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FOREST SERVICE MANUAL

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS (WO)

WASHINGTON, DC

 FSM 1500 - EXTERNAL RELATIONS 

CHAPTER 1560 - STATE, TRIBAL, COUNTY, AND LOCAL AGENCIES; 

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS

Amendment No.: 1500-2016-1 

Effective Date: March 9, 2016 

Duration: This amendment is effective until superseded or removed.

Approved: Patricia Hirami 

ssociate Deputy Chief, S&PF

Date Approved: 02/29/2016 

A

Posting Instructions: Amendments are numbered consecutively by title and calendar year. 

Post by document; remove the entire document and replace it with this amendment. Retain this 

transmittal as the first page(s) of this document. The last amendment to this title was 

1500-2012-1 to FSM 1562-1566.11. 

New Document 1560 82 Pages 

Superseded Document(s) by 1560_contents 4 Pages 

Issuance Number and (Amendment 1500-2004-4, 3/03/2004) 

Effective Date 1561-1561.9 22 Pages 

(Amendment 1500-96-9, 10/16/1996) 

1562-1566.11 57 Pages 

(Amendment 1500-2012-1, 7/18/2012) 

1566.2-1566.23a 30 Pages 

(Amendment 1500-97-2, 1/29/1997) 

1566.24-1566.24e 23 Pages 

(Amendment 1500-90-1, 6/01/1990) 

1566.24f-1566.25 24 Pages 

(Amendment 1500-96-8, 10/16/1996) 
WO AMENDMENT 1500-2016-1

EFFECTIVE DATE: 03/09/2016

DURATION: This amendment is effective until superseded or removed.

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Digest: 

A notice of issuance of this amendment was published in the Federal Register on 

March 9, 2016 (81 FR 12447).

1560 - Revises chapter in its entirety giving specific edits to sections listed. 

1563 - Changes code, caption, and direction from “American Indian and Alaska Native 

Relations” to “Tribal Relations” and sets forth direction. 
WO AMENDMENT 1500-2016-1

EFFECTIVE DATE: 03/09/2016

DURATION: This amendment is effective until superseded or removed.

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Table of Contents 

1562 - COUNTY AND LOCAL AGENCIES .................................................................... 5

1563 - TRIBAL RELATIONS .......................................................................................... 5

1563.01 - Authority ................................................................................................................. 6

1563.01a - United States Constitution and Indian Tribes ....................................................... 6

1563.01b - Treaty Rights and the Federal Trust Responsibility ............................................. 7

1563.01c - Consultation with Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations ....................... 7

1563.01d - National Forest System – Cooperative Land Management and Planning with 

Indian Tribes ............................................................................................................... 9

1563.01e - National Forest System – Subsistence Uses in Alaska ....................................... 10

1563.01f - National Forest System – Tribal Cultural Resources and Indian Sacred Sites ... 10

1563.01g - National Forest System – Tribal Forest Protection Act ...................................... 12

1563.01h - National Forest System – Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, Title 

VIII, Subtitle B .......................................................................................................... 13

1563.01i - Business Operations – Grants and Agreements, Contracts, and Procurement with 

Indian Tribes ............................................................................................................. 13

1563.01j - Coordinating Law Enforcement with Tribes ....................................................... 27

1563.01k - Tribal Colleges and Universities Initiative ......................................................... 28

1563.02 - Objectives ............................................................................................................. 28

1563.03 - Policy .................................................................................................................... 29

1563.04 - Responsibility ....................................................................................................... 34

1563.04a - Chief .................................................................................................................... 34

1563.04b - Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry ........................................................... 34

1563.04c - Deputy Chief, National Forest System ............................................................... 35

1563.04d - Deputy Chief, Business Operations .................................................................... 35

1563.04e - Deputy Chief, Research and Development ......................................................... 35

1563.04f - Director, Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC ............ 36

1563.04g - Washington Office Staff Directors ..................................................................... 38

1563.04h - Regional Foresters, Station Directors, and the Area Director ............................ 38

1563.04i - Regional Tribal Relations Program Managers .................................................... 39

1563.04j - Forest, Grassland, and Prairie Supervisors .......................................................... 41

1563.04k - District Rangers .................................................................................................. 43

1563.04l - Forest, Grassland, and Prairie Tribal Liaisons .................................................... 43

1563.04m - Research & Development Tribal Liaisons......................................................... 44

1563.04n - State and Private Forestry Area Tribal Liaisons ................................................. 44

1563.05 - Definitions ............................................................................................................ 45

1563.1 - Consultation with Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations ......................... 52

1563.11 - General Consultation Requirements ..................................................................... 53

1563.12 Consulting Officials ................................................................................................ 58

1563.13 - Consultation Timelines ......................................................................................... 58

1563.14 - Consultation, Monitoring, and Evaluation ........................................................... 59
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1563.15 - Additional Consultation Considerations ............................................................... 59

1563.2 - Dispute Resolution .................................................................................................. 60

1563.3 - Reburial of American Indian and Alaska Native Ancestral Remains and Cultural 

Items .............................................................................................................................. 61

1563.31 - General Reburial Considerations .......................................................................... 62

1563.32 - Reviews for Repatriations and Reburials ............................................................. 63

1563.4 - Closures for Traditional and Cultural Purposes ...................................................... 64

1563.5 - Forest products for traditional and cultural purposes .............................................. 64

1563.6 - Prohibition on Disclosure ........................................................................................ 65

1563.7 - Information and Technology Sharing ..................................................................... 66

1563.8 - References ............................................................................................................... 66

1563.8a - United States Constitution and Indian Tribes ....................................................... 66

1563.8b - Treaty Rights and the Federal Trust Responsibility ............................................. 67

1563.8c - Consultation with Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations ....................... 69

1563.8d - National Forest System- Cooperative Land Management and Planning with 

Indian Tribes ............................................................................................................. 72

1563.8e - National Forest System – Subsistence Uses in Alaska ......................................... 74

1563.8f - National Forest System – Tribal Cultural Resources and Indian Sacred Sites ..... 76

1563.8g - National Forest System - Tribal Forest Protection Act ........................................ 81

1563.8h - National Forest System – Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, Title 

VIII, Subtitle B .......................................................................................................... 81
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1562 - COUNTY AND LOCAL AGENCIES 

Regions, Stations, and the Area may write under this section or may expand this section as 

needed for local use. 

1563 - TRIBAL RELATIONS 

The terms “federally recognized Indian tribe,” “Indian tribe,” and “Tribe” are used in this manual 

to refer to any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or other community, 

the name of which is included on a list published by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to 

section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a-1). 

See also Executive Order 13175, Sec. 1(b). 

This section establishes guidance for developing, maintaining, and enhancing the Forest 

Service’s relations with Indian tribes, as well as for consulting with Alaska Native Corporations. 

The Forest Service and federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native entities share 

the value of restoring, sustaining, and enhancing the nation’s forests and grasslands, providing, and 

sustaining benefits to the American people. In many cases, Indian tribes continue their traditional 

uses of the nation’s forests and grasslands to sustain their cultural identity and continuity, and for 

economic development. The Government’s trust responsibilities and treaty obligations make it 

essential that the Forest Service engages with Indian tribes in timely and meaningful consultation 

on policies that may affect one or more Indian tribes. Consultation alone is not sufficient. In 

addition to consultation, coordination and collaboration together lead to information exchange, 

mutual understanding, informed decision-making, and mutual benefit. The importance of 

consultation and coordination with Indian tribes was affirmed through Presidential Memoranda 

in 1994, 2004, and 2009, and in Executive Orders in 1998 and 2000 as well as in numerous 

statutes and policies. The value of collaboration is fully recognized within the Forest Service for all 

of its constituents, including Indian tribes as a support process for government-to-government 

consultation.

The Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC manages and provides 

direction for the Forest Service Tribal Relations Program. In addition to government-togovernment relations with federally recognized Indian tribes, the Forest Service encourages 

engagement with Alaska Native Corporations, non-Federally recognized tribes, and Native 

Hawaiians, as well as American Indian and Alaska Native individuals, communities, inter-tribal 

organizations, enterprises, and educational institutions. The rights of tribal governments and 

their officials are not the same, nor should they be treated the same as the general public. The 

Tribal Relations Program strives to develop the capacity of the Agency’s personnel, thereby 

enhancing the Agency’s ability to foster effective partnerships and protect tribal rights. For 

additional guidance and procedures for implementing this program, see FSH 1509.13. 
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The Tribal Relations Program focuses on improving relations between Indian tribes, as defined 

by 25 U.S.C. 459a, and the Forest Service. See FSM 1761.3, Civil Rights, for direction on 

special emphasis programs that focus on American Indian and Alaska Native people as 

individuals or minorities. See FSM 2360 for additional direction on cultural resources and 

Heritage Program requirements, many of which overlap with this section. 

The direction in this section does not supersede, amend, or otherwise modify or affect the 

implementation of existing agreements (for example, Memorandum of Understanding) between 

Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and the Forest Service. 

1563.01 - Authority 

The history of Federal policies, treaties, statutes, court decisions, and Presidential direction 

regarding Indian tribes and tribal rights and interests is extensive. The relationship between the 

United States and Indian tribes extends to all Federal agencies. This government-to-government 

relationship is unique, and distinct from that of other interests and constituencies served by the 

Forest Service. 

Forest Service employees should strive to increase their understanding of tribal relations 

generally, and of opportunities to enter into contracts, grants, and agreements with tribal 

governments and Native American-owned businesses. 

This section provides short descriptions of the authorities applicable to tribal relations. For a 

more detailed explanation of these authorities, see section 1563.8 of this Manual. 

1563.01a - United States Constitution and Indian Tribes 

See 1563.8a for more detail. 

1. Commerce with Indian Tribes. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, gives Congress the 

power to regulate commerce with Indian tribes. 

2. Treaties with Indian Tribes. 

a. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, grants authority to the President to make treaties 

with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

b. Article VI, Clause 2, recognizes treaties as a supreme law of the land and States 

must recognize treaties even if they conflict with State constitutions or laws.

3. Federal Property Clause. Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2, known as the Federal 

Property Clause, establishes Congress’ authority to dispose of and make all rules and 

regulations respecting the territory or property of the United States. 
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1563.01b - Treaty Rights and the Federal Trust Responsibility 

See 1563.8b for more detail. 

1. Treaty Rights. The United States entered into over 300 treaties with Indian tribes 

prior to 1871. Under these treaties, Indian tribes ceded significant portions of their 

aboriginal lands to the United States. Each of these treaties is unique but, generally 

speaking, Indian tribes reserved separate, isolated reservation homelands under the 

treaties and sometimes retained certain rights to hunt, fish, graze, and gather on the lands 

ceded to the United States. These rights retained on ceded lands are known as “offreservation treaty rights” or “other reserved rights.”

2. Trust Responsibility. Trust responsibility arises from the United States' unique legal 

and political relationship with Indian tribes. It derives from the Federal Government's 

consistent promise, in the treaties that it signed, to protect the safety and well-being of the 

Indian tribes and tribal members. The federal trust responsibility is a legally enforceable 

fiduciary obligation on the part of the United States to protect tribal treaty rights, lands, 

assets, and resources, as well as a duty to carry out the mandates of federal law with 

respect to all federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages. 

(See also FSM 1563.9b). 

1563.01c - Consultation with Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations 

See 1563.8c for more detail. 

For purposes of consultation with Indian tribes, determinations as to when a Federal action may 

have substantial direct effect on an Indian tribe’s interests may be defined by the Indian tribe’s 

perspective. If questions arise over what decisions or policies may have substantial direct effect, 

then consult with the potentially affected Indian tribe to ascertain their perspective. 

1. Culture and Heritage Cooperation Authority of 2008 (25 U.S.C. Chapter 32(A), 

section3056 (b)(A)). Requires the Forest Service to consult with affected Indian tribes 

before releasing culturally sensitive information.

2. Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments, issued November 6, 2000, directs Federal agencies to establish regular and 

meaningful consultation and collaboration with Tribal officials in the development of 

Federal policies that have tribal implications, to strengthen the United States governmentto-government relationships with Indian tribes, and to reduce the imposition of unfunded 

mandates upon Indian tribes. Public Law (P.L.) 108-199 and Public Law (P.L.) 108-447

added language that directed the Office of Management and Budget and all Federal 

agencies to consult with Alaska Natives and Alaska Native Corporations on the same 

basis as Indian tribes under Executive Order 13175. 
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3. Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712(b)),

requires coordinating of land use plans for lands in the National Forest System with the 

land use planning and management programs of and for Indian tribes. (See 

FSM 1563.01d, paragraph 1). 

4. National Environmental Policy Act’s (NEPA of 1969) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),

Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing regulations at Title 40 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations, parts 1501.7(a)(1) and 1506(b)(3)(ii) require Federal 

agencies to invite Indian tribes to participate in the scoping process for projects and 

activities that affect Indian tribes, and requires NEPA documentation of environmental 

impacts. 

5. National Forest Management Act’s (NFMA) of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.),

regulations (36 CFR 219.4(a)) implementing the NFMA direct the Forest Service to 

consult with and coordinate forest planning with Indian tribes. (See FSM 1563.01d.2) 

6. National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.), as 

amended in 1992. Requires Federal agency officials to consult with Indian tribes 

concerning the effects of undertakings on historic properties of traditional and cultural 

importance to Indian tribes. 

7. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA) 

(25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.). Permits for the excavation and/or removal of “cultural items” 

protected by NAGPRA require Tribal consultation, as do discoveries of “cultural items” 

made during activities on Federal or Tribal lands under 25 U.S.C. 3002. The Secretary of 

the Interior’s implementing regulations are at 43 CFR parts 10.3 - 10.4. Alaska Native 

Corporations (ANCs) do not have legal authority to consult for NAGRPA purposes; 

however, if an Alaska tribe expressly gives consent in writing that an ANC is acting as 

their authorizing agent in a NAGPRA consultation, the request should be considered. 

8. Presidential Memorandum of November 5, 2009. President Barack Obama issued a 

Presidential Memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies on Tribal 

Consultation. The Memorandum directed each Federal agency to develop and submit to 

the Office of Management and Budget a plan of action to implement the Executive Order, 

as well as annual progress reports on the status of those plans. 

9. Public Law (Pub. L.) 108-199, 118 Stat. 3, 452, and Public Law (Pub. L.) 108-447. 

Added language that directed the Office of Management and Budget and all Federal 

agencies to consult with Alaska Natives and Alaska Native Corporations on the same 

basis as Indian tribes under Executive Order 13175. 
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10. Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 219 (Planning Rule). The Forest 

Service’s 2012 Planning Rule provides direction for NFS land management planning 

under NFMA. Section 219.4 of the rule requires opportunities for public and Tribal 

participation and coordination throughout the planning process. 

11. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1501 et. seq.). This Act was 

adopted to curb the practice of imposing unfunded mandates on non-Federal 

governments, including tribal governments, and to improve cooperation and working 

relations among different levels of government. 

12. USDA Departmental Regulation 1350-002, Tribal Consultation, Coordination, and 

Collaboration (DR), published January 18, 2013. The Regulation directs the USDA and 

its agencies to provide federally recognized Indian tribes the opportunity for governmentto-government consultation and coordination in policy development and program 

activities which have direct and substantial effects on their Tribe. 

1563.01d - National Forest System – Cooperative Land Management and Planning 

with Indian Tribes 

See 1563.8d for more detail. 

1. Coordination with Tribal Land Use Management and Planning. The Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712(b)) requires the Forest Service to 

coordinate land use plans for NFS lands with the land use planning and management 

programs of and for Indian tribes. 

2. Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes on Forest Planning. Regulations 

(36 CFR 219.4(a)) implementing the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 

(16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.) direct the Forest Service to consult with and coordinate forest 

planning with Indian tribes. The Forest Service must also consult with Alaska Native 

Corporations pursuant to PL 108-199 and PL 108-447.

3. Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes on National Forest System Project 

Planning and Decision Making. The National Environmental Policy Act’s (NEPA of 

1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) Council on Environmental Quality implementing 

regulations at Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, parts 1501.7(a)(1) and 

1506.6(b)(3)(ii) require Federal agencies to invite Indian tribes to participate in the 

scoping process for projects and activities that affect Indian tribes and requires NEPA 

documentation. 
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1563.01e - National Forest System – Subsistence Uses in Alaska 

See 1563.8e for more detail. 

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA) (16 U.S.C. 3114) 

provides that the taking on public lands of fish and wildlife for subsistence uses by Native and 

non-Native rural residents of the State of Alaska shall be accorded a priority over the taking of 

fish and wildlife for other purposes, except as otherwise provided in the Act and other Federal 

laws. 

