural 

Diversity (Parrotta and Trosper 2012) in 2012 and featured 

sessions at the 2014 IUFRO World Congress in Salt Lake City, 

Utah, including a session on the “Value of Traditional Knowledge for Sustainable Forest Management.” The 5-day IUFRO 

congress, held every 5 years, is the largest global scientific 

conference on forests, with nearly 2,500 participants from 100 

countries. At the Food and Agricultural Organization World 

Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa, in September 2015, 

these IUFRO units co-organized (with Food and Agricultural 

Organization and the International Wood Culture Society) a 

session on “Traditional Values, Practices and Forest Policy: 

Transforming Local Challenges Into Renewed Partnership.” The 

session highlighted the importance of traditional knowledge 

and values for food security, physical and spiritual health, 

biodiversity conservation, and cultural identity in indigenous 

and local communities worldwide. Forest Service scientists also 

contribute expertise to U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency 

for International Development projects that assist indigenous 

groups in Africa, Australia, China, Latin America, and Russia.

For more information about the 2014 IUFRO World Congress 

Sustaining Forests, Sustaining People—The Role of Research, visit 

http://iufro2014.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/15-USD-0001-

IUFRO-World-Congress-Summary-Report_FINAL_web.pdf.

Information about IUFRO and R&D’s national program leader 

for International Science Issues, John Parrotta—one of the main 

scientists behind these global efforts—is available at http://www.

fs.fed.us/blogs/conversation-conservation-leader-john-parrotta.

Most, if not all, of the natural resource management challenges we face in our agency are 

shared by our colleagues in other countries, and 

a number of the most significant ones are truly 

global in nature. By working collaboratively 

with professional and scientific partners worldwide, sharing our knowledge, and learning from 

others, we stand a far greater chance of moving 

forward together than if we try to go it alone.

—John Parrotta, Program Leader, International 

Science Issues, Research and Development, U.S. 

Forest Service

Sabah, Malaysia. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2011.

International Engagement
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 37

Indigenous Rama member and his son on the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve in Nicaragua. Photo by Tania Ellersick, 2015.

Improving Forest Governance by Strengthening Public Forest Institutions 

on a Global Level

The World Forestry Congress is considered the world’s most 

significant forestry event and is organized by the United 

Nations Food and Agriculture Organization every 6 years in 

partnership with the host country. The first congress was held 

in Rome in 1926. The Declaration from the 7th World Forestry 

Congress, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1972, still 

resonates today, maintaining that:

...whatever the political objectives, whatever 

the form of economic organization, whatever the 

present pattern of forest land tenure, governments 

are responsible for planning the continuous flow 

of the productive, protective and social goods and 

services from the forest, ensuring that the physical 

output and environmental benefits of the forests are 

available for the general welfare of their peoples 

now and for all time. Since we live in one world, and 

since the forest resources of the world are unevenly 

distributed, national policies and plans must take 

account of the international context.

In September 2015, the USDA Forest Service joined more than 

2,600 forestry experts, practitioners, and community members 

in Durban, South Africa, for the 14th World Forestry Congress. 

This congress—the first to be held on the African continent—focused on integrated, sustainable forest development 

through the central theme of “forests and people: investing in 

a sustainable future.” The key messages from the 2015 World 

Forestry Congress were the following:

•	 Investment in forestry is an investment in people.

•	 Forests sustain life.

•	 Forests act as buffers against environmental change.

•	 Integrating forests with other ways of using land is vital for 

sustainable development.

•	 Forests can inspire innovative technologies and products.

•	 Improving information about forests leads to better decisions.

•	 Sharing knowledge is key to governing forests effectively.
38 Forest Service Research and Development

“Improving governance by building capacity” was one of six 

subthemes of the congress, in which delegates reflected on the 

capacities needed to more effectively govern the transition to 

sustainable forestry in a rapidly changing global context. One 

session in this subtheme focused specifically on improving 

forest governance by strengthening public forestry organizations. In this session, the USDA Forest Service and other 

panelists representing the major forested regions of the world 

reflected on the changing role of public forestry organizations 

and how to enhance their political, organizational, financial, 

technical, social, human, ethical, and other key capacities to 

enable and support responsible and sustainable forest use 

and management. They emphasized the need for increased 

adaptation capacity and more inclusive, cross-sectoral, and 

transdisciplinary stakeholder engagement by these agencies.