While ANILCA does not provide an Alaska Native preference for subsistence in Alaska, the 

Federal Subsistence Board and those delegated authority to act on behalf of the board engage in 

consultation with Indian tribes and Alaska Native Corporations, which is conducted pursuant to 

Executive Order 13175, the Federal Subsistence Board’s Tribal Consultation Policy, and the 

Draft Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Corporations Consultation Policy. 

1563.01f - National Forest System – Tribal Cultural Resources and Indian Sacred 

Sites 

See 1563.8f for more detail. 

Federal land managing agencies hold in public trust a great diversity of landscapes and sites, 

including many culturally important sites held sacred by Indian tribes. The Forest Service’s 

responsibility to protect tribal cultural resources and sacred sites is codified in Executive Orders, 

legislation, regulations, and other statutory authorities. Some authorities relate to cultural 

resources as sites of historical importance and other authorities relate to sacred sites as places 

held sacred because of religious or spiritual importance. 

On December 6, 2012, the Secretary of Agriculture accepted the recommendations included in 

the USDA Policy and Procedures Review and Recommendations: Indian Sacred Sites. That 

report recognizes many authorities that Forest Service personnel observe in protecting the 

cultural resources and sacred sites of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Implementation of 

the recommendations from that report increases the level of protection and access to Indian 

sacred sites. 

In general, the Forest Service Heritage Program is the lead staff for cultural resources and the 

Tribal Relations Program is the lead staff for Indian sacred sites. However, there is a great deal 

of overlap because these are not mutually exclusive categories. For actions that may affect 

Indian tribes or Alaska Native Corporations, the two programs have shared responsibilities. 

The Heritage Program directives are set forth at FSM 2360. 
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1. American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) (42 U.S.C. 1996). This Act 

declares that: 

. . . it shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American 

Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the 

traditional religions of the American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, and Native Hawaiians,

including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and 

the freedom to worship through ceremonial and traditional rites. 

Actions protective of cultural resources, watersheds, animal or biological communities, 

and other natural resources that also protect an American Indian or Alaska Native sacred 

site may serve a secular purpose, as well as accommodate Tribal religion. 

2. Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA) (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.). 

As amended, ARPA establishes a permit process for the excavation or removal of any 

archaeological resources from Federal and Indian lands. 

3. Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority (25 U.S.C. Chapter 32A, sections 3053 

and 3056). These two sections of the Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority 

authorizes the Forest Service to utilize National Forest System land for the reburial of 

human remains and cultural items, including human remains and cultural items 

repatriated under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 

(NAGPRA) (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); and prevent the unauthorized disclosure of 

information regarding human remains or cultural items reburied on National Forest 

System land. 

4. Executive Order 13007, Indian Sacred Sites. This Executive Order directs Federal 

land management agencies, to the extent permitted by law, and not clearly inconsistent 

with essential agency functions, to accommodate access to and use of Indian sacred sites, 

to avoid affecting the physical integrity of such sites wherever possible, and, where 

appropriate, to maintain the confidentiality of sacred sites. 

5. Executive Order 13287 – Preserve America. Establishes Federal policy to provide 

leadership in preserving America’s heritage by actively advancing the protection, 

enhancement, and contemporary use of the historic properties owned by the Federal 

Government. 

6. Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) (16 U.S.C. 6801 et seq) is the 

authority by which Federal land management agencies charge fees for certain services 

and facilities, and retain these funds for the agency’s use without further appropriation. 
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7. National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.). 

NHPA establishes the National Register of Historic Places, establishes the Advisory 

Council on Historic Preservation and the State Historic Preservation Officers, and 

requires agencies to designate Federal Preservation Officers. 

8. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA), 

25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.). NAGPRA provides a process for museums and Federal agencies 

to return certain Native American cultural items – human remains, funerary objects, 

sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony – to lineal descendants, and culturally 

affiliated Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. 

9. Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) (42 U.S.C. 2000bb). This Act

reiterated that the Federal government may substantially burden a person’s exercise of 

religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person-

(A) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and 

(B) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental 

interest. 

10. Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 2000cc). 

This Act requires that no government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in 

a manner that imposes a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person, 

including a religious assembly or institution, unless the government demonstrates that 

imposition of the burden on that person, assembly, or institution - 

(A) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and 

(B) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental 

interest. 

1563.01g - National Forest System – Tribal Forest Protection Act 

See 1563.8g for more detail. 

The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (118 Stat. 870, P.L. 108-278, codified at 25 U.S.C. 

3115a, Tribal forest assets protection (TFPA)). The TFPA provides the authority for a Tribe and 

the Forest Service to enter into an agreement or contract to carry out a project to protect Indian 

forest land or rangeland that meets certain criteria. 
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1563.01h - National Forest System – Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, 

Title VIII, Subtitle B 

See 1563.8h for more detail. 

Title VIII, Subtitle B of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, was codified as the 

Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority (25 U.S.C. Chapter 32A) and includes provisions 

for reburial of human remains and cultural items, temporary closure for traditional and cultural 

purposes, forest products for traditional and cultural purposes, and prohibitions on disclosure of 

information. 

1563.01i - Business Operations – Grants and Agreements, Contracts, and 

Procurement with Indian Tribes 

Forest Service employees should strive to increase their understanding of tribal relations 

generally, and of opportunities to enter into contracts, grants, and agreements with Indian 

tribes and Native American-owned businesses. The Forest Service has legally mandated 

trust responsibilities to consult, coordinate, and communicate with Indian tribes. 

The following includes a section outlining terms and conditions within agreements with Indian 

tribes and a partial, selected list of authorities highlighting specific references to Indian tribes. 

Throughout the list, the term “Indian tribe” is used to designate federally recognized tribes. 

Where State-recognized tribes are relevant or eligible for a specific program, they are 

specifically included. 

See FSM 1580.12, FSH 1509.11, FSM 1563.01h, and FSH 2409.19 for other authorities that 

cover contracting with Indian tribes, and FSH 6309.32, subchapter D, part 4G19 for detailed 

policies and procedures. Additional authorities related to heritage and historic properties are 

located in FSM 2365.21 (Passport in Time program); FSM 2364.11 (National Historic 

Preservation Act Memoranda of Agreement, Programmatic Agreements, and Protocols). 

1. Terms & Conditions within Agreements with Indian Tribes 

a. Confidentiality 

Indian tribes that want to maintain the confidentiality of their project’s 

findings/research collaboration, and so forth, may include language to that effect in 

the agreement. In some instances, this information is exempt from release under the 

Freedom of Information Act as culturally sensitive data and information under the 

Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority’s Prohibition on Disclosure (25 U.S.C. 

Chapter 32A, section 3056). Indian tribes should be aware that it may not be possible 

to bar release of information to the public because of the Freedom of Information Act.
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b. Tribal Hiring Preference 

Maintaining the ability to hire tribal employees: Indian tribes are accepted from the 

nondiscrimination provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 under 

certain circumstances because Indian preference is a political preference, not a racial 

preference (Morton v. Mancari, 417 U.S. 535 (1974)). Specifically, Indian tribes can 

give preference in hiring Indians if the business or enterprise is on or near an Indian 

reservation, the hired Indian employee lives on or near a reservation, and the 

employer’s preference for hiring Indians is publicly announced. Thus, Indian tribes 

can legally pass Tribal Employment Rights Ordinances that allow tribes to carry out 

hiring and contracting/granting practices to the advantage of tribal members on 

reservations (FSH 1509.11, chapter 90). In addition, the Indian Self-Determination 

and Educational Act, P.L. 93-638, requires the inclusion of Indian preference 

provisions in certain Federal contracts and grants.

2. Government-wide Use Authorities: 

a. Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations 

Act (Public Law 106-291). Rural Development, Forestry, and Communities Program. 

Title II of this Act enables the Forest Service to help rural areas analyze and assess 

forest resource opportunities, maximize local economic potential through market 

development and expansion, and diversify communities' economic base. Funding 

may be allocated for such things as technical assistance, training and education, 

equipment, marketing, and all costs associated with making these services available 

to rural communities. Indian tribes are directly eligible. The Program requires annual 

Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations 

direction to implement, so may be unfunded any given year. (Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance 2009) 

b. Economy Act of June 30, 1932 (31 U.S.C. 1535).

This Act authorizes one Federal agency to place an order with another Federal agency 

for goods and services under the following conditions: 

Funds are available; 

The head of the ordering agency or unit decides the order is in the best interest of the 

United States Government; 

The agency or unit to fill the order is able to provide or get by contract the ordered 

goods or services; and
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The head of the agency ordering the goods or services determines that the ordered 

goods or services cannot be obtained by contract as conveniently or cheaply by a 

commercial enterprise. 

This arrangement may be mutually beneficial to both the Forest Service and the 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), as well as other Federal 

agencies. 

While this Act is not an authority for providing money directly to Indian tribes, it may be 

appropriate for the Forest Service to contract with BIA or other Federal agencies for 

delivery of goods and services that benefit Indian tribes when the conditions in the 

previous paragraph are met. 

c. Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (15 U.S.C. 3710a, Pub. L. 96-480). 

i. Cooperative Research and Development Agreement 

Through this agreement, Federal agencies, including the Forest Service, provide 

personnel, services, facilities, equipment, or other resources with or without 

reimbursement from the cooperator to support scientific research aimed at 

developing commercially viable products or services. The agreement should be 

between one or more Federal laboratories and one or more non-Federal parties. 

(See FSH 1509.11, ch. 70.1-79.2). 

ii. Technology Transfer Agreement 

The Forest Service may enter into cooperative research and development 

agreements (CRADAs) for technological transfer for commercial purposes. The 

Forest Service may provide personnel, services, facilities, equipment, or other 

resources with or without reimbursement from the cooperator to support scientific 

research aimed at developing commercially viable products or services. The 

agreement should be between one or more Federal laboratories and one or more 

non-Federal parties. Although Indian tribes are not specifically mentioned in this 

act, the Forest Service may enter into CRADAs with Indian tribes or tribal entities 

that fit the description of industrial organizations and with tribal colleges that fit 

the nonprofit organization description (See FSH 1509.11, ch. 70.1; FSM 1563.01h; 

and FSM 1580.11). 

d. Indian Financing Act of 1974, as amended (25 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.).

This Act provides promotion and development of Native American-owned businesses 

and remains an essential foundation for economic growth and stability for Native 

Americans. The program provides for a Revolving Loan Fund Program, and gives 

the Secretary of the Interior the ability to ensure and guarantee the repayment by 

qualified Native American borrowers of small business loans issued by private banks 
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and lenders. Although this law is principally directed to the Secretary of the Interior, 

Section 1544 of this Act permits a Federal agency, like the Forest Service, to award a 

primary contractor a 5 percent bonus for subcontracting with a certified Indian firm. 

3. Service-wide Use Authorities: 

a. Cooperative Funds and Deposits Act (16 U.S.C. 565a-1). 

This Act provides the Forest Service with the authority to enter into cooperative 

agreements for a number of activities with public or private agencies, organizations, 

institutions, or people. 

i. Participating Agreements (PAs) 

Through PAs, the Forest Service may enter into cooperatively performed projects 

of mutual interest and benefit with other parties. Under a PA, the Forest Service is 

authorized to advance funding to the partner in a prorated amount for initial project 

costs. Participating agreements require a minimum of 20 percent cost sharing by 

the partner to demonstrate mutual interest and benefit in the qualitative outcomes 

of the project. Cost sharing by partnering organizations can include noncash and 

in-kind contributions toward overall project costs. The Forest Service is allowed to 

provide cash advances for the minimum amount needed to perform anticipated 

activities, or no more than is needed for a 30-day period, whichever is less. 

PAs are implemented with partnering organizations for local projects in targeted 

areas on Forest Service land as provided by statute. For partnerships that are 

national or multiregional in scope, a Master Participating Agreement (MPA) is 

signed. Individual, Supplemental Project Agreements (SPAs) are executed on a 

project-by-project basis to carry out the purpose of the MPA. 

Type 1: Cooperative Environmental Education and Forest History Materials--

includes the development and publication of books, pamphlets, brochures, and 

audiovisual materials, but not maps unless the material specifically promotes 

environmental education or forest history.

Type 2: Cooperative Manpower, Job Training, and Development Programs--

appropriate when cooperator has an existing specific job program and parties share 

costs. It requires at least a 20-percent cost match and does not require competition.

Type 3: Cooperative Pollution Abatement Agreement--enables cooperatively 

performed projects involving construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities 

relating to pollution abatement. Eligible parties include Indian tribes, public and 

private agencies, organizations, institutions, or persons. It requires at least a 

20-percent cost match and does not require competition.
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Type 4: Forestry Protection Agreement—enables cooperatively performed 

projects involving fire prevention, fuels management, insect and disease control, 

noxious weed control, tree planting and seeding, erosion control, abandoned mine 

reclamation, land restoration, hazardous material identification, water testing and 

protection, and air pollution abatement. Projects have mutual interest and 

nonmonetary benefit. Eligible parties include Indian tribes, public and private 

agencies, organizations, institutions, or persons. (See FSH 1509.11, ch. 70.1-

79.2).

 ii. Cooperative Fire Protection Agreement 

The Forest Service uses these agreements to partner with parties to provide 

wildland fire protection, to perform approved severity activities, and to respond to 

presidentially declared emergencies or disasters under Federal Emergency 

Management Agency authorities. The activities can occur on private land within 

or near National Forest System (NFS) land or can be performed for the benefit of 

those who occupy or use national forests or other lands administered by the Forest 

Service. Alternatively, the Forest Service can enter into reciprocal agreements 

with any fire organization maintaining fire protection facilities in the vicinity of 

NFS lands. (See also Reciprocal Fire Protection Act 1955, Granger-Thye Act 

1950, and FSH 1509.11, ch. 30). 

b. Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-154). 

Using Challenge Cost-Share Agreements, the Forest Service cooperates with other 

parties to develop, plan, and implement projects of mutual interest and benefit to all 

parties and enhance Forest Service activities. Parties may include public and private 

agencies, Indian tribes, organizations, institutions, and individuals. It requires at least 

a 20-percent cost match and does not require competition (FSH 1509.11, sec. 70.1 

and FSM 1580.12). 

c. Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 106–291). 

Congress created the Joint Fire Science Program to provide scientific support and 

tools to address wildland fuels issues. The program is run by six Government 

agencies, including the Forest Service and five U.S. Department of the Interior 

agencies (Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National Park 

Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey). It focuses 

on wildlands administered by the partner agencies and other federally administered 

lands. The program’s agencies collaborate with private, nonprofit organizations and 

tribal, State, county, and local governments. 
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d. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). 

MOUs enable the Forest Service to formalize a relationship or coordinate its activities 

with other parties for mutual benefit, but each party directs its own activities and uses 

its own resources. It cannot be used to obligate or fund projects. Each MOU must 

contain an expiration date of no more than 5 years from the date of execution. MOUs 

are useful for government-to-government relationships. There are no specific legal 

authorities that dictate the contents or circumstances for using MOUs. However, the 

underlying activities covered by an MOU must be authorized by laws or regulations 

governing Forest Service programs (FSH 1509.11, chapter 60). 

e. Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000; P.L. 

106–393, 16 U.S.C. 500, as reauthorized and amended by the Emergency Economic 

Stabilization Act of 2008, Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and Tax 

Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008, P.L. 110-343; as 

reauthorized and amended by the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013, P.L. 113–40. 

(FSH 1509.11, chapter 70). 

The Act allows the Forest Service to enter into contracts, grants, cooperative 

agreements, and partnership agreements with local governmental entities, tribal 

nations, individuals, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and so forth for eligible 

projects that have been recommended by the Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) 

and approved by the Forest Service. The act encourages project proposals from a 

wide range of proponents, including Indian tribes, and Indian tribes may also 

participate as RAC members. Planning and implementing the projects should help 

improve cooperative relationships among the people that use and care for Federal 

land and the agencies that manage the Federal land. 

Title II funds may be used for the protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish and 

wildlife habitat, and other resource objectives consistent with the Secure Rural 

Schools Act on Federal land and on non-Federal land where projects would benefit 

the resources on Federal land. 

The purposes of the Secure Rural Schools Act include making additional investments in, 

and creating employment opportunities through, Title II-funded projects that: 

Improve the maintenance of existing infrastructure; 

Implement stewardship objectives that enhance forest ecosystems; and 

Restore and improve land health and water quality. 

The funds may be used for projects promoting: 

Road, trail, and infrastructure maintenance or obliteration; 
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Soil productivity improvement; 

Improvements in forest ecosystem health; 

Watershed restoration and maintenance; 

The restoration, maintenance, and improvement of wildlife and fish habitat; 

The control of noxious and exotic weeds; and 

The re-establishment of native species. 

The act itself does not require matching funds or services from parties to an agreement. 

This act was designed to provide short-term assistance to rural communities and is 

subject to annual reauthorization or termination by Congress (currently funded through 

September 30, 2014). 

f. Stewardship End Results Contracting Projects (Section 604 of the Healthy Forests 

Restoration Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-148, 117 Stat. 1887, 1914 as amended by 

the Agriculture Act of 2014, Public Law 113-79, 128 Stat. 649,16 U.S.C. 6591c). 

The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have authority to 

enter into stewardship end results contracting projects, under contract or agreement 

instruments, for up to 10 years. Stewardship projects help achieve land management 

goals while meeting local and rural community needs, including contributing to the 

sustainability of rural communities and providing a continuing source of local income 

and employment. Stewardship projects focus on the “end result” ecosystem benefits 

and outcomes, rather than on what is removed from the land. Forest Service staffs 

collaborate to build community partnerships with cooperating Federal, State, and 

local government agencies; tribal governments; nongovernmental organizations; and 

any interested groups or individuals to develop projects.

This authority enables the Forest Service and BLM to apply the value of timber or 

other forest products removed as an offset against the cost of services received, apply 

excess receipts from a project to other authorized stewardship projects, select 

contracts and agreements on a “best value” basis, and award a contract or agreement 

up to 10 years, which may stimulate long-term investment in the local community. 

Stewardship contracts and agreements may be used for road and trail maintenance, 

treatments to improve, maintain, or restore forest or range land health, restoration or 

maintenance of water quality, improvements to fish and wildlife habitat, and reducing 

hazardous fuels that pose risks to communities and ecosystem values, and control of 

noxious weeds.

The Forest Service would enter into a contract where the Forest Service designs the 

stewardship project, is the beneficiary of the work, pays the costs of the project, and 

contractors compete for the project. Stewardship agreements are particularly 

applicable for stewardship projects where there is a joint endeavor with mutual 

benefits and mutual interest and the partner is a State or local government, Indian 
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tribe, or nonprofit. Some features of stewardship agreements include requiring a costshare of 20 percent or more, not permitting a profit incentive, and allowing for 

termination by either party. Contractors in this case are typically not competing for 

the projects. (See also Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill), P.L. 113-79, 

Section 8205; FSH 2409.19, ch. 60; FSH 1509.11, ch. 70; and FSM 1580.12).

g. Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Agreement Authority (Wyden 

Amendment) (Public Law 105-277, Section 323 as amended by Public Law 109-54, 

Section 434, and permanently authorized by Public Law 111-11, Section 3001).

The Forest Service uses this authority when it enters into Cooperative Agreements 

and Participating Agreements with Federal, tribal, State, and local governments; 

private and nonprofit entities; and landowners to improve fish, wildlife, and other 

natural or cultural resources on National Forest System lands within a watershed, and 

to reduce risk of natural disaster where public safety is threatened within the 

watershed. Agreements may be with willing Federal, tribal, State, and local 

governments; private and nonprofit entities; and landowners to conduct activities on 

public or private lands for the following purposes: protection, restoration, and 

enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other natural or cultural resources; 

reduction of risk for natural disaster where public safety is threatened; or a 

combination of both. Indian tribes and State-designated tribes are eligible. Note that 

this type of agreement would require only mutual benefit, not necessarily mutual 

interest, and has no minimum matching requirement (FSH 1509.11, ch. 20, sec. 21; 

FSH 1509.11, ch. 70, and FSM 1580.12).

4. Service-wide Use Authorities Specifically for Research: 

a. Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3318). 

This statute authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into contracts, grants, or 

cooperative agreements with outside parties, which could include Tribes, for research 

and other purposes, in the areas of food and agricultural sciences. Agricultural 

sciences have been interpreted to include forestry. When using a cooperative 

agreement, the act requires that all parties make a contribution toward the 

accomplishment of the objectives of the agreement and that the agreement will serve 

the mutual interest of all parties to the agreement. Whether a grant, contract, or 

cooperative agreement is used, the act limits the duration of such agreements to 

5-year periods (FSM 1563.01h). 

b. Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978, as amended 

(16 U.S.C. 1641-1646, Pub. L. 95-307). 
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The Secretary of Agriculture may conduct, support, and cooperate in investigations, 

experiments, tests, and other activities deemed necessary to obtain, analyze, develop, 

demonstrate, and disseminate scientific information about protecting, managing, and 

using forest and rangeland resources in rural, suburban, and urban areas. The 

Secretary may cooperate with Indian tribes and is authorized to make competitive 

grants that will further research activities. (FSH 1509.11, sec. 21; FSH 1509.11, 

chapter 30; and FSM 1563.01h). 

c. National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 

(FSH 1509.11, ch. 70, sec. 72.4 and FSM 1580.12).

i. Joint Venture Agreement. 

This type of agreement enables the Forest Service to do research projects with any 

entity or individual to serve the mutual interest and benefit of the parties in 

agricultural research, extension, and teaching activities. The Forest Service may 

partner only with universities and colleges offering 4-year degrees for teaching 

activities. The Forest Service and the other party share costs--the agreement requires 

a 20-percent cost match. Reimbursable and advance payments are possible depending 

on the type of cooperator. The agreements are unsolicited (7 U.S.C. 3318(b)). 

ii. Cost Reimbursable Agreements 

These agreements allow the Forest Service to get certain goods or services from State 

cooperative institutions and colleges and universities to conduct agricultural research, 

extension, or teaching activities of mutual interest, although the parties may not 

benefit in the same qualitative way. The Forest Service may enter into these 

agreements with State cooperative institutions or other colleges and universities. The 

Forest Service may cooperate only with universities and colleges that offer 

baccalaureate or higher degrees (4 year) for teaching activities, however. The 

agreement does not require matching funds from the cooperator, although advance 

payments are prohibited (7 U.S.C. 3319(a)). 

d. Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill); P.L. 110–246, as 

amended. The Community Wood Energy Program.

The Forest Service Forest Products Lab provides grants/assistance to develop 

community wood energy plans and provides competitive grants to acquire, upgrade, 

or demonstrate community wood energy systems. State-designated tribes and Indian 

tribes are eligible (FSH 1509.11, sec. 21). 

5. Service-wide Use Authorities Specifically for State and Private Forestry: 

a. Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112–74); 
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Hazardous Fuels Treatment, Wildland Fire Hazardous Fuels Funds. The Forest 

Service may use up to $15 million to enter into cooperative agreements or to issue 

grants for hazardous fuels reduction and for training or monitoring associated with 

such hazardous fuel reduction activities on non-Federal lands adjacent to Federal 

lands. The funds can be used to protect communities where planned hazard reduction 

activities on National Forest System lands have the potential to place such 

communities at risk. Grants should be planned and implemented to complement 

hazardous fuel reduction on Forest Service lands in high-priority areas such as those 

identified in Community Wildfire Protection Plans or equivalent. National forests are 

to coordinate hazardous fuel reduction projects with State, tribal, and local partners 

whenever possible and can use all authorities available (the Forest Service often uses 

the Wyden authority). 

b. Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978; 16 U.S.C 2101-2111, as amended. 

i. Collaborative Forest Restoration Program, Pub. L. 106-393, 114 Stat. 1607, 1625 

The Forest Service uses this program to promote healthy watersheds and reduce the 

threat of large, high-intensity wildfires, insect infestation, and disease in New Mexico 

forests. Eligible entities include local and tribal governments, educational institutions, 

landowners, conservation organizations, and other interested public and private 

entities (FSH 1509.11, ch. 20 and FSM 1580.14). 

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r3/workingtogether/grants/?cid=fsbdev3_022022

ii. Forest Health Protection (16 U.S.C. 2104). 

This program protects non-Federal forest and tree resources from damaging forest 

insects, disease-causing agents, and invasive plants; develops and improves forest 

health protection technologies; and monitors the health of our Nation's forests. 

Technical assistance, formula grants, and project grants are available. For technical 

assistance on private or tribal trust land, Indian tribes can approach the Forest Service 

directly. The Forest Service can also conduct detection surveys and biological 

evaluations of forest insect and disease outbreaks on U.S. Department of the Interior 

and tribal trust lands. 

Indian tribes owning private land may apply for financial assistance through the State 

forester. Indian tribes desiring financial assistance for trust lands, however, should 

approach the regional Forest Service Forest Health Staff and the Bureau of Indian 

Affairs forester to submit a proposal to the Forest Health Headquarters in 

Washington, DC. By September 15 of each year, the Forest Service sends out a 

request for these proposals for forest insect and disease prevention and suppression 

projects in the subsequent fiscal year. Indian tribes are limited to the cost of 

conducting suppression and eradication projects (FSH 1509.11, ch. 20, sec. 21). 

http://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/.
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iii. Forest Legacy Program

This program provides grants to States to protect forests with the focus on working 

forests—providing forest products and resource-based jobs, protecting air and water 

quality, providing recreational opportunities, and protecting important fish and 

wildlife habitat, including those for threatened or endangered species. Lands are 

protected through conservation easements (65 percent of all projects) and fee-simple 

purchases (35 percent of all projects). Projects are selected through a two-step 

competitive process resulting in high-quality projects that are supported locally and 

are nationally significant. Through the Forest Action Plans (Statewide Assessment 

and Resource Strategies), the States identify priority areas within the State to target 

Forest Legacy Program funds. Indian tribes must apply through their State forester.

http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/coop/programs/loa/flp.shtml

iv. Forest Stewardship Program (16 U.S.C. 2103a). 

These project grants help private forest landowners and individuals develop plans for 

managing non-Federal forest land. Note that projects cannot be conducted on tribal 

trust lands, thus only land owned by the Indian tribe is eligible. The Forest Service 

offers assistance, primarily through State agencies, to help protect and improve soil, 

water, range, aesthetics, recreation, timber, and fish and wildlife resources. It 

requires parties to share 50 percent of the costs. State forestry or equivalent State 

agencies, Indian tribes, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities are eligible. 

Indian tribes must apply through their State forester or contact the Forest Service’s 

national program lead (see also Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 2002; 

FSH 1509.11). http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/coop/programs/loa/fsp.shtml.

v. Rural Fire Prevention and Control (16 U.S.C. 2106), (FSH 1509.11, ch. 20). 

1. Volunteer Fire Assistance Program 

This program provides financial, technical, and other assistance through State forestry 

agencies to organize, equip, and train small, local fire departments in rural communities 

with populations under 10,000 to prevent and suppress rural fires. State foresters pass 

this funding through to local fire departments and fire training academies. The grants are 

generally $5,000 or less, and all cooperators must provide a 1:1 cost-share match. Indian 

tribes must apply through their State government. http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/partners/vfa/

2. Cooperative Fire Protection: State Fire Assistance Program. 

This program supports State forestry agencies with responsibility for wildfire suppression 

by providing financial and technical support for equipment, training, and creation of fireadapted communities through hazardous fuels reduction and planning. Projects target 

firefighter safety, fire planning, firefighter training, increased initial attack capability, and 
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mobilization readiness for the efficient suppression and prevention of wildfires on nonFederal forest lands and other non-Federal lands. All cooperators must provide a 1:1 

cost-share match. Indian tribes must apply through the local/State government

vi. Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost-Share Program (16 U.S.C. 2105). 

There is both a national program and State-led programs. The national program grant 

assists State foresters, equivalent State agencies, Indian tribes, State-recognized 

tribes, interested members of the public, and private nonprofit organizations in urban 

and community forestry programs in cities and communities. It requires parties to 

share 50 percent of the costs, and the program must have national application. The 

organizers of the projects plan for, establish, manage, and protect trees, forests, green 

spaces, and related natural resources in and adjacent to cities and towns. Although 

individual landowners are not eligible, groups owning land are eligible. States have 

their own programs with varying criteria, but the party would have to apply through 

the State government. http://www.fs.fed.us/ucf/.

vii. Wood Education and Resource Center (WERC) (16 U.S.C. 1650). 

(FSH 1509.11, sec. 21).

1. Competitive Grants Program 

This authority provides funds, on a cost-share basis, for projects that focus on enhancing 

opportunities for sustained forest products production for primary and secondary 

hardwood industries located in the eastern hardwood forest region. Non-Federal 

agencies; public and private agencies, including State, local, and tribal governments; 

institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations; and for-profit organizations, 

corporations, and businesses are eligible. *Currently unfunded (see also Omnibus 

Consolidated Appropriations of 1998 and Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

Research Act 1978). 

2. The Hazardous Fuels Wood to Energy (W2E) Grant Program 

Funds projects where some or all of the woody biomass is generated from National Forest 

Service System lands as a result of hazardous fuel treatments, forest restoration activities, 

insect and disease mitigation, catastrophic weather events, or thinning overstocked 

stands. Projects that use woody biomass from multiple land ownerships (State, Tribal, or 

private lands) and multiple sources (wood products facilities, urban wood waste, and so 

froth) will be considered as long as some of the woody biomass is generated from 

National Forest System lands. Projects that do not anticipate using any wood from 

National Forest System lands will not be eligible. (See also1990 Farm Bill; 2008 Farm 

Bill; Healthy Forest Restoration Act 2003; and Consolidated Appropriations Act 2014). 

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/werc/
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d. National Forest Dependent Rural Communities Economic Diversification Act of 

1990 (7 U.S.C. 6601 et seq., Pub. L. 101-624). 

Woody Biomass Utilization Assistance Program.

This program provides annual project grants or cooperative agreements to further long-term 

forest health through enterprises that support forest management, hazardous fuel reduction, 

and other restoration activities. The program focuses on commercially viable wood energy 

project development through several different mechanisms: 

Statewide wood energy teams to support expansion of wood energy installations through 

cooperative agreements; 

Funding for the development of clusters of projects either geographically clustered or 

sector clusters (for example, colleges, hospitals, and so forth) through grants to help with 

the design; and 

Grants to assist with the design and other preconstruction costs of installing a woodenergy system. 

Eligible entities include nonprofit organizations; State, local, and tribal governments; 

business, companies, corporation (for profit), and special purpose districts (public utilities 

districts, fire districts, conservation districts, or port). Find your regional contact on the 

official Web site. http://www.fs.fed.us/woodybiomass/index.shtml 

e. Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill); P.L. 110–246, as 

amended.

i. Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program (CFP). Through this 

program, the Forest Service is authorized to provide federal financial assistance to 

local governments, Indian tribes, and qualified nonprofit organizations (including 

land trusts) to establish community forests that provide defined benefits. Note that 

financial assistance cannot be used to establish a community forest on tribal trust 

land, thus only land owned by the Indian tribe is eligible. Community benefits 

include economic benefits resulting from sustainable forest management, recreational 

benefits secured with public access, natural resource protection, forest-based 

experiential learning, and replicable models of effective forest stewardship. The 

program requires a 50 percent non-Federal match. There are several requirements for 

land acquired through the program, including public access and managing the land 

according to a Community Forest Plan, which is developed with community 

involvement (FSH 1509.11, sec. 21). 

http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/coop/programs/loa/cfp.shtml
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6. Service-wide Use Authorities Specifically for the National Forest System (NFS): 

a. Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112–74).

Hazardous Fuels, Wildland Fire Hazardous Fuels Funds. The Forest Service may use 

contracts or enter into cooperative agreements for hazardous fuels reduction, and for 

training or monitoring associated with such hazardous fuel reduction activities on 

Federal lands. These activities should focus on protecting lands identified in 

Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) or equivalent. 

b. Cooperative Law Enforcement Act of August 10, 1971 (16 U.S.C. 551a).

Used when the Forest Service partners with a State or political subdivision (local 

governments) to enforce State or local laws or ordinances on lands within or part of 

any unit of the National Forest System (NFS). There may be cross-jurisdictional 

opportunities, both Federal and State, to enable tribal police officers to work on NFS 

lands. Indian tribes should contact their local law enforcement office. See 1563.01j, 

Coordinating Law Enforcement with Tribes for more information. (FSH 1509.11, 

ch. 30).

c. Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, Title IV (P.L. 111–11, H.R. 146).

Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. The purpose of this program is 

to encourage the collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forest 

landscapes. The program’s fund may be used to pay for up to 50 percent of the cost of 

carrying out and monitoring ecological restoration treatments on National Forest 

System lands. No more than $4 million may be spent from the Collaborative Forest 

Landscape Restoration Fund in any single fiscal year on any single project. 

http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/CFLRP/

d. The Reciprocal Fire Protection Act of May 27, 1955 (42 U.S.C. 1856a, P.L. 