Given the importance of indigenous and tribal groups to global 

forest resources and their conservation, specific significance 

was placed on the need for and ways in which public forestry 

organizations should evolve to work more effectively and 

efficiently with indigenous and tribal communities to foster 

improved livelihoods, tenure clarity and security, and sustainable forest management. Results of the session contributed to 

the 14th World Forestry Congress Declaration and will form 

the basis of a paper to be produced by the session panelists. 

To learn more about the World Forestry Congress, visit: http://

www.fao.org/about/meetings/world-forestry-congress/en/.

By working jointly on topics of mutual interest, we can meet tribal needs, share lessons that can 

be translated to other stakeholders and be in a better position to sustainably manage all our 

Nation’s natural resources. These stories are just snapshots of our potential but, more importantly, are a testament of our commitment to tribal engagement that demonstrate the power of 

partnerships coming from lasting relationships and aligned interests.

—Carl Lucero, USDA Forest Service, Research and Development, Director for Landscape 

Restoration and Ecosystem Services Research

International Engagement
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 39

Moving Forward

Augusta, Montana. USDA Forest Service photo, 2014.

This USDA Forest Service Research and Development Tribal 

Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report shows only a fraction 

of tribal engagement efforts ongoing across the country and 

internationally. There are notable absences in this report, 

including (but not limited to) the importance of native 

grassland ecosystems and urban forests,5 issues regarding 

public health (e.g., the link between disease and the loss of 

traditional foods6), the spiritual aspect of water (particularly 

headwaters, which in some communities are areas of origin/

creation) (Stumpff 2013), the impacts of drought,7 wildlife 

(in relation to food and identity), differences in values (i.e., 

perceptions of wilderness (Watson et al. 2011)), valuation of 

nonmarket values and social science methodologies, and the 

issue of relocation, especially in regard to coastal communities. 

In addition, only the tribal communities with the resources 

to engage with other entities are discussed here—some of the 

poorest, most marginalized communities that could benefit 

from increased capacity are not mentioned in this report. It 

should be noted that Americans Indians and Native Alaskans 

are the poorest people in the United States with a poverty rate 

of 29.2 percent, nearly twice the 2013 average for the Nation as 

a whole (U.S. Census Bureau 2014). Ongoing efforts supported 

by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service 

programs and policies should not only build on existing efforts, 

but seek opportunities with the tribal communities that could 

benefit the most from collaborative engagement. A number of 

USDA Forest Service initiatives, strategies, and guidelines aim 

toward the equitable distribution of rights and resources (and 

their associated benefits/values) that work towards ecological, 

economic, and social sustainability. These include the USDA 

Forest Service Tribal Engagement Strategy, the USDA Forest 

Service Research and Development Tribal Engagement Roadmap, 

the 2012 revision of the USDA Forest Service Planning Rule 

(Code of Federal Regulations, Title 36, Part 219), the USDA 

5

 The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service has a role in the stewardship of 100 million acres (more than 40 million hectares) of urban forests where most of 

the U.S. population lives.

6

 Salmonids and acorns made up 50 percent of a traditional Karuk diet, however, the majority of Karuk people have experienced the complete absence of both of these 

traditional foods. In addition, 21 percent of the Karuk population has diabetes, and 40 percent of the population has heart disease (Lynn et al. 2013, Norgaard 2005). 

7

 Our national forests and grasslands provide 20 percent of the Nation’s clean water supply, but drought alone was estimated to cost the United States $50 billion from 

2011 to 2013 (National Climate Assessment 2014). 
40 Forest Service Research and Development

Forest Service National Roadmap for Responding to Climate 

Change, and the USDA Forest Service Strategic Plan: FY 2015–2020, 

which outlines the following goals and objectives:

Sustain Our Nation’s Forest and Grasslands

Foster resilient, adaptive ecosystems to mitigate climate 

change

Mitigate wildfire risk

Conserve open space

Deliver Benefits to the Public 

Provide abundant clean water

Strengthen communities

Connect people to the outdoors

Apply Knowledge Globally 

Advance knowledge

Transfer technology and applications

Exchange natural resource expertise

Excel as a High-Performing Agency

Recruit a diverse workforce

Promote an inclusive culture

Attract and retain top employees

USDA Forest Service, Research and Development (R&D) has 

the opportunity to move forward in a number of ways. By 

describing how we, as R&D employees, incorporate indigenous 

knowledge and values to improve upon our work and including this information in our presentations, briefing papers, and 

best management practices, we can help increase and advance 

tribal and indigenous values, knowledge, and perspectives. By 

networking and coordinating within R&D and across USDA 

Forest Service deputy areas, we can help describe how indigenous values and knowledge will be addressed (for instance, 

within an ecosystem-services perspective in the 2012 USDA 

Forest Service Planning Rule). By sharing information, tools, 

and methodologies used by R&D (e.g., nanotechnology, eDNA, 

stream monitoring, and forest vegetation models), we can 

support tribal decisionmaking on natural resource issues. There 

are also opportunities for developing workshops, webinars, 

presentations, training materials, and events that will help 

USDA Forest Service staff understand their legal responsibilities 

for treaty rights, other reserved rights, and trust responsibilities, 

including obligations for government-to-government consultation. These efforts would not only build USDA Forest Service 

capacity, but help institutionalize our trust responsibilities. We 

can build new and enhance existing partnerships in part by 

identifying ways to sponsor more students and exposing them 

to research, finding opportunities for scientists to teach at tribal 

colleges and universities, learning from tribal communities’ 

research, incorporating these findings in future activities, and 

co-publishing with tribal scientists. By promoting and advancing collaborative work with tribes and tribal organizations, we 

can improve our collective ability to find effective solutions 

to some of the most challenging issues our agency has had to 

contend with. 

In order for us to deliver on our agency’s strategic plan, Federal 

trust responsibility, various national-level policies, and the 

USDA Forest Service mission, we must engage with tribal communities. We cannot sustain these ecosystems, the economy, 

or society without them. By engaging tribal communities in the 

broad suite of benefits and values our forests and grasslands 

provide, we can move toward full and effective participation in 

natural resource management and fulfill our mission to meet 

the needs of present and future generations.

Moving Forward
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 41

Contact Information and References

Contact Information

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service 

Research and Development Information:

National Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/research/

Station Web sites:

Pacific Northwest Research Station http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/

Pacific Southwest Research Station http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/

Rocky Mountain Research Station http://www.fs.fed.us/rmrs/

Southern Research Station http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/

Northern Research Station http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/

Forest Products Laboratory http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/

International Institute of Tropical Forestry http://www.fs.usda.

gov/iitf

Learn more about how to start a partnership with the USDA 

Forest Service or obtain Federal financial assistance with the 

Office of Tribal Relation’s Guide for Tribal Governments: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/documents/tools/

StartPartnershipTribalGuide.pdf.

References

Abbot, I.A. 1992. Lā‘au Hawai‘i: Traditional Hawaiian uses of 

plants. Honolulu, HI: Bishop Museum Press. Bishop Museum 

Press, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agroforestry 

Center. 2013. Agroforestry: USDA reports to America, Fiscal 

Year 2011–12. http://www.usda.gov/documents/usda-reportsto-america-agroforestry-brief.pdf. [October 27, 2015].

Anderson, K. 2007. Indigenous uses management, and 

restoration of oaks of the far Western United States. Technical 

Note No. 2. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Natural Resources Conservation Service. 24 p. http://directives.

sc.egov.usda.gov/OpenNonWebContent.aspx?content=25907.

wba. [October 27, 2015].