84-46). Cooperative Fire Protection Agreements. 

The Forest Service uses these agreements to partner with parties to provide wildland 

fire protection, to perform approved severity activities, and to respond to 

presidentially declared emergencies or disasters under Federal Emergency 

Management Agency authorities. The activities can occur on Federal, State, tribal, or 

private land within or near National Forest System (NFS) land or can be performed 

for the benefit of those who occupy or use national forests or other lands administered 

by the Forest Service. Alternatively, the Forest Service can enter into reciprocal 

agreements with any fire organization maintaining fire protection facilities in the 

vicinity of NFS lands (see also Granger-Thye Act 1950; Cooperative Funds and 

Deposits Act 1975; Cooperative Funds Act 1914; and FSH 1509.11, ch. 30). 
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e. Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-278, 118 Stat. 868).

To carry out projects on National Forest System (NFS) or BLM lands to protect 

adjacent Indian forest land, range land, or tribal communities, Indian tribes may 

submit requests to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to 

enter into cooperative agreements or contracts. Forest Service officials may provide 

advice and information to Indian tribes in advance of the Indian tribes’ submitting 

proposals for stewardship contracts or other instruments, contracts, or agreements. 

Forest Service officials may assist Indian tribes in developing proposals that are 

consistent with the selection criteria set forth in the Act. Line Officers may only 

accept proposals from a representative of the governing body of an Indian tribe, such 

as a tribal council or tribal chairman. The Indian tribe may submit a proposal on 

behalf of a tribal member that owns an allotment that meets the qualifications for a 

project. The Secretary may issue public notice of initiation of any necessary 

environmental review or of the potential of entering into an agreement or contract 

with the Indian tribe no later than 120 days after the request is submitted 

(FSH 2409.19, ch. 60).

Note that lands selected by Alaska Native Corporations under the Alaska National 

Interest Lands Conservation Act are not held in trust or with a restriction against 

alienation. Therefore, such lands are outside the scope of the TFPA. 

1563.01j - Coordinating Law Enforcement with Tribes 

The Forest Service acknowledges the principles of Indian self-determination and self-governance 

(25 U.S.C. 450, et seq.). There is currently no single direct authority for cooperative law 

enforcement with Indian tribes. Complex jurisdictional issues which vary geographically and 

from Tribe-to-Tribe may create barriers to coordinating law enforcement activities with Tribes. 

Depending on the local situation, certain authorities may apply: 

1. 16 U.S.C. 551a provides authority for the Forest Service, Law Enforcement and 

Investigations (LEI), to enter into cooperative law enforcement agreements with States 

and their political subdivisions. 

2. 16 U.S.C 559g provides authority for the Forest Service, LEI, to enter into cooperative 

law enforcement agreements with Federal agencies. 

3. Court orders and consent decrees resulting from adjudicated off-reservation treaty 

rights may require Tribes to exercise self-regulation of those rights. 
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1563.01k - Tribal Colleges and Universities Initiative 

Executive Order 13592 of December 2, 2011. Improving American Indian and Alaska Native 

Educational Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities. In recognition of 

the special commitment and in fulfillment of the solemn obligations it entails Federal agencies 

must help improve educational opportunities provided to all American Indian and Alaska Native 

students. 

1563.02 - Objectives 

Forest Service employees should strive to increase their understanding of tribal relations 

generally, and of opportunities to enter into contracts, grants, and agreements with Indian 

tribes and Native American-owned businesses. The Forest Service has legally mandated 

trust responsibilities to consult, coordinate, and communicate with Indian tribes. More 

specifically, Forest Service employees should: 

1. Develop and maintain effective working relationships with Indian tribes in achieving 

the common values of shared stewardship, promoting ecosystem health, protecting 

cultural resources and sacred places, providing appropriate access to sacred places, and 

benefitting tribal communities to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. 

2. Fulfill federal treaty obligations and uphold the Federal trust responsibility to protect 

the rights and interests of Indian tribes when the Agency undertakes the formulation and 

implementation of policies or other actions that may affect their interests. 

3. Ensure that Forest Service officials, programs, and activities: 

a. Respect tribal self-governance and sovereignty and honor tribal rights and 

interests; 

b. Improve communication, outreach, and education in partnership with Indian tribes; 

c. Acknowledge and respect traditional knowledge; 

d. Integrate tribal perspectives in Agency decision making; 

e. Include Indian tribes in outreach, employment, and advisory groups; and 

f. Include Indian tribes and Native American-owned businesses in financial 

assistance. 
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4. Support the aspirations of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). In 

December 2010, the United States announced the U.S. Government’s support for the 

UNDRIP. The UNDRIP is an important statement of the importance of indigenous 

peoples’ rights, even though it is not considered to be enforceable domestic law in the 

United States. It is considered to be aspirational, an ideal the federal government should 

strive toward in its dealings with indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples within the 

United States include American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Pacific Islanders. 

The UNDRIP highlights, for instance, that it is important to maintain culture and 

traditions (Article 11); maintain religious traditions, customs, and ceremonies (Article 

12); participate in decision making in matters which would affect their rights (Article 18); 

and maintain spiritual connections to traditionally owned lands (Article 25). 

In particular, Article 19 calls for obtaining indigenous peoples’ “free, prior, and informed 

consent” when making decisions that may affect them. That means that agency officials 

should consult with indigenous people – the duly elected officials of federally recognized 

tribes and the traditional holders of Indian religions, knowledge, and practices – early in 

their decision-making processes. The relationships should be non-coercive (free), and 

allow for full information exchange between all involved parties (informed). These 

discussions should lead to, whenever possible, outcomes that are beneficial and at least 

protective of the Indian tribes and other indigenous people. Consent does not mean that 

the indigenous peoples have veto power over Forest Service decisions; it does mean that 

they should have a realistic opportunity to provide input that could change a discretionary 

decision. 

Forest Service personnel should address the elements of the UNDRIP through applying 

the direction provided in this Manual and related guidance, and by applying their 

discretion in decision making and implementation in favor of protecting Indian sacred 

places whenever possible. 

1563.03 - Policy 

The Forest Service will develop, maintain, and enhance government-to-government relationships 

with federally recognized Indian tribes. All Forest Service staffs and units shall provide an 

opportunity for Indian tribes to participate in the development and delivery of policy, programs, 

projects, and other actions to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. Indian tribes 

will be provided the opportunity for timely and meaningful government-to-government 

consultation regarding actions which may have tribal implications. This policy does not preclude 

the Agency from consulting with an Indian tribe when the Indian tribe and the office or Agency 

agree that consultation may be desirable, even if consultation is not specifically required. 
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There are many laws and executive policies that require or enable consultation and coordination 

with tribal governments. Due to the complexity of these individual authorities, local units should 

work closely with Indian tribes to develop protocols and processes for consultation that may then 

be documented in an agreement. 

Specifically, it is the policy of the Forest Service that: 

1. Sovereignty. All Forest Service personnel shall respect and uphold the sovereignty of 

all federally-recognized Tribal governments. This policy does not diminish any Tribal 

governmental rights, including treaty rights, other reserved rights, sovereign immunities 

or jurisdiction. Additionally, this policy does not diminish any rights or protections 

afforded American Indian and Alaska Native persons or entities under Federal law. 

Forest Service offices, units, and staffs shall: 

a. Implement Forest Service programs and activities consistent with and respecting 

Indian treaty and other reserved rights and fulfilling the Federal Government’s legally 

mandated trust responsibility with Indian Tribes. 

b. Manage Forest Service-administered lands and resources on which tribal treaty 

rights exist in consultation with Indian tribes. 

c. Coordinate Forest Service land and resource management plans and actions with 

tribal land and resource management plans and actions to achieve shared stewardship 

and promote the health of ecosystems. 

d. Administer programs and activities in a manner that is sensitive to traditional 

American Indian and Alaska Native spiritual beliefs and practices, and assist tribal 

members in securing ceremonial and medicinal plants, animals, and the use of 

specific geographic places to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. 

2. Government-to-government relationship. The Forest Service shall endeavor to 

establish and maintain government-to-government relationships with federally 

recognized Indian tribes as defined by 25 U.S.C. 459a.

3. Consultation. Forest Service offices, units, and staffs shall consult with Indian tribes 

and Alaska Native Corporations on matters that may affect their rights and interests, 

utilizing the following principles: 

a. Comply with all laws, regulations, and other executive policies in a manner that is 

consistent with the special and unique legal and political relationship with Indian 

tribes. Government-to-government consultation generally involves more than the 

rights of tribal officials, as members of the general public, to comment on proposed 

policies or actions under other Federal laws of general applicability. 
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b. Collaboratively involve Indian tribes, as early as possible, in the development of 

regulatory and management policies, resource and land management plans, study 

plans and actions, and Federal undertakings that may have tribal implications. Work 

with Indian tribes to determine whether a proposed Forest Service policy or action 

has implications for their rights or interests that may warrant consultation, and where 

consultation is necessary, work with affected Indian tribes to establish an effective 

consultation process. 

c. Respond in a timely manner to all requests for consultation by Indian tribes. 

d. Coordinate as practical with other Federal and State agencies and local 

governments during consultation with Indian tribes. 

e. To be clear, coordination and collaboration with tribes are key to building longterm, meaningful relationships and should be viewed as a component of daily 

operations; however, tribal coordination and collaboration efforts do not supersede or 

substitute tribal consultation on a specific topic. 

f. As a general principle, consultation only occurs when the consulting officials of 

the Forest Service and the Indian tribe mutually agree that consultation is taking 

place. Agency consulting officials and their staffs should be clear in identifying, in 

collaboration with the relevant official(s) of the Indian tribe, when an action or set of 

actions constitutes government-to-government consultation. 

4. Accountability. Each Forest Service Unit shall maintain an accountable process to 

ensure regular and meaningful consultation with Tribal officials in the development of 

policies or actions that may have Tribal implications, and, in Alaska, with Federally 

Recognized Native Entities and with Alaska Native Corporations. In order to ensure 

accountability, each Unit shall maintain an administrative record of all relevant decision 

making, information, and communications associated with each consultation. This 

includes initial outreach, consultative meetings and dialogue, and how the results of 

consultation were considered by the Agency in the decision-making processes. These 

administrative records must be retained by the Unit and pertinent information must be 

entered into the USDA Tribal Consultation Database. Information obtained from Tribes 

in consultations and considered by the Tribe to be confidential must, to the extent 

practicable and allowed by law, be kept confidential. 

An accountable process must include, as a minimum, the ability for the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB), Secretary of Agriculture and the USDA Office of 

Tribal Relations in the Secretary’s Office (OTR-OSEC), Under Secretary for Natural 

Resources and Environment (NRE), Chief, and Consulting Officials to determine: 
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a. The subject of the consultation; 

b. The event or decision initiating the need for consultation; 

c. Materials provided to, and received from, Consulting Officials relevant to the 

consultation topic; 

d. Names, titles, and contact information of the Consulting Officials (Federal and 

Tribal Representatives), and any additional individuals who were involved in the 

consultation process, including staff and others; 

e. How the consultation was conducted (the type and mode); 

f. The consultation schedule (dates, times, locations); 

g. Agendas, meeting minutes, or other records of consultation meetings (except for 

culturally sensitive or other information considered confidential, especially as falling 

under exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act); 

h. The outcome(s) of the consultation, including follow-up commitments, any 

agreements or points of disagreement; 

i. How the results of the consultation were considered in any decision-making 

process by the Agency and whether they were incorporated or rejected in the final 

decision(s); 

j. What additional steps may need to be taken; and 

k. Appropriate public disclosure of the consultation record. 

5. Tribal Summary Impact Statement. In a separately identified portion of the 

preamble to each regulation that has tribal implications to be issued in the Federal 

Register, the issuing office, Unit, or staff shall provide a Tribal summary impact 

statement, which must consist of a: 

a. Description of the tribal implications and the extent of the Agency's prior 

consultation with Tribal officials, 

b. Summary of the nature of the Tribe’s concerns and the Agency's position

supporting the need to issue the regulation, and 

c. Statement of the extent to which the concerns of tribal officials have been met. 
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6. Certification. In transmitting any draft final regulation that has tribal implications to 

OMB pursuant to Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993, include a certification 

from the official designated to ensure compliance with Executive Order 13175 stating 

that the requirements of Executive Order 13175 have been met in a meaningful and 

timely manner.

7. Negotiated Rulemaking. On issues relating to tribal self-governance, tribal selfdetermination, tribal trust resources including land resources, or tribal treaty and other 

rights, each office, Unit, or staff should explore, and where appropriate in consultation 

with the USDA Office of General Counsel, use of consensual mechanisms for developing 

regulations, including negotiated rulemaking. The Forest Service should examine the 

appropriateness of using negotiated rulemaking processes for those programs and policies 

affecting tribal land resources in consultation with the USDA Office of General Counsel.

8. Tribal Relations Training. Forest Service employees shall complete tribal relations 

training as per Departmental Regulation 1350-02, to become familiar with the rights and 

interests of Indian tribes as defined by the Constitution, treaties, statutes, Executive 

Orders, and judicial rulings.

9. Confidentiality. All Forest Service employees shall protect the confidentiality of 

culturally sensitive and proprietary information (including reburial locations and 

associated documentation relating to human remains or cultural items reburied on 

National Forest System land) as requested by Tribes and required or permitted by law. 

See also FSM 6270 and FSH 6209.13 - Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act.

10. Sharing Information. Forest Service employees shall assist Indian tribes and tribal 

organizations by providing technical, educational, financial, and other information, and 

establish information exchanges where mutually agreed to and authorized by law.

11. Reducing Impediments. It is the policy of the Forest Service to, wherever possible, 

reduce or remove legal or administrative program impediments that inhibit the Agency’s 

and Indian tribes’ capacity to work directly and effectively with each other. 

12. Repatriation. The repatriation of Native American human remains and associated 

funerary objects, unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural 

patrimony is consistent with the requirements of the Native American Graves Protection 

and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). See also FSH 1509.13.14.3, FSH 1509.13 chapter 20

– Repatriation and Reburial Documentation. 

13. Reburial. Support, where appropriate, shall be provided for request(s) for reburial of 

human remains and cultural items on Forest Service-administered lands received from 

Indian tribes or lineal descendants. Document and provide explanation to the affected 

Indian tribe or lineal descendent for any request(s) that are denied.
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14. Education. The Forest Service shall help improve educational opportunities provided 

to all American Indian and Alaska Native students, including students attending public 

schools in cities and in rural areas, students attending schools operated and funded by the 

Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and students attending 

postsecondary institution including Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). 

1563.04 - Responsibility 

1563.04a - Chief 

The Chief reserves the authority to: 

1. Retain Line Officer responsibility for national leadership, planning, coordination, 

monitoring, evaluation, and execution of the Forest Service’s tribal government relations 

programs and activities. 

2. Provide programmatic oversight and assessment of the effectiveness of Forest Service 

consultations with Tribes on national issues. 

3. Serve as the primary Agency Consulting Official 

a. The Chief may assign delegated authority through Line Officers to serve as 

Consulting Officials throughout the Agency on pertinent topics. Tribal consultation 

may not be delegated from line to staff in the Field; and 

b. The Chief retains the right to delegate to any Forest Service employee - in writing 

and for specific, individual cases - the authority to consult directly with Indian tribes 

as a “Chief’s Representative” during government-to-government tribal 

consultation. This authority is reserved to the Chief only, and does not allow for 

other Forest Service Line Officers to delegate their tribal consultation responsibilities 

to staff other than Line Officers. 

4. Submit, through the USDA to the Office of Management and Budget, an annual 

progress report on the Agency’s actions regarding the plan of action developed in 

accordance with the Presidential Memorandum of November 5, 2009. 

1563.04b - Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry 

The Deputy Chief of State and Private Forestry has the responsibility to: 

1. Oversee the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC, and 

designate its Director. 
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2. Implement the Tribal Relations Program as it involves State and Private Forestry, 

including keeping the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC, and 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Tribal Relations informed about any 

significant information or actions affecting Tribes or tribal relations. 

3. Ensure that the Tribal Relations Program interests are represented in the decisionmaking process of the National Leadership Council and at the Department of Agriculture. 

1563.04c - Deputy Chief, National Forest System 

The Deputy Chief for the National Forest System has the responsibility to: 

1. Implement the Tribal Relations Program as it involves the National Forest System, 

including keeping the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC and 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Tribal Relations informed about any 

significant information or actions affecting Tribes or tribal relations. 

2. Ensure that Programs, Policies, Projects, and other actions of the National Forest 

System staffs are conducted in compliance with applicable Laws, Executive Orders, 

Regulations, and Policy as set forward in FSM 1563 and FSH 1509.13. 

1563.04d - Deputy Chief, Business Operations 

The Deputy Chief for Business Operations has the responsibility to: 

1. Implement the Tribal Relations Program as it involves Business Operations, including 

keeping the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC informed about 

any significant information or actions affecting Tribes or tribal relations. 

2. Ensure that Programs, Policies, Projects, and other actions of Business Operations 

Staffs are conducted in compliance with applicable Laws, Executive Orders, Regulations, 

and Policy as set forward in FSM 1563 and FSH 1509.13. 

1563.04e - Deputy Chief, Research and Development 

The Deputy Chief for Research and Development has the responsibility to: 

1. Implement the Tribal Relations Program as it involves Research and Development, 

including keeping the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC 

informed about any significant information or actions affecting Tribes or tribal relations. 

2. Ensure that Programs, Policies, Projects, and other actions of Research and 

Development Staffs are conducted in compliance with applicable Laws, Executive 

Orders, Regulations, and Policy as set forward in FSM 1563 and FSH 1509.13. 
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1563.04f - Director, Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC 

The Director of the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC has the 

responsibility to: 

1. Advise the Chief, the Associate Chief, Deputy Chiefs, Regional Foresters, Station 

Directors, and the Area Director on tribal relations programs, policies, and procedures as 

well as current tribal issues affecting Forest Service resource management on a national 

basis. 

2. Integrate consideration of tribal issues across deputy areas and help to ensure that 

government-to-government relations between Tribes and the Forest Service are 

conducted in compliance with all applicable laws, Executive Orders, and Agency policy. 

3. Maintain effective working relationships with the public, Tribes, members of 

Congress, tribal organizations, USDA, and other Federal agencies with interest in Forest 

Service programs as they relate to tribal relations. To maintain an effective working 

relationship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Tribal Relations, the 

Director of the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC shall serve 

as the primary Forest Service point of contact, coordinating Forest Service responses to 

formal requests with the Deputy Chief of State and Private Forestry and other parties as 

appropriate. 

4. Keep abreast of nationwide tribal issues and opportunities regarding the Agency’s 

programs. 

5. Work with Tribes on Forest Service management matters of national importance, 

coordinate tribal liaison needs and activities within the Washington Office and with Field 

units, and facilitate access between tribal leadership and the National Leadership Council. 

6. Supervise the staff of the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations Washington, DC, 

and provide overall direction for the agency Tribal Relations Program. 

7. Lead the National Tribal Relations Team comprised of the Office of Tribal Relations 

in Washington, DC; the Regional Tribal Relations Program Managers; Forest, Grassland, 

and Prairie Tribal Liaisons; Research Station Liaisons; State and Private Area Liaisons; 

and others as identified by the Director. 

8. Maintain coordination and communication with and among Regions, Stations, and the 

Northeastern Area for tribal relations activities and programs. 
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9. Coordinate with Washington Office Directors on policies, actions, and training that 

may affect or relate to tribal relations, and on information or actions involving Tribes that 

may have implications for their program areas. 

10. Coordinate with the Director of Recreation, Heritage and Volunteer Resources 

Management on tribal issues involving compliance with the National Historic 

Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.); Executive Order 13007 pertaining 

to Indian Sacred Sites; the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 

(NAGPRA) (FSM 1563.01e); the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, 16 U.S.C. 

Chapter 87; the Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority, 25 U.S.C. Chapter 32A, 

and other authorities as appropriate. 

11. Coordinate regional responses to requests by Indian tribes or lineal descendants for 

reburial data essential to program budgeting and policy direction. 

12. Ensure Service-wide orientation and training of Forest Service employees for 

competency in tribal relations, including the appropriate conduct of government-togovernment consultation and protection of Indian sacred sites. 

13. Facilitate efforts to address and, where possible, resolve disputes between Tribes and 

the Forest Service that cannot be resolved at the local level. 

14. Serve as the Certification Officer for implementation of Executive Order 13175, as 

required in section 7 of the Order. 

15. Serve as the Forest Service representative on the USDA Native American Working 

Group or its equivalent. 

16. Serve as the Forest Service representative on the Interagency Working Group on 

Indian Affairs (IWGIA) or its equivalent. 

17. Conduct monitoring, field reviews, functional assistance trips, and audits of Agency 

Tribal Relations Program activities and take other actions to ensure that the Tribal 

Relations Program is effective and meets national policy requirements. 

18. Maintain web-based tools to support the national information needs of the Forest 

Service Tribal Relations Program, including treaties, treaty rights, memoranda of 

understanding, and judicial rulings related to Tribes and affecting the management of 

Forest Service-administered programs and lands. 

19. Oversee the implementation and use of the USDA Tribal Consultation Database by 

Forest Service personnel. 
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20. Compile information from Washington Office staffs and Field units for an annual 

end-of-year report to be submitted to the National Leadership Council. 

1563.04g - Washington Office Staff Directors 

Each Washington Office Staff Director whose current or proposed programs or activities may 

have tribal implications has the responsibility to: 

1. Coordinate and collaborate with Tribes in the early development of policies or 

programs that may have tribal implications. 

2. Ensure that Tribes have the opportunity to discuss through government-to-government 

consultation the actual or potential effects, and to obtain accurate information from 

Tribes related to tribal interests. 

3. Prepare briefing materials and coordinate input from the Field on technical matters 

involving activities within their areas that may have substantial direct effects on Tribes. 

4. Notify the Director of the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, 

DC, and the appropriate Deputy Chief(s) or the Chief of any significant information or 

actions affecting Tribes or tribal relations. 

5. Meet with, or assign subject matter specialists to meet with, Tribal leaders and/or staff 

who visit the Washington Office. 

6. Assign, where practicable, individuals to serve as staff liaisons to the Forest Service 

Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC. 

7. Serve, on a case-by-case basis, as a Consulting Official for tribal consultation if that 

authority has been delegated to them by the Chief. 

1563.04h - Regional Foresters, Station Directors, and the Area Director 

Regional Foresters, Station Directors, and the Area Director have the responsibility to: 

1. Fulfill, within the Forest Service’s mission areas, the Government’s trust 

responsibilities and treaty obligations. 

2. Coordinate and collaborate with Tribes in the early development of policies and 

decisions that may have tribal implications. 

3. Establish and implement effective Tribal Relations Programs for their Units. 
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4. Develop effective, timely communication between the Forest Service Office of Tribal 

Relations in Washington, DC, Regional Tribal Relations Program Managers, Research & 

Development (R&D) Tribal Liaisons, and Forest, Grassland, and Prairie Tribal Liaisons. 

5. Designate employees to serve as a focal point for the Unit’s contact between Tribes at 

the Regional, Station, or the Area level. 

6. Ensure that Tribes with rights and interests that cross more than one Region, Forest, 

Station, the Area or other Units have one primary point of contact between the Forest 

Service and the Tribe. 

7. Ensure tribal program management interests are represented in the decision-making 

process of the National and Regional Leadership Teams. 

8. Ensure that consultation is conducted with Tribes for Regional, Station, and the Area 

decisions and actions that may affect Tribes. 

9. Ensure that the recommendations from the 2012 Report to the Secretary of 

Agriculture, USDA Policy and Procedures Review and Recommendations: Indian Sacred 

Sites and similar recommendations are implemented efficiently, effectively, and 

thoroughly throughout their Region, Station, and the Area. 

10. Ensure appropriate repatriation of human remains, associated funerary objects, 

unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony from 

National Forests under their jurisdiction. 

11. Support reburial of repatriated human remains and cultural items on National Forest 

System lands consistent with uses on the National Forest System land as determined 

necessary for management of the National Forest System. 

12. Provide funding and training to Units in support of Tribal Relations work. 

1563.04i - Regional Tribal Relations Program Managers 

The Regional Tribal Relations Program Managers have the responsibility to: 

1. Ensure that tribal interests and rights are considered and integrated across program 

areas and that government-to-government relations between Tribes and Forest Service 

Administrative Units are conducted in compliance with applicable laws, Executive 

Orders, and Agency policy. 

2. Collaborate with other Federal agencies, Tribes, and American Indian advocacy 

organizations to implement programs and projects and seek mutually beneficial 

opportunities. 
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3. Serve as the Region’s primary source of advice and assistance on matters involving 

tribal relations; including advising line and staff on responses to tribal requests for use of 

National Forest System lands and resources. 

4. Brief and coach Line Officers, Forest, Grassland, and Prairie Tribal Liaisons, key 

staff, and appropriate specialists on effective communication and cultural knowledge and 

skills required for effective government-to-government relationships between the Forest 

Service and Tribes and tribal organizations. 

5. Monitor Forest Service programs to ensure that tribal governments are consulted when 

land and resource management plans and/or other actions could affect tribal rights and 

interests. 

6. Seek to reconcile different views and facilitate timely resolution of disputes involving 

Tribes and the Forest Service that cannot be resolved at the local level.

7. Advise line and staff on their responsibilities to: 

a. Fulfill, within the Forest Service’s mission areas, the Government’s trust 

responsibilities and treaty obligations. 

b. Protect sacred sites and archaeological, historical, and cultural resources. 

c. Accommodate Indian religious and spiritual values and practices to the maximum 

extent practicable, permitted by law, and not clearly inconsistent with agency 

functions. 

d. Respond to tribal requests for reburial of human remains in coordination with the 

Heritage Resources Program Manager. 

e. Explain off-reservation treaty rights that affect Forest Service-administered land 

management. 

f. Seek traditional knowledge that may be relevant to the management of natural and 

cultural resources. 

8. Coordinate and facilitate a Tribal Relations program of training at the Regional and 

local levels that includes elements of Indian law and policy, consultation, Federal-Tribal 

relations, sacred sites protection, and cultural awareness. 
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9. Collect and submit information to the Director of the Forest Service Office of Tribal 

Relations in Washington, DC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Tribal 

Relations that summarizes the issues and outcomes of consultations with Tribal 

Governments within their respective Regions or Administrative Units, as requested by the 

Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC. 

10. Collect and annually submit information to the Director of the Forest Service Office 

of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC that summarizes the issues and outcomes of tribal 

relations efforts across the Region, to be included in a national annual end-of-year report. 

11. Serve on the National Tribal Relations Team, led by the Director of the Forest 

Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC, to coordinate policy development, 

program reviews and improvement, and project support across the Agency. 

12. Coordinate and provide Agency staff work necessary for processing requests by 

Indian tribes and lineal descendants for reburial of human remains and/or cultural items. 

Provide documentation, budget, and briefing materials necessary for management 

decisions and reporting. Initiate program and reburial activity reviews necessary to 

provide quality controls and tribal relations feedback. 

13. Ensure the uniform use of the USDA Office of Tribal Relations’ Tribal Consultation 

Database for reporting on Tribal consultation within the Regions. 

14. Conduct periodic reviews to ensure compliance with the Forest Service reburial 

policy pursuant to requirements of the Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority of 

2008 (25 U.S.C. 3053). 

1563.04j - Forest, Grassland, and Prairie Supervisors 

Forest, Grassland, and Prairie Supervisors have the responsibility to: 

1. Fulfill, within the Forest Service’s mission areas, the Government’s trust 

responsibilities and treaty obligations. 

2. Coordinate and collaborate with Tribes in the early development of policies and 

decisions that may have tribal implications. 

3. Serve as the Consultation Official on the Unit. This requires being personally 

engaged in the consultation process with Tribes. 
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4. Establish effective government-to-government relationships with Tribes that have 

rights and interests on their Unit, and with Tribes for whom lands within the 

administrative boundaries of the Unit have traditional, cultural, and/or spiritual 

importance. 

5. Identify a Forest, Grassland, or Prairie Tribal Liaison to serve as the first point of 

contact with tribal leaders and as the person who will generally initiate Agency contact 

with Tribes. 

6. In partnership with tribal officials, develop agreed-upon protocols for consultation on 

issues and decisions that may have a direct, substantial effect on tribal lands, subsistence 

uses, treaty rights, sacred sites, or cultural resources or practices on and off reservations. 

7. Seek opportunities to develop partnerships with Tribes under all appropriate Forest 

Service authorities. 

8. Encourage employees to act with respect when working with tribal officials or other 

American Indians or Alaska Natives or Alaska Native Corporations. 

9. Develop action plans in consultation with Tribes in accordance with the implementing 

regulations for NAGPRA (43 CFR 10.3) for discoveries of American Indian human 

remains pursuant to permitted excavations under the Archaeological Resources 

Protection Act (ARPA) (FSH 1509.13). 

10. Ensure that requests for reburial are addressed in a timely manner. Undertake the 

following actions when there are requests for reburial of American Indian human remains 

and associated funerary objects on lands under their jurisdiction: 

a. Ensure that all requests for reburial are reported and coordinated with the Regional 

Tribal Relations Program Manager and Regional Heritage Resources Program 

Manager. 

b. When authorizing reburials, consult with the lineal descendants or culturally 

affiliated Tribe(s) to develop, where desired by the Tribe(s), a Memorandum of 

Understanding that delineates the reburial process. This agreement may include 

reburial of human remains and associated funerary objects. 

c. Inform appropriate law enforcement personnel of reburial activities in order to 

endeavor to protect reburial sites through monitoring and surveillance activities. 

d. Recommend actions to be taken on reburial requests by Indian tribes or lineal 

descendants. 
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e. Comply with Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552 Exemption 3, which 

covers information specifically exempted from disclosure by statute, to prevent the 

unauthorized disclosure of information regarding reburial sites, including the quantity 

and identity of human remains and cultural items and location of sites. 

f. Avoid adverse impacts to human remains and cultural items, to the maximum 

extent practicable. 

11. Develop a section of the action plan in consultation with local Tribes (25 U.S.C. 

3002(d)), for post-1990 ground-disturbing projects that deals with inadvertent discoveries 

of Native American remains and objects. 

12. Ensure that activities relating to Tribes are reported to the Regional Office, through 

the Regional Tribal Relations Program Manager, for inclusion in an annual end-of-year 

report to be delivered to the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC.

1563.04k - District Rangers 

District Rangers have the responsibility to: 

1. Implement and maintain the Tribal Relations Program within their area of authority, 

including staffing. 

2. Serve as the consultation official on the Unit when delegated that authority by the 

Forest Supervisor. This requires being personally engaged in the consultation process 

with Tribes. 

1563.04l - Forest, Grassland, and Prairie Tribal Liaisons 

Tribal Relations personnel at the National Forests, Grasslands, and Prairies have the 

responsibility to: 

1. Support their Unit and especially their Line Officer’s efforts regarding tribal 

consultation, coordination, and collaboration. 

2. Serve as the Unit primary staff point of contact for developing and maintaining 

relationships with Tribes. 

3. Maintain the Unit’s input to the USDA Tribal Consultation Database. 

4. Serve as the Unit subject matter expert in providing information, training, and 

assistance to personnel across the Unit regarding working with American Indian and/or 

Alaska Native tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. 
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5. Assist the Regional Tribal Relations Program Manager in their responsibilities and 

activities, including end-of-year reporting. 

1563.04m - Research & Development Tribal Liaisons 

Research & Development (R&D) Tribal Liaisons have the responsibility to: 

1. Serve as a focal point to facilitate two-way communication with Tribes on natural 

resource science and research issues, and for tribal inquiries and consultation requests 

related to Forest Service science and research programs; 

2. Work with their counterpart Regional Tribal Relations Program Managers or 

Washington Office Tribal Relations staff to develop consultation protocols for R&D 

activities, including providing opportunity for tribal input into their Unit’s research 

charters and priorities; 

3. Serve as a point of contact for tribal and Forest Service personnel on the role and 

availability of traditional knowledge to inform regional or national natural resource 

management questions. 

4. Serve as a point of contact to facilitate national reporting of their Unit’s activities 

related to Tribal-related research and engagement efforts. 

1563.04n - State and Private Forestry Area Tribal Liaisons 

State and Private Forestry Area Tribal Liaisons have the responsibility to: 

1. Serve as a focal point to facilitate two-way communication with Indian tribes on 

natural resource science and research issues, and for Tribal inquiries and consultation 

requests related to Forest Service State and Private Forestry programs. 

2. Work with their counterpart Regional Tribal Relations Program Managers or 

Washington Office Tribal Relations staff to develop consultation protocols for State and 

Private Forestry activities, including providing opportunity for tribal input into State and 

Private program priorities. 

3. Serve as a point of contact for tribal and Forest Service personnel on the role and 

availability of traditional knowledge to inform regional or national natural resource 

management questions. 