Aukema, J.E.; Leung, B.; Kovacs, K.; Chivers, C.; Britton, K.O.; 

Englin, J.; Frankel, S.J.; Haight, R.G.; homes, T.P.; Liebhold, 

A.M.; McCullough, D.G.; Von Holle, B. 2011. Economic 

impacts of non-native forest insects in the continental 

United States. PLoS ONE 6(9): e24587. doi:10.1371/journal.

pone.0024587 http://forestpests.org/pdf/Economic%20

Impacts%20of%20non-native%20forest%20insects%20in%20

the%20continental%20US.pdf. [October 27, 2015].

Azpeleta Tarancón, A.; Fulé, P.Z.; Shive, K.L.. 2014. Simulating 

post-wildfire forest trajectories under alternative climate and 

management. Ecological Applications. 24(7):1626–1637. 

http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/48608. [October 27, 2015].

Carim, K.J.; Wilcox, T.; Young, M.K.; McKelvery, K.S.; Schwartz, 

M.K.; 2015. Protocol for collecting eDNA samples from streams. 

Version 2.3. UMissoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 12 p.

Chapin, F.S.; Trainor, S.F.; Cochran, P; Huntington, H.; Markon, 

C.; McCammon, M.; McGuire, A.D.; Serreze, M. 2014. Ch. 22: 

Alaska. Climate change impacts in the United States: The third 

national climate assessment. In: Melillo, J. M.; Richmond, 

T.C.; Yohe, G. W. eds. U.S. global change research program. 

514–536. Doi:10.7930/J00Z7150.

Cordell, H.K., Tarrant, M.A. 2002. Forest-based outdoor 

recreation. In: Wear, D.N.; Greis, J.G.; eds. Southern forest 

resource assessment. Gen Tech. Rep. SRS-53. Asheville, NC: 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern 

Research Station: 269–282.

Curtin, L.S.M. 1984. By the prophet of the Earth: Ethnobotany 

of the Pima. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press. http://

www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/PROPHET/TITLPROP.

HTM. [October 27, 2015].

Dore, S.; Kolb, T.E.; Montes-Helu, M.; Sullivan, B.W.; 

Winslow, W.D.; Hart, S.C.; Kaye, J.P.; Koch, G.W.; Hungate, 

B.A. 2008. Long-term impact of a stand replacing fire on 

ecosystem CO2 exchange of a ponderosa pine forest. Global 

Change Biology 14(8), 1801–1820. doi:10.1111/J.1365–-

2486.2008.01613.X.
42 Forest Service Research and Development

Elwood, S. 2006. Critical issues in participatory GIS: deconstructions, reconstructions, and new research directions. 

Transactions in GIS 10:5: 693–-708.

Emery, M.R.; Wrobel, A.; Hansen, M.H.; Dockry, M.; 

Moser, W.; Keith, W.K.; Stark, K.J.; Gilbert, J.H. 2014. Using 

traditional ecological knowledge as a basis for targeted forest 

inventory: paper birch (Betula papyrifera) in the US Great Lakes 

region. Journal of Forestry. 112(2): 207–214. http://www.nrs.

fs.fed.us/pubs/45701. [October 27, 2015].

Garibaldi, A; Turner, N. 2014. Cultural keystone species: 

implications for ecological conservation and restoration. 

Ecology and Society. 9:1–18.

Gurevitch, J.; Fox, G.A.; Wardle, G.M.; Inderjit; Taub, D. 2011. 

Emergent insights from the synthesis of conceptual frameworks 

for biological invasions. Ecology Letters. 14: 407–418.

Holmes, T.P.; Aukema, J.E.; Von Holle, B.; Liebhold, A.; Sill, 

E. 2009. Economic impacts of invasive species in forests: past, 

present, and future. In: Ostfeld, R.S.; Schlesinger, W.H., eds. 

The year in ecology and conservation biology, 2009. New York: 

New York Academy of Sciences. 1162: 18–38.

Hummel, S.; Foltz-Jordan, S.; Polasky, S. 2012. Natural and 

cultural history of beargrass (Xerophylum tenax). Gen. Tech. 

Rep. PNW-GTR-864. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 

80 p. DOI: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr864.pdf.

Hurteau, M.D.; Brooks, M.L. 2011. Short- and long-term 

effects of fire on carbon in US dry temperate forest systems. 