4. Serve as a point of contact to facilitate national reporting of their Unit’s activities 

related to tribal-related State and Private Forestry engagement efforts. 
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1563.05 - Definitions 

Adjacent Site/Adjacent to. Within the context of the Cultural and Heritage Cooperation 

Authority (25 U.S.C. 3051 et seq.), the term “adjacent site” means a site that borders a 

boundary line of National Forest System land (25 U.S.C. 3052(1)). The term “adjacent 

site” should not be confused with the term “bordering or adjacent to” found in the Tribal 

Forest Protection Act (25 U.S.C. 3115a). This term remains undefined in the Tribal 

Forest Protection Act and does not necessarily mean a co-incident or contiguous 

boundary. 

Accountable Process. A process by which the Agency is able to track and report on the 

efforts on any given tribal consultation, from initial outreach and consultation activities to 

how the results of consultation were used by the agencies. See D.R. 1350-002.5.b.

Action. The whole or a part of an Agency rule, legislation, order, license, sanction, relief, 

or the equivalent or denial thereof, including planning, program, permit, and project 

decisions (5 U.S.C. 551(13)). An action includes any project or activity authorized by the 

Forest Service. 

Alaska Native Corporations. Created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 

(43 U.S.C. Chapter 33), these corporations manage lands and resources for Alaska 

Natives. While not federally- recognized Indian tribes, consultation is required with 

these organizations in some instances as if they were Indian tribes pursuant to Public 

Laws 108-199 and 108-447 directing all Federal agencies to consult with Alaska Native 

Corporations on the same basis as Indian tribes under Executive Order 13175. This type 

of consultation is considered government-to-corporation, rather than government-togovernment.

Associated Funerary Objects. Objects that, as a part of the death rite or ceremony of a 

culture, are reasonably believed to have been placed with individual human remains 

either at the time of death or later, and both the human remains and associated funerary 

objects are presently in the possession or control of a Federal agency or museum, except 

that other items exclusively made for burial purposes or to contain human remains must 

be considered as associated funerary objects. See 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A). 

Burial Site. Any natural or prepared physical location, whether originally below, on, or 

above the surface of the earth, into which, as a part of the death rite or ceremony of a 

culture, individual human remains are deposited. 

Consulting Official. For the Forest Service, an employee with delegated authority to 

conduct tribal consultation. Consultation may only be conducted by employees who have 

delegated authority for consultation. This delegation occurs through the Secretary to 

Department Leadership, and flows from the Under Secretaries to the agencies. Whether 
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the Consulting Official is the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under 

Secretary, agency head, or another agency official depends on the nature of the 

regulation, policy, program or planning decision and how it may affect the consulting 

Tribe(s). For the Forest Service, Consulting Officials may be Line Officers, or, in certain 

cases, other Forest Service employees delegated – in writing and on a case-by-case basis – to 

be “Chief’s Representatives” as Consulting Officials. 

For the Tribes, consultation is conducted by elected Tribal representatives or their 

representatives who have delegated authority from their Tribal government for 

consultation. This delegation is determined by the Tribes themselves as sovereign 

governments. The Consulting Official is usually the Tribal Chief, Governor, President or 

another official from the Executive Branch, though it could be a member of the Tribal 

Council or even a Tribal employee with specialized knowledge of the topic of the 

consultation. See D.R. 1350-002.11.f. 

Collaboration. When two or more people or organizations work together in an 

intersection of common goals by sharing knowledge, learning, and building consensus. 

Collaboration is the mutual development of perspectives or actions that are of mutual 

interest, as in a Tribe and the Forest Service working together on a policy that benefits 

both the agency and the Tribe. 

Cultural Items. 

1. IN GENERAL: The term “cultural items” has the meaning given the term in 

subsection 3 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) 

(25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) which includes Associated Funerary Objects, Unassociated 

Funerary Objects, Sacred Objects, and Objects of Cultural Patrimony. 

2. EXCEPTION: The term “cultural items” does not include human remains.

Cultural Patrimony. Items having ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance 

central to the Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization itself, other than property 

owned by an individual tribal or organizational member. These items are of such cultural 

importance that they may not be alienated, appropriated, or conveyed by any individual 

tribal or organizational member. Such objects must have been considered inalienable by 

the culturally affiliated Tribe or Native Hawaiian group at the time the object was 

separated from such group. See 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(D). 

Executive Order Tribe. An Indian tribe that bases its status as a federally recognized 

tribe on a specific Executive Order, rather than on a treaty or congressional recognition. 

Federally Recognized Tribe. See Indian tribe. 
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Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations: The Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations 

in Washington, DC, manages and provides direction for the Forest Service Tribal 

Relations Program. The office reports to the Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry. 

The office also informs and advises the Chief, as well as the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture’s Office of Tribal Relations.

Government-to-government. In Federal Indian law, the term is used to characterize the 

unique legal relationship that exists between federally recognized Tribes and the Federal 

Government. This relationship evolved from the recognition of tribal sovereignty 

expressed in treaties between Tribes and the Federal Government and in the U.S. 

Constitution. This relationship is the basis of the government-to-government 

consultation requirement and has been expressed through numerous statutes, executive 

directives, and court decisions. See DR 1350-002.11.g. 

Government-to-Government Consultation. Also “Tribal Consultation.” The timely, 

meaningful, and substantive dialogue between Forest Service officials who have 

delegated authority to consult, and the official leadership of federally recognized Indian 

Tribes, or their designated representative(s), pertaining to decisions or actions that may 

have tribal implications. 

Human Remains. The physical remains of the body of a person of Indian ancestry. See 

25 U.S.C 3052(3). 

Inadvertent Discovery. The unanticipated encounter or detection of human remains, 

funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony found under or on the 

surface of Federal lands. 

Indian. An individual who is a member of an Indian tribe. See 25 U.S.C 3052(4). 

Indian Forest Land or Rangeland. Land that is held in trust by, or with a restriction 

against alienation by, the United States for an Indian tribe or a member of an Indian tribe; 

and 

a. Is Indian forest land (as defined in section 304 of the National Indian Forest 

Resources Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3103); or 

b. Has a cover of grasses, brush, or any similar vegetation; or 

c. Formally had a forest cover or vegetative cover that is capable of restoration. See 

25 U.S.C. 3115a. 
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Indian Lands. Lands of Tribes, or Indian individuals, which are either held in trust by the 

United States or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States, 

except for any subsurface interests in lands not owned or controlled by an Indian tribe or 

an Indian individual. 

Indian tribe. Also “Tribe”. Any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, 

village, or other community, the name of which is included on a list published by the 

Secretary of the Interior pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 

List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a-1). See Executive Order 13175, Sec. 1(b). 

Lineal Descendant. An individual who can trace, directly and without interruption, the 

ancestry of the individual through the traditional kinship system of an Indian tribe, or 

through the common law system of descent, to a known Indian, the human remains, 

funerary objects, or other sacred objects of whom are claimed by the individual. See 25 

U.S.C. 3052(6). 

Meaningful Consultation. In the context of government-to-government consultation as 

expressed in EO 13175, the information and dialogue exchanged actually has the 

potential to affect a decision for which the Agency has discretion. If a Tribe is part of a 

consultation and their views have no real potential to be used in the related decision, the 

consultation is not meaningful. 

Native Knowledge. See also “Traditional Knowledge.” The 2012 Forest Service 

Planning Rule (Federal Register /Vol. 77, No. 68 /Monday, April 9, 2012) defines Native 

Knowledge as a way of knowing or understanding the world, including traditional 

ecological and social knowledge of the environment derived from multiple generations of 

indigenous peoples’ interactions, observations, and experiences with their ecological 

systems. Native knowledge is place-based and culture-based knowledge in which people 

learn to live in and adapt to their own environment through interactions, observations, 

and experiences with their ecological system. This knowledge is generally not solely 

gained, developed by, or retained by individuals, but is rather accumulated over 

successive generations and is expressed through oral traditions, ceremonies, stories, 

dances, songs, art, and other means within a cultural context. 

Policies That May Have Tribal Implications. Proposed Forest Service regulations, 

legislative comments, or proposed legislation, and other policy statements or actions that 

may have substantial direct effects on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship 

between the Federal Government and Indian tribes; or on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes. See Executive Order 

13175, sec. 1(a). 

Reburial Site. A specific physical location at which cultural items or human remains are 

reburied. See 25 U.S.C. 3052(8). 
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Reserved Rights Doctrine. Indian tribes retain all rights not explicitly given up in treaties 

or other legislation. 

Sacred Objects. Items that are specific ceremonial objects that are needed by traditional 

Native American religious leaders for the practice of traditional religions by their presentday adherents. See 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(C). 

Sacred Place. Any specific location on National Forest System land, whether site, 

feature, or landscape, that is identified by an Indian tribe, or the religious societies, 

groups, clans, or practitioners of an Indian tribe, as having important spiritual and cultural 

significance to that entity, greater than the surrounding area itself. Sacred places may 

include but are not limited to geological features, bodies of water, burial places, 

traditional cultural places, biological communities, stone and earth structures, and 

cultural landscapes uniquely connecting historically important cultural sites, or features 

in any manner meaningful to the identifying Tribe. 

Sacred Site. As identified in Executive Order 13007, any specific, discrete, narrowly 

delineated location on Federal land that is identified by an Indian tribe, or Indian 

individual determined to be an appropriately authoritative representative of an Indian 

religion, as sacred by virtue of its established religious significance to, or ceremonial use 

by, an Indian religion; provided that the tribe or appropriately authoritative representative 

of an Indian religion has informed the Agency of the existence of such a site. 

Special Forest Products. Products collected from National Forest System lands and 

include, but are not limited to: bark, berries, boughs, bryophytes, bulbs, burls, Christmas 

trees, cones, ferns, firewood, forbs, fungi (including mushrooms), grasses, mosses, nuts, 

pine straw, roots, sedges, seeds, transplants, tree sap, wildflowers, fence material, mine 

props, posts and poles, shingle and shake bolts, and rails. Special forest products do not 

include sawtimber, pulpwood, non-sawlog material removes in log form, cull logs, small 

roundwood, house logs, telephone poles, derrick poles, minerals, animals, animal parts, 

insects, worms, rocks, water, and soil. 

Subsistence. The customary and traditional uses by rural Alaska residents of wild, 

renewable resources for direct personal or family consumption as food, shelter, fuel, 

clothing, tools, or transportation; for the making and selling of handicraft articles out of 

nonedible byproducts of fish and wildlife resources taken for personal or family 

consumption; for barter, or sharing for personal or family consumption; and for 

customary trade. See 25 U.S.C. 3113; 25 CFR 242.4. On Federal public lands in Alaska, 

subsistence hunting, fishing, and trapping is regulated by the Federal Subsistence 

Management Program. 
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Substantial Direct Effect. Direct means that there is an uninterrupted causal connection 

between the action and the group or individual being affected. Effects may be positive, 

neutral, or negative. These elements should be considered if there is:

1. Definitely potential for an effect that is substantial and direct, consultation is 

required.

2. Any potential for an effect, consultation may be required, depending on the extent 

(significance) of the effect. If the Agency does not know the significance of the 

effect, or even whether there will be an effect, the Agency should inquire of 

potentially affected Tribes whether the Tribe thinks there would be an effect, how 

significant such an effect may be, and whether they would like to consult. 

3. No potential for an effect, consultation is not required (but may still be valuable). 

See DR 1350-002.11.k. 

Traditional and Cultural Purpose. As per the Culture and Heritage Cooperation Authority 

(25 U.S.C. 3052(9)), a definable use, area or practice identified by an Indian tribe as 

traditional or cultural because of the long-established significance or ceremonial nature of 

the use, area or practice to the Indian tribe. 

Traditional Ecological Knowledge. See also “Native Knowledge.” A cumulative body 

of knowledge, practice and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down 

through generations by cultural transmission about the relationship between living beings 

(including humans) with one another and with their forest environment (Berkes F, 

Colding J, Folke C. 2000. Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledge as adaptive 

management. Ecological Applications 10: 1251–1262). 

Traditional Knowledge. A broad set of knowledge that includes “Native Knowledge” 

and “Traditional Ecological Knowledge.” Traditional knowledge is a way of knowing or 

understanding the world, including traditional ecological, social, cultural, and other 

knowledge derived from multiple generations of indigenous peoples’ interactions, 

observations, and experiences. This knowledge is generally not solely gained, developed 

by, or retained by individuals, but is rather accumulated over successive generations and 

is expressed through oral traditions, ceremonies, stories, dances, songs, art, and other 

means within a cultural context. 

Treaty Rights. Those rights or interests reserved in treaties for the use and benefit of 

Tribes. The nature and extent of treaty rights are defined in each treaty. Only Congress 

may abolish or modify treaties or treaty rights. 

Tribal Governments. See “Indian tribes,” and “Tribes.” Unique entities possessing 

attributes of sovereignty over both their members and their territory. 
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Tribal Officials. Any duly elected or appointed representatives of tribal governments. 

This would include, for instance, a Tribal Chairman, President, Governor, or Tribal 

Council member. 

Tribal Organizations. Also “Intertribal Organizations.” Organizations formed around 

particular topics in support of tribal interests, such as timber, energy, housing, education, 

or others. These organizations are made up of formally assigned representatives of 

Indian tribes and are usually incorporated under State laws. The Forest Service may not 

consult with tribal organizations on a government-to-government basis, but the Forest 

Service may work with these organizations under other authorities. 

Tribal Rights. Those rights legally accruing to a Tribe or Tribes as set forth in the U.S. 

Constitution, treaties, statutes, executive directives and court decisions. 

Tribe. Same as “Indian tribe.”

Trust responsibility. Trust responsibility arises from the United States' unique legal and 

political relationship with Indian tribes. It derives from the Federal Government's 

consistent promise, in the treaties that it signed, to protect the safety and well-being of the 

Indian tribes and tribal members. The federal trust responsibility is a legally enforceable 

fiduciary obligation on the part of the United States to protect tribal treaty rights, lands, 

assets, and resources, as well as a duty to carry out the mandates of federal law with 

respect to all federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages. 

(See also FSM 1563.9b). 

Unassociated Funerary Objects. Objects that, as a part of the death rite or ceremony of a 

culture, are reasonably believed to have been placed with individual human remains 

either at the time of death or later, where the remains are not in the possession or control 

of the Federal agency or museum and the objects can be identified by a preponderance of 

the evidence as related to specific individuals or families or to known human remains or, 

by a preponderance of the evidence, as having been removed from a specific burial site of 

an individual culturally affiliated with a particular Indian tribe. See 25 U.S.C. 

3001(3)(B). 

Unrecognized Tribe. (Also non-federally recognized tribe). A group of Native 

Americans or Alaska Natives that are not included on the list published by the Secretary 

of the Interior pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act 

of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a-1), but which may be recognized as a Tribe by a State. The 

Forest Service has no trust or treaty responsibility to consult with unrecognized tribes on 

a government-to-government basis, but the Forest Service may work with these 

organizations through other authorities. 
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U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Tribal Relations. This office is in the Office 

of the Secretary at the Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. In direct service to 

the Secretary of Agriculture, this office oversees tribal relations throughout the 

Department of Agriculture, including the Forest Service Office of Tribal Relations. 

Usufructuary rights. A technical term in law for the right of enjoying a thing, the 

property of which is vested in another, of enjoying the products of property someone else 

owns. Individual Tribes have some usufructuary rights on National Forest System lands, 

depending on the conditions of their treaties and the Federal Government’s trust 

responsibilities. 

1563.1 - Consultation with Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations 

The Forest Service, like other Federal agencies, has a duty to consult and coordinate with Indian 

tribes on a government-to-government basis, as directed in Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments. In addition, agencies must consult with 

Alaska Native Corporations in accordance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 as 

amended (P.L. 108-447, 118 Stat. 2809, 3267). Consultation with Alaska Native Corporations is 

considered to be on a government-to-corporation basis. Because Tribes and Alaska Native 

Corporations are affected by Forest Service land and resource management policies, as well as 

research, development, and other programs and actions, the Forest Service must consult with 

them on matters that could affect their rights and interests. Work with Tribal Relations Program 

specialists to identify which Tribes or Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) may be affected. 

Factors to consider include: 

1. When there is a “substantial direct effect” to one of more Tribes or ANCs from the 

proposed decision or action, consultation must be initiated. 

2. When there are possible effects, consider the geographical extent of those effects. For 

instance, if an action or activity is confined to National Forest System lands, evaluate 

which Tribes or ANCs have connections to, or benefit from, those lands. Or, if a decision 

or action has a State-wide effect, but primarily on forested lands typically within the 

jurisdiction of State and Private Forestry, evaluate which Tribes or ANCs have cultural or 

historic connections to those lands.