Bioscience. 61(2): 139–146. doi:10.1525/BIO.2011.61.2.9.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2014. Climate 

change 2014: Mitigation of climate change. Contribution 

of working group III to the fifth assessment report of the 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, 

O.; Pichs-Madruga, R.; Sokona, Y.; Farahani, E.; Kadner, S.; 

Seyboth, K.; Adler, A.; Baum, I.; Brunner, S.; Eickemeier, P.; 

Kriemann, B.; Savolainen, J.; Schlömer, S.; von Stechow, C.; 

Zwickel, T.; Minx, J.C. (eds.)]. United Kingdom and New York, 

NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

International Union of Forest Research Organizations. 2014. 

2014 IUFRO World Congress program summary report. 250 

p. http://iufro2014.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/15-USD0001-IUFRO-World-Congress-Summary-Report_FINAL_web.

pdf. [October 27, 2015].

Jane, S.F.; Wilcox, T.M.; McKelvey, K.S.; Young, M.K.; 

Schwartz, M.K.; Lowe, W.H.; Letcher, B.H.; Whiteley, A.R. 

2015. Distance, flow, and PCR inhibition: eDNA dynamics in 

two headwater streams. Molecular Ecology Resources. 15. doi: 

10.1111/1755-0998.12285.

Jones, E.T.; McLain, R.J.; Weigand, J. eds. 2002. Nontimber 

forest products in the United States. Lawrence, Kansas, 

University Press of Kansas. 273–281.

Kingston, R. 2007. Public participation in local policy 

decision-making: the role of web-based mapping. The Cartographic Journal. 44(2): 138-–144.

Kovacs, K.F; Haight, R.G.; McCullough, D.G.; Mercader, R.J.; 

Seigert, N.W.; Liebhold, A.M., 2010. Cost of potential emerald 

ash borer damage in U.S. communities, 2009–2019. Ecological 

Economics. 69: 569–578.

Kurtz, C.M.; Moser, W.K.; Hansen, M.H.; Gormanson, D.D.; 

Hatfield, M.A.; Sowers, P.A.; Dockry, M.J.; Emery, M.R.; 

Woodall, C.W.; Walters, B.F.; Domke, G.M.; Gilbert, J.; 

Wrobel, A. 2015. Forest resources within the Lake States ceded 

territories 1980–2013. Resour. Bull. NRS-96. Newtown Square, 

PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern 

Research Station. 89 p. http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/49374. 

[October 27, 2015].

Littell, J.S.; McKenzie, D.; Peterson, D.L.; Westerling, A.L. 2009. 

Climate and wildfire area burned in western US ecoprovinces, 

1916–2003. Ecological Applications. 19(4), 1003–1021. 

doi:10.1890/07-1183.1.

Lynn, K.; Daigle, J.; Hoffman, J.; Lake, F; Michelle, N; Ranco, 

D; Viles, C; Voggesser, G; Williams, P2013. The impacts of 

climate change on tribal traditional foods. Climatic Change. 

120: 545-556. DOI 10.1007/s10584-013-0736-1. http://www.

fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/journals/pnw_2014_lynn001.pdf. [October 

27, 2015].

Lynn, K.; MacKendrick, K.; Donoghue, E. 2011. Social vulnerability and climate change: synthesis of literature. Gen. Tech. Rep. 

PNW-GTR-838. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 70 p.

Maffi, L. 2007. Biocultural diversity and sustainability. In: 

Pretty, J.; Ball, A.; Benton, T.; Guivant, J.; Lee, D.R.; Orr, D.; 

Pfeffer, M.; Ward, H., eds. The SAGE handbook of environment and society. London, UK: Sage Publications. 37–51.

Miller, J.D.; Safford, H. 2012. Trends in wildfire severity: 

1984 to 2010 in the Sierra Nevada, Modoc Plateau, and 

Southern Cascades, California, USA. Fire Ecology. 8(3), 41–57. 

doi:10.4996/FIREECOLOGY.0803041.

Moser, W.K.; Hansen, M.H.; Gormanson, D.; Gilbert, J.; 

Wrobel, A.; Emery, M.R.; Dockry, M.J. 2015. Paper birch 

(Wiigwaas) of the Lake States, 1980–2010. Gen. Tech. Rep. 

NRS-149. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 37 p. http://

www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/4834. [October 27, 2015].

References
Tribal Engagement Roadmap Highlights Report 43

Norgaard, K.M. 2005. The effects of altered diet on the health 

of the Karuk people. A preliminary report. Karuk Tribe of 

California. 75 p. http://klamathwaterquality.com/documents/

Norgaard_%20Health%20Effects%20of%20Altered%20Diet.

pdf. [October 27, 2015].

Northeast Washington Forest Vision 2020 2011. 2015. Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration: proposal for funding. http://

www.fs.fed.us/restoraiton/documents/cflrp/2011Proposals/Region6/

Colville/NEWForestVisionCFLRP2020ver2.pdf. [October 15].

Parrotta, J.A.; Agnoletti, M. 2012. Traditional forest-related 

knowledge and climate change. In: Parrotta, J.A., Trosper 

R.L. (eds.) Traditional forest-related knowledge: Sustaining 

communities, ecosystems and biocultural diversity. World 

Forests Volume 12. Springer, Dordrecht. 491–533.

Parrotta, J.A., Trosper, R.L., eds. 2012. Traditional forest-related 

knowledge: Sustaining communities, ecosystems and biocultural diversity. World Forest Series. Vol. 12. The Netherlands: 

Springer, Dordrecht. 621 p.

Pimentel, D.; Zuniga, R.; Morrison, D. 2005. Update on the 

environmental and economic costs associated with alien-invasive 

species in the United States. Ecological Economics. 52: 273–288.

Pimentel, D.; McNair, S.; Janecka, J.; Wightman, J.; Simmonds, 

C.; O’Connell, C.; Wong, E.; Russel, L.; Zern, J.; Aquino, T.; 

Tsomondo, T. 2001. Economic and environmental threats 

of alien plant, animal, and microbe invasions. Agriculture, 

Ecosystems and Environment. 84: 1–20.

Restaino, J.C.; Peterson, D.L. 2013. Wildfire and fuel treatment 

effects on forest carbon dynamics in the Western United States. 

Forest Ecology and Management. 303, 46–60. doi:10.1016/J.

FORECO.2013.03.043.

Sanchez-Trigueros, F.; Carver, S.; Huck, J.; Matt, R.; McBride, 

B.B.; Stumpff, L.M.; Watson, A. 2014. The treatment of public 

participation data in environmental impact assessment: setting 

up smart systems for the synthesis and mapping of vague 

definitions. Glasgow, UK: GIS Research UK 2014. 9, e98812. 

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098812.

Shive, K.L.; Fule, P.Z.; Sieg, C.H.; Strom, B.A.; Hunter, M.E. 

et al. 2014. Managing burned landscapes: Evaluating future 

management strategies for resilient forests under a warming 

climate. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 23: 915-928. 

http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/48606. [October 27, 2015].

Smith, G.A. 2004. The Role of Indian tribes in the section 

106 National Historic Preservation Act review process. SJ053 

ALI-ABA 649.

Stumpff, L.M. 2013. Living Waters: Linking cultural knowledge, ecosystem services, and wilderness. International Journal 

of Wilderness.19: 1.

Thornton, T.F.; Sealaska Heritage Institute 2012. Being and 

place among the Tlingit Culture, place, and nature. Seattle, 

Washington. University of Washington Press. 280 p.

U.S. Census Bureau. 2014. American Indian and Alaska 

Native heritage month: November 2014. Washington, DC: 

U.S. Department of Commerce. 5 p. http://www.census.

gov/content/dam/Census/newsroom/facts-for-features/2014/

cb14ff-26_aian_heritage_month.pdf. [October 27, 2015].

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2014. U.S. forest 

resource facts and historical trends. FS-1035. Washington, DC: 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 64 p. http://

www.fs.fed.us/sites/default/files/media/types/publication/field_pdf/

forestfacts-2014aug-fs1035-508complete.pdf. [October 27, 2015].