3. When determining which Tribes or ANCs to consult with, check with intertribal 

organizations or other agencies which may have conducted consultation on similar 

actions or activities in the past. The National Park Service NAGPRA database may give 

an indication of which Tribes have an interest in a specific location. 

In all cases, err on the side of more rather than less consultation and document the rationale for 

your decision. Never assume that a Tribe or ANC has no interest in the decision or action simply 

because they did not respond to a notification letter. 
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The Forest Service consultation policy was developed to comply with the requirements of 

Executive Order 13175 and to assist Forest Service Line Officers in consulting with tribal 

governments under a number of Federal laws. 

Additional guidance regarding consultation may be found in FSH 1509.13. 

1563.11 - General Consultation Requirements 

In general, Forest Service officials shall: 

1. Identify needs and opportunities for consultation. 

2. Plan consultation processes. 

3. Conduct consultations. 

4. Incorporate results of consultations into decisions. 

5. Report on each consultation to consulting partners and the USDA Tribal Consultation 

Database. 

6. Maintain a record of each consultation. 

Additional guidance on consultation is set forth in FSH 1509.13. 

Exhibit 01 summarizes information on some key laws and Executive Orders that may require 

consultation and coordination; for more information, the complete statute or regulation should be 

consulted. 
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1563.11 - Exhibit 01 

Tribal Government Consultation and Coordination 

Authority Whom To Contact Applies to: Time Frame

AIRFA - American 

Indian Religious 

Freedom Act of 1978 

(42 U.S.C 1996).

Native Traditional 

Religious Leaders, 

Religious Practitioners, 

and Tribal Officials.

Protect and preserve for 

American Indians their 

inherent right of freedom to 

believe, express and exercise 

traditional American Indian, 

Eskimo, Aleut, and Native 

Hawaiian religion. 

Evaluate policies and 

procedures to determine 

changes necessary to 

preserve American Indian 

access, religious cultural 

rights and practices.

Not specific.

Contact during 

initial evaluation.

ARPA - Archeological 

Resources Protection 

Act of 1979 (16 

U.S.C. 470aa et seq.), 

as amended and 

implementing 

regulations (36 CFR 

296 et seq.)

Tribal Officials. Ensure that permits are 

issued with awareness of 

tribal perspectives regarding 

Indian religious or cultural 

sites on public or Indian 

lands.

Forest Service 

must notify the 

Tribe 30 days 

before issuing a 

permit.

FLPMA - Federal 

Land Policy and 

Management Act of 

1976 (43 U.S.C. 

1712(c)(9) and 

implementing 

regulations (36 CFR 

222 et. seq.).

Tribal Officials. Section 202 (c) (9) of 

FLPMA directs the 

Secretary to coordinate land 

use planning with tribal 

planning. 

Timely.

Cultural and Heritage 

Cooperation Authority 

(CHCA) (Reburial, 25 

U.S.C. 3053).

Indian tribe or lineal 

descendent.

Request for reburial of 

human remains and cultural 

items.

Timely.
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1563.11 - Exhibit 01-Continued 

CHCA (Closure, 25 

U.S.C. 3054)

Affected Indian tribe Authorizes and ensures 

access to National Forest 

System land, to the 

maximum extent practicable, 

by Indians and Indian tribes 

for traditional and cultural 

purposes. Also allows NFS 

lands to be temporarily 

closed from public access 

for traditional and cultural

purposes. Closure under this 

section, however, is intended 

to affect the smallest 

practical area for the 

minimum period necessary 

to accommodate this use.

Timely.

CHCA (Forest 

Products, 25 

U.S.C.3055).

Affected Indian tribe Authorizes the Forest 

Service to provide free of 

charge to Indian tribes any 

trees, portions of trees, or 

forest products from 

National Forest System land 

for traditional and cultural 

(not commercial) purposes.

Timely. 

CHCA (Disclosure, 25 

U.S.C. 3056).

Affected Indian tribe or 

lineal descendant 

General prohibition on 

disclosure of information 

relating to reburials, cultural 

items, uses or activities that 

have a traditional and 

cultural purpose and 

provided with express 

expectation of 

confidentiality, 

notwithstanding requests for 

information made under 5 

U.S.C. 552, commonly 

known as the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA).

Consult with 

affected Indian 

tribe or lineal 

descendant prior 

to any disclosure 

of information 

concerning 

reburials; or with 

appropriate Indian 

tribes prior to 

disclosure of other 

information.
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1563.11 - Exhibit 01-Continued 

NFMA - National 

Forest Management 

Act of 1976 (16 

U.S.C. 472a et seq.), 

as amended and 

implementing 

regulations (36 CFR 

219.4(a) et seq.). 

Tribal Officials. Provide opportunity to raise 

issues and comment on landuse plans. 

Varies depending 

upon the stage of 

the planning 

process.

NAGPRA - Native 

American Graves 

Protection and 

Repatriation Act of 

1990, 25 U.S.C. 3001 

et seq. as amended. 

Tribal Officials, 

Culturally affiliate

& Lineal Descend

d T

ants.

ribe 

Treatment and disposition of 

certain human remains and 

associated funerary items 

and items of cultural 

patrimony. Also, when 

human remains or associated 

funerary items are excavated 

or accidentally discovered. 

Not specific 

except for certain 

circumstances 

(see 25 U.S.C 

3001-3013 and 

FSM2360 for 

further

information). 

NEPA - National 

Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.), 

as amended, and CEQ 

regulations at 40 CFR 

parts 1500-1509.

Tribal Officials. Indian 

tribes may be 

participating parties.

Among other purposes, to 

preserve important historic, 

cultural and natural aspects 

of our national heritage.

Provide opportunity to 

participate in land 

management decisions.

Scoping process, 

comment period: 

30 days on EA, 45 

days on EIS.

NHPA - National 

Historic Preservation 

Act of 1996, as 

amended (54 U.S.C. 

300101 et seq.).

Tribal Officials, Parties 

with a demonstrated 

interest (can include 

Religious Practitioners). 

Indian tribes may be 

concurring parties. 

Provide opportunity to 

consult if Federal 

undertaking may affect 

properties of historic value 

to an Indian tribe on tribal or 

non-tribal lands. 

Invite Tribes to participate 

as concurring parties when 

requested.

Early, before an 

undertaking is 

initiated. See 

regulations re 

specific points 

36 C.F.R. 800. 

Can be 

incorporated into 

NEPA process.

RFRA - Religious 

Freedom Restoration 

Act of 1993 (42 

U.S.C. 2000bb et 

seq.).

Religious Practitioners. Ensure Agency decisions do 

not substantially burden free 

exercise of religion (whether 

or not compelled by, or 

central to, a system of 

religious belief.) unless there 

is a compelling justification.

Not specific.
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1563.11 - Exhibit 01-Continued 

Executive Order 

13175 of 2000 -

Consultation and 

Coordination with 

Indian Tribal 

Governments. 

Tribal Governments. Consult to extent practicable 

and permitted by law and 

operate within a 

government-to-government 

relationship.

Not specific.

Executive Order 

13007 of 1996 –

Indian Sacred Sites. 

Tribal Officials and 

individuals who are an 

appropriately 

authoritative 

representative of an 

Indian religion. 

to the extent practicable, 

permitted by law, and not 

clearly inconsistent with 

agency functions: 

1) accommodate access to 

and ceremonial use of sacred 

sites, and 

2) avoid physically affecting 

the integrity of such sites. 

Not specific. 
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1563.12 Consulting Officials 

Government-to-government consultation may only occur between Forest Service Line Officers 

and Tribal leaders who have authority to consult on behalf of their Tribe. In accordance with 

FSM 1230.6, the line of delegation passes from the Chief to the Deputy Chiefs and through Line 

Officers to the Field. Tribal consultation may not be delegated from line to staff in the Field. 

Line officers should engage personally with Tribal leaders. The Chief retains the right to 

delegate to any Forest Service employee - in writing and for specific, individual cases – the 

authority to consult directly with Indian tribes as a “Chief’s Representative” during governmentto-government tribal consultation. This authority is reserved to the Chief only, and does not 

allow for other Forest Service Line Officers to delegate their tribal consultation responsibilities 

to staff other than Line Officers. The Secretary of Agriculture may also designate individuals 

who have the authority to consult directly with Indian tribes. The protocols and reporting 

responsibilities for such designations shall be consistent with those of the “Chief’s 

Representative”.

This direction is not intended to minimize the importance of staff-to-staff communication and 

collaboration. On the contrary, staff interactions are essential to set the stage for effective 

consultation and should be maintained and enhanced. This section only indicates that staff may 

not serve as the Forest Service Consulting Official in government-to-government consultations. 

Staff personnel provide needed subject matter expertise, and sometimes they have extensive 

relationships with tribal staff or leaders. Staff certainly can and should participate in 

consultation as well as in staff-to-staff and staff-to-leader discussions where it makes sense 

locally. 

In Alaska, in addition to consulting with Indian tribes, the Forest Service is required to consult 

with Alaska Native Corporations (ANC) on a government-to-corporation basis rather than 

government-to-government but, as in the government-to-government consultations, the 

Consulting Officials must have delegated authority to consult. 

The Indian tribe or ANC has the sole authority to designate/authorize who will engage in 

government-to-government consultation with the Forest Service. 

1563.13 - Consultation Timelines 

1. Timeliness. For national-level actions that may affect Indian tribes from across the 

country or Alaska Native Corporations, the entities being consulted should be offered a 

realistic and meaningful opportunity to engage and review the issue and associated 

materials, discuss fully with Agency Consulting Officials, and have their concerns and 

suggestions received by the Responsible Official in time to be incorporated into the 

decision being made. 
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Notification to Indian tribes of the opportunity to consult does not itself constitute 

consultation. 

2. Minimum Consultation Period. Widely applicable national issues must provide a 

consultation period of at least 120 days from the date the Indian tribe or Alaska Native 

Corporation likely received the information on which they are being invited to consult. 

Allow an additional 14 days for delivery time if the notification is by postal service. 

Other actions (such as consultation on national issues that may affect only one or a few 

Indian tribes or ANCs, or on regional or more local decisions) may require less time for 

consultation. 

3. Protocols. Consultation periods and other aspects of consultation should be worked 

out through local protocols, ideally formalized in memoranda of understanding 

negotiated with the affected Tribes or Alaska Native Corporations. 

1563.14 - Consultation, Monitoring, and Evaluation 

Once a decision on an action that may affect one or more Indian tribes is made, deciding officials 

shall document and track follow-up actions to ensure implementation. See FSH 1509.13. 

1. Database entry. All consultation events must be entered into the USDA Tribal 

Consultation Database. 

2. Record Maintenance. Each staff or Unit conducting consultations shall maintain a 

consultation record for each consultation. 

3. Program Reviews. Consultation monitoring and evaluation of effectiveness must be 

incorporated, as appropriate, in program reviews. During program reviews, monitor and 

evaluate the results and effectiveness of consultation. 

1563.15 - Additional Consultation Considerations 

1. Supplemental Agency Guidance. Administrative Units and program areas within the 

Forest Service are encouraged to develop supplemental consultation processes and 

training that are specific to their programs and consistent with national policy and legal 

mandates. 

2. Compensation. The Forest Service may compensate Tribes and tribal members for 

specialized tribal expertise or other extraordinary consultation costs to the extent 

authorized by law. See FSH 1509.13 for guidance on compensation. 
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3. Emergencies and Exigent Circumstances. Responsible Officials may take such 

actions as may be necessary in an emergency or under exigent circumstances when 

consultation prior to the Forest Service action is not feasible. Responsible Officials shall 

consult with Tribes at the earliest opportunity when emergency actions are taken that may 

have substantial direct effects on Tribes. 

1563.2 - Dispute Resolution 

The Forest Service values public input for its policies, and collaboration in decision-making. 

There are three processes that may be utilized to resolve the dispute: 

1. Administrative Review: 

Several Forest Service administrative review procedures are available to individual tribal 

members and Tribal governments who have met the eligibility requirements of the 

applicable procedure. In general, eligibility is established by submitting specific 

comments during a public comment opportunity for a Forest Service proposed project or 

land management plan. These public comment periods vary in length depending on the 

nature of the proposed action and its complexity. Under the administrative review 

procedures for project and activity decisions implementing a land management plan (36 

CFR 218), Federally-recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Native Corporations can also 

meet the eligibility requirements when specific written comments as defined in 36 CFR 

218.2 are provided during Federal-Tribal consultations. 

Some of the administrative review procedures occur pre-decisionally and are referred to 

as objection procedures. Other procedures occur after a decision has been signed and are 

referred to as appeal procedures. Objection procedures are available for project and 

activity decisions implementing land and resource management plans (36 CFR 218) that 

are documented with a Decision Notice or Record of Decision and certain land 

management plan proposals (36 CFR 219). Appeal procedures are available for 

occupancy and special use authorizations (36 CFR 251) and certain land management 

plan decisions (36 CFR 219). For all of these administrative review procedures, 

participation by individual tribal members and Tribes is necessary to exhaust their 

administrative remedies if they wish to be able to challenge a particular decision. 

2. Mediation: 

The Forest Service utilizes open decision-making processes, including 120-day Tribal 

Consultation for widely applicable national issues, to garner support for its decisions. See 

FSM 1563.13. Unfortunately, disputes between the Forest Service and others, including 

Indian tribes, may occur during and after a decision is made. Where appropriate and 

mutually agreed to, the Forest Service Line Officer with responsibilities for a particular 

decision and the Tribe’s representative are encouraged to use Alternative Dispute 
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Resolution processes, including mediation, where a neutral third-party facilitates a 

mutually-agreeable solution. It can help prevent conflict, but the process must be 

explained and negotiated with the Tribe. 

3. USDA Departmental Regulation: 

Pursuant to and consistent with DR 1350-002, An Indian tribe may seek conflict resolution 

through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Tribal Relations when: 

1. An Indian tribe engaged in consultation believes that the Forest Service has not 

appropriately or adequately considered the needs, desires, or requests of the Tribe, or 

2. An Indian tribe believes the Forest Service should engage with them in consultation 

and the Forest Service has not done so. 

For the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s USDA Office of Tribal Relations to engage in conflict 

resolution, it requires: 

1. A request to consult from a Tribal Leader; or 

2. A request to consult from an Intertribal organization representing Federally 

Recognized Indian tribes. 

In both cases, the Forest Service shall remain primarily responsible for the government-togovernment consultation unless there are extenuating circumstances. 

1563.3 - Reburial of American Indian and Alaska Native Ancestral Remains and 

Cultural Items 

Tribal requests for reburial of ancestral human remains and cultural items are, in general, closely 

tied to repatriations of those remains and objects by the Forest Service under the terms of the 

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). However, guidance is 

provided to ensure that these two actions (repatriation and reburial) are treated as separate, 

although often related, processes. 

1. Repatriation. The Forest Service provides for Indian tribal rights of ownership or 

control regarding Native American human remains and cultural items, and the Agency 

has already been repatriating such remains and items to the affected Indian tribe(s) or 

lineal descendent(s) under the terms of the NAGPRA (25 U.S.C. 3001-3013). NAGPRA 

does not specifically address reburial. Repatriations of American Indian human remains 
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and funerary remains, as well as other objects defined in NAGPRA, are carried out under 

the Forest Service’s statutory responsibilities. In general, guidance regarding the Forest 

Service’s responsibilities regarding repatriation of Native American human remains and 

cultural items are set forth in the Heritage Program manual at FSM 2360. 

2. Reburial. American Indians and Alaska Natives have expressed an interest in 

reburying the repatriated remains and cultural items of their ancestors on National Forest 

System lands. Some Forest Service regions and forests have developed procedures for 

reburials and have approved reburial of American Indian and Alaska Native human 

remains and associated funerary objects on National Forest System lands. Because of 

concerns over consistency within the Agency and because NAGPRA does not 

specifically address reburial, national policy and direction have been developed regarding 

the reburial of American Indian and Alaska Native human remains and cultural items on 

National Forest System lands. 

Reburial of human remains or cultural items in the possession of the Indian tribe or lineal 

descendant that have been disinterred from National Forest System land or adjacent sites may be 

carried out as a discretionary action within the Agency’s administrative authorities pursuant to 

the Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority of 2008 (25 U.S.C. 3053). See also 

FSM 1563.01d. 

1563.31 - General Reburial Considerations 

1. The Forest Service retains the discretion to decide whether to authorize reburial of 

American Indian and Alaska Native human remains and cultural items on National Forest 

System lands, and under what conditions reburials will occur. 