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2013. Forest 

Service planning rule. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 36, 

Part 219. http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/

stelprdb5359595.pdf. [October 27, 2015].

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2014. Revised draft recovery 

plan for the coterminous United States population of bull trout 

(Salvelinus confluentus). Portland, OR: U.S. Department of the 

Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Xiii + 151 p.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2008. Bull trout recovery 

monitoring and evaluation guidance. Report prepared for the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the Bull Trout Recovery and 

Monitoring Technical Group (RMEG). Portland, OR.

Vinyeta, K.; Powys Whyte, K.; Lynn, K. 2015. Climate change 

through an intersectional lens: gendered vulnerability and 

resilience in indigenous communities in the United States. Gen. 

Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-923. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 72 p.

Vose, J.M.; Peterson, D.L.; Patel-Weynand, T.; Eds. 2012. Effects 

of climatic variability and change on forest ecosystems: a comprehensive synthesis for the U.S. forest sector. Gen. Tech. Rep. 

PNW-GTR-870. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 265 p.

Watson, A.; Matt, R.; Knotek, K., Williams, D.R.; Yung, L. 2011. 

Traditional wisdom: protecting relationships with wilderness 

as a cultural landscape. Ecology and Society 16(1): 36. http://

www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol16/iss1/art36. [October 27, 2015].

References
44 Forest Service Research and Development

Westerling, A.L.; Hidalgo, H.G.; Cayan, D.R.; Swetnam, T.W. 

2006. Warming and earlier spring increase western U.S. forest 

wildfire activity. Science. 313 (5789): 940–943.

Wilcox, T.M.; Schwartz, M.K.; McKelvey, K.S.; Young, M.K.; 

Lowe, W.H. 2014. A blocking primer increases specificity in 

environmental DNA detection of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). Conservation Genetics Resources. 6: 283–284.

Wilcox, T.M.; McKelvey, K.S.; Young, M.K.; Jane, S.F.; Lowe, 

W.H.; Whiteley, A.R.; Schwartz, M.K. 2013 Robust detection 

of rare species using environmental DNA: the importance of 

primer specificity. PLoS ONE, 8, e59520.

Yocom Kent, L.L.; Shive, K.L.; Strom, B.A.; Sieg, C.H.; Hunter, 

M.E.; Stevens-Rumann, C.S.; Fule, P. Z. 2015. Interactions of 

fuel treatments, wildfire severity, and carbon dynamics in dry 

conifer forests. Forest Ecology and Management. 349: 66–72. 

http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/49095. [October 27, 2015].

References

Photo by Ken Rahaim, Smithsonian Institution.

This report aims to support the Presidential 

Proclamation of 2013, claiming the month of 

November as Native American Heritage Month. It 

included the following missive: 

“From Alaskan mountain peaks to the Argentinian 

pampas to the rocky shores of Newfoundland, 

Native Americans were the first to carve out 

cities, domesticate crops, and establish great 

civilizations. When the Framers gathered to 

write the United States Constitution, they drew 

inspiration from the Iroquois Confederacy, and 

in the centuries since, American Indians and 

Alaska Natives from hundreds of tribes have 

shaped our national life. During Native American 

Heritage Month, we honor their vibrant cultures 

and strengthen the government-to-government 

relationship between the United States and each 

tribal nation.

“As we observe this month, we must not 

ignore the painful history Native Americans have 

endured — a history of violence, marginalization, 

broken promises, and upended justice. There 

was a time when native languages and religions 

were banned as part of a forced assimilation 

policy that attacked the political, social, and 

cultural identities of Native Americans in the 

United States. Through generations of struggle, 

American Indians and Alaska Natives held fast to 

their traditions, and eventually the United States 

Government repudiated its destructive policies 

and began to turn the page on a troubled past.”

My Administration remains committed to self-determination, the right 

of tribal governments to build and 

strengthen their own communities...

As we observe Native American 

Heritage Month, we must build on 

this work. Let us shape a future 

worthy of a bright new generation, 

and together, let us ensure this 

country’s promise is fully realized 

for every Native American.

—President Barack Obama