2. Respect is the foundation for all decisions regarding reburial of American Indian and 

Alaska Native human remains and cultural items on National Forest System lands, and 

Forest Service Officials are expected to be sensitive to the diversity of tribal cultural 

beliefs. 

3. All activities and documentation related to reburial of American Indian and Alaska 

Native human remains and cultural items must be kept confidential to the extent 

authorized by law. 

4. Prior to authorizing reburial on National Forest System lands, the Forest Service shall 

ensure that the lineal descendant(s) or culturally affiliated Tribe(s) has legal ownership or 

custody of the remains, and that the requirements of NAGPRA have been met. 

5. When the Forest Service authorizes reburial on National Forest System lands, 

including wilderness and other special designation areas, the Agency shall attempt to 

accommodate all aspects of lineal descendants and culturally affiliated Tribe(s) requests. 
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Reburials should be at or as close as practicable to the burial sites from which those 

American Indian and Alaska Native human remains and cultural items were originally 

recovered. When authorizing reburials, the Forest Service shall comply with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the National Historic 

Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.), and other applicable laws. 

6. For post-1990 excavations or inadvertent discoveries (section 3 of NAGPRA) related 

to a Forest Service funded, permitted, or licensed project, costs associated with reburial, 

if authorized, will be considered part of the project costs of the project component. 

7. Lineal descendants and/or culturally affiliated Tribal representatives shall be given 

opportunities to be present and conduct ceremonies at reburial(s) and to be allowed future 

access to these sites for cultural and spiritual purposes, to the extent permitted by law. 

8. In the case of human remains and cultural items recovered from adjacent sites, 

confirm with the Indian tribe or lineal descendant in possession of the human remains or 

cultural items that all applicable State laws and regulations regarding ownership or 

custody have been complied with prior to authorization for reburial on NFS lands. 

9. Reburial locations will not constitute the establishment of a new cemetery. While the 

Forest Service may authorize the use of National Forest System land for the reburial of 

human remains or cultural items as described in 25 U.S.C. 3053, Indian tribes and lineal 

descendants may consider a reburial site to be a sacred site (as defined by Executive 

Order 13007) and to have traditional and religious significance. 

10. Ensure that, when considering requests for reburial of human remains and cultural 

items, Forest Service Line Officers consider the requirement to avoid, to the maximum 

extent practicable, adverse impacts to cultural items and human remains which are 

reburied on Forest Service lands.

Additional information relating to reburial is located in FSH 1509.13, ch. 20 and 

FSM 2364.03(h). 

1563.32 - Reviews for Repatriations and Reburials 

The Regional Tribal Relations Program Manager shall conduct periodic reviews to ensure 

compliance with the Forest Service reburial policy pursuant to requirements of the Cultural and 

Heritage Cooperation Authority of 2008 (25 U.S.C. 3053). Each review must include the 

regional heritage resources program manager and other Forest Service programs, as appropriate. 

Copies of each review must be provided to the Regional Forester and the Director of the Forest 

Service Office of Tribal Relations in Washington, DC. 
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The Regional Tribal Relations Program Manager shall also assist the Heritage Program in 

conducting periodic reviews on compliance with the requirements of the Native American 

Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). 

1563.4 - Closures for Traditional and Cultural Purposes 

Indian tribes may request temporary closures of specific areas for tribal traditional cultural 

purposes under the Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority (25 U.S.C. 3054). When 

considering such requests, Forest Service Line Officers, with support from appropriate Forest 

Service staff, should consult with appropriate tribal officials and traditional leaders regarding the 

need for appropriate signing, educational material, alternative locations, scheduling, and other 

topics. Closures for traditional and cultural purposes must affect the smallest practicable area for 

the minimum period necessary for activities of the applicable Indian tribe. All such closure 

requests and issuance of closure orders shall be copied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 

Office of Tribal Relations. Regulations for the issuance of closure orders, including closures 

under section 3054 of the Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority, are found at 36 C.F.R. 

261.53. See FSH 5309.11, chapter 30 for issuance of closure orders. See FSH 1509.13 for 

guidelines for voluntary closures. See FSH 1509.13 30 and FSH 5309.11 for guidelines for 

voluntary closures, and FSM 2720 and FSH 5309.11, special uses administration. 

1563.5 - Forest products for traditional and cultural purposes 

Indian tribes may request, and the Forest Service may provide, forest products for tribal 

traditional cultural purposes under the Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority (25 U.S.C. 

3055). 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 472a of title 16, the 

Secretary may provide free of charge to Indian tribes any trees, 

portions of trees, or forest products from National Forest System 

land for traditional and cultural purposes. 

(b) PROHIBITION.—Trees, portions of trees, or forest products 

provided under subsection (a) may not be used for commercial 

purposes. 

Interim direction for implementation of Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority, 25 U.S.C. 

3055, is found at FSH 2409.18-2012-2, sec. 82.5 - Trees, Portions of Trees, or Forest Products 

Free of Charge for Indian Tribes for Non-Commercial Traditional and Cultural Purposes. 
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1563.6 - Prohibition on Disclosure 

The Forest Service shall, to the full extent allowed under the law, maintain the confidentiality of 

culturally sensitive information provided by Tribes with the express expectation of 

confidentiality. 

One of the purposes listed in the Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority (CHCA) (25 

U.S.C. 3051(5)) is “to authorize the Secretary to protect the confidentiality of certain 

information, including information that is culturally sensitive to Indian tribes.”

Under the CHCA Prohibition on Disclosure (25 U.S.C. 3056), the Forest Service shall not 

disclose under 5 U.S.C. 552 (commonly known as the “Freedom of Information Act”), and 

information relating to: 

1. Human remains or cultural items reburied on National Forest System land under 

section 3053, or 

2. Resources, cultural items, uses, or activities that (i) have a traditional and cultural 

purpose; and (ii) are provided to the Secretary by an Indian or Indian tribe under an 

express expectation of confidentiality in the context of forest and rangeland research 

activities carried out under the authority of the Forest Service. 

There are exceptions, however, to the prohibitions on disclosure. The Forest Service may 

disclose information relating to human remains or cultural items reburied on National Forest 

System land if, before disclosure, the Forest Service: 

1. Consults with an affected Indian tribe or lineal descendent; 

2. Determines that disclosure of the information 

a. Would advance the purposes of the subtitle; and 

b. Is necessary to protect the human remains or cultural items from harm, theft, or 

destruction; and 

3. Attempts to mitigate any adverse impacts identified by an Indian tribe or lineal 

descendant that reasonably could be expected to result from disclosure of the 

information. 

Handbook directives for Exemption 3 of FOIA can be found at FSH 6209.13, chapter 10, 

section 11.62. See also FSM 2720, Special Uses Administration. 
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Also, the Forest Service, after consultation with appropriate Indian tribes, may disclose 

information about cultural items, uses, or activities otherwise protected in this authority if the 

Forest Service determines that disclosure of the information to the public—would: 

1. Advance the purposes of this authority; 

2. Not create an unreasonable risk of harm, theft, or destruction of the resource, site, or 

object, including individual organic or inorganic specimens; and 

3. Be consistent with other applicable laws. 

1563.7 - Information and Technology Sharing 

Since ecosystems transcend land ownership boundaries, effective land and resource management 

and shared stewardship requires cooperation and collaboration among the Forest Service, other 

Federal agencies, State, tribal, and county governments, and private landowners. Such 

cooperation and collaboration will involve the exchange of technical and traditional information. 

The retention of traditional plants, uses, practices, and knowledge is a critical issue to American 

Indian and Alaska Native tribes and their people. Community identity and survival are 

dependent on continued access to National Forest System lands and other public lands for many 

Tribes. The maintenance of traditional gathering, hunting, fishing, and other activities; and use 

of certain landscapes, sites, and locations that contain important natural and cultural resources 

should be considered in Forest Service land management planning and research activities (see 

FSM 1920, 1950, and 4000). The Forest Service should also seek to identify traditional 

knowledge that tribal citizens hold about ecosystems that may be helpful in meeting management 

objectives of both the Forest Service and Tribes. 

1563.8 - References 

This section contains further explanatory information regarding authorities identified in 

section 1563.01 - Authorities. 

1563.8a - United States Constitution and Indian Tribes 

1. Commerce with Indian Tribes. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, gives Congress the 

power “[t]o regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and 

with the Indian tribes”.

2. Federal Property Clause. Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2, known as the Federal 

Property Clause, establishes Congress’ authority to dispose of and make all rules and 

regulations respecting the territory or property of the United States. It states “The 

Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations 

respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in 
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this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or 

of any particular state.” Since lands held in trust by the United States are sometimes 

considered a “territory or property of the United States,” the Federal Property Clause may 

apply to tribal lands.

3. Treaties with Indian Tribes. 

a. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, known as the treaty clause, grants authority to the 

President to make treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

In full, this clause states the President “shall have Power, by and with the Advice and 

Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present 

concur.”

b. Under Article VI, Clause 2, treaties are recognized as a supreme law of the land 

and States must recognize treaties even if they conflict with State constitutions or 

laws. This clause, known as the supremacy clause, states “This Constitution, and the 

Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties 

made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the 

supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any 

Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

1563.8b - Treaty Rights and the Federal Trust Responsibility 

1. Treaty Rights. The United States entered into over 300 treaties with Indian tribes 

prior to 1871. Under these treaties, Indian tribes ceded significant portions of their 

aboriginal lands to the United States. Each of these treaties is unique but, generally 

speaking, Indian tribes reserved separate, isolated reservation lands under the treaties and 

sometimes retained certain rights to hunt, fish, graze, and gather on the lands ceded to the 

United States. These rights retained on ceded lands are known as “off-reservation treaty 

rights” or “other reserved rights”.

Many treaties involve ceded lands that are within the boundaries of present day National 

Forest System lands. The Forest Service shall administer lands subject to off-reservation 

treaty rights in a manner that protects Indian tribes’ rights and interests in the resources 

reserved under treaty. 

Indian Treaty rights are property rights held by the sovereign Indian tribes who signed the 

treaties. These rights can only be extinguished by an express and unequivocal act of 

Congress. When courts interpret treaties, they shall use canons of construction in favor 

of Indian tribes, meaning that: 
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a. Treaty rights must be interpreted as the Indian tribes understood them at the time 

of treaty signing, and 

b. Ambiguous treaty provisions are also to be interpreted in the Indian tribe’s favor. 

Similarly, the “reserved rights doctrine” states that Indian tribes retain all rights not 

explicitly abrogated in treaties or other legislation. 

Indian tribes may use modern hunting and fishing implements when exercising their 

treaty rights, and they are not confined to use implements that existed at the time of treaty 

signing. Treaty rights may include an “easement of access” to the areas on which such 

treaty rights were reserved. 

In 1971, Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), 43 U.S.C. 

1601 et seq., instead of settling land claims through treaties. The Act granted title to 44 

million acres, along with cash payments and other benefits, to Alaska Natives while 

extinguishing Alaska Native title to remaining ancestral lands. Alaska Native land control 

was given to State-chartered Alaska Native Corporations. See FSM 1563.01c –

Consultation with Indian tribes and Alaska Native Corporations – for Forest Service 

responsibilities to consult on a government-to-corporation basis with Alaska Native 

Corporations. 

2. Trust Responsibility. Trust responsibility arises from the United States' unique legal 

relationship with Indian tribes. It derives from the Federal Government's consistent 

promise, in the treaties that it signed, to protect the safety and well-being of the Indian 

tribes and tribal members. The Federal Indian trust responsibility is now defined as a 

legally enforceable fiduciary obligation, on the part of the United States, to protect tribal 

lands, assets, resources, and reserved rights, as well as a duty to carry out the mandates of 

federal law with respect to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. This responsibility 

requires that the Federal Government consider the best interests of the Indian tribes in its 

dealings with them and when taking actions that may affect them. The trust 

responsibility includes protection of the sovereignty of each tribal government. 

First and foremost, it is our responsibility to view every Agency action through the lens 

of tribal effect; of tribal benefit and detriment. For example: How can Indian tribes 

benefit from this new law or program? How does this new policy affect tribal interest? 

Does this harm the Indian tribes in any way? Is this an unfunded mandate? If there is a 

potential effect, then we need to ensure the tribal interest is understood by following the 

laws and Executive Orders that require government-to-government consultation. Further, 

we are responsible to the American public, as well as to the American Indian and Alaska 

Native tribes, to be transparent and accountable for that consultation and to honor 

traditional values and wisdom in so doing. 
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The Forest Service best serves the Federal Government’s trust responsibility by:

a. Ensuring our actions never diminish the rights of Indian tribes and tribal members; 

b. Ensuring Forest Service program benefits reach Indian tribes and tribal 

communities; 

c. Observing and enforcing all laws enacted for the protection of tribal cultural 

interests; 

d. Observing the principles of consultation whenever our policies, decisions, or other 

actions have tribal implications; and 

e. Treating NFS resources as trust resources where usufructuary rights exist. 

1563.8c - Consultation with Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations 

For purposes of consultation with Indian tribes, determinations as to when a Federal action may 

have substantial effects on a Tribe’s interests may be defined by the Tribe’s views. If questions 

arise over what decisions or policies may have substantial direct effect, then consult with the 

potentially affected Tribe to ascertain their views. 

1. Culture and Heritage Cooperation Authority of 2008, 25 U.S.C. 3056(b)(2). Requires 

the Forest Service to consult with affected Indian tribes before releasing culturally 

sensitive information. 

2. Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments. Issued November 6, 2000, directs Federal agencies to establish regular 

and meaningful consultation and collaboration with Tribal officials in the development of 

Federal policies that have tribal implications, to strengthen the United States governmentto-government relationships with Indian tribes, and to reduce the imposition of unfunded 

mandates upon Indian tribes. This Executive Order further directs Federal agencies to 

develop an “accountable process” for ensuring meaningful and timely input by tribal 

officials in development of legislation and regulatory policies that have tribal 

implications. The Executive Order applies to regulations, legislative comments or 

proposed legislation, and other policies, statements, or actions that have substantial direct 

effects on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government 

and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. The full text of the Executive Order is set out in 

FSH 1509.13. 
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3. Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712(b)) 

requires coordinating of land use plans for lands in the National Forest System with the 

land use planning and management programs of and for Indian tribes. (See 

FSM 1563.01d, para.1). 

4. National Environmental Policy Act’s (NEPA of 1969) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing regulations at CFR parts 1500-

1509 require Federal agencies to invite Indian tribes to participate in the scoping process 

for projects and activities that affect Indian tribes and requires NEPA documentation of 

environmental impacts. 

5. National Forest Management Act’s (NFMA) of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.) 

Regulations (36 C.F.R 219.4(a)) implementing the NFMA direct the Forest Service to 

consult with and coordinate forest planning with Indian tribes. (See FSM 1563.01d, 

para. 2) 

6. National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.), as 

amended in 1992. 54 U.S.C. § 300101 requires Agency officials to consult with Indian 

tribes concerning the effects of undertakings on historic properties of traditional and 

cultural importance to Indian tribes. 

7. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA), 

(25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.). Permits for the excavation and/or removal of “cultural items” 

protected by NAGPRA require Tribal consultation, as do discoveries of “cultural items” 

made during activities on Federal or Tribal lands under 25 U.S.C. 3002. The Secretary of 

the Interior’s implementing regulations are at 43 CFR part 10. 

8. Presidential Memorandum of November 5, 2009. President Barack Obama issued a 

Presidential Memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies on the 

subject of Tribal Consultation. In this Memorandum, the President stated that “[m]y 

Administration is committed to regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration 

with tribal officials in policy decisions that have tribal implications including, as an initial 

step, through complete and consistent implementation of Executive Order 13175.” The 

Memorandum directed each Federal agency to develop and submit to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) a plan of action to implement the Executive Order, as 

well as annual progress reports on the status of those plans. 

9. Public Law (P.L.) 108-199 and Public Law (P.L.) 108-447 added language that 

directed the Office of Management and Budget and all Federal agencies to consult with 

Alaska Natives and Alaska Native Corporations on the same basis as Indian tribes under 

Executive Order 13175. 
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10. 36 CFR 219 (Planning Rule). The Forest Service’s 2012 Planning Rule provides 

direction for NFS land management planning under NFMA. Section 219.4 of the rule 

requires opportunities for public and Tribal participation and coordination throughout the 

planning process. 

11. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). This Act was 

adopted to curb the practice of imposing unfunded mandates on non-Federal 

governments, including tribal governments, and to improve cooperation and working 

relations among different levels of government. The Act directs Federal agencies to 

develop an effective process to permit elected officials of State, local, and tribal 

governments (or their designated officials acting on their behalf) to provide meaningful 

input in the development of regulatory proposals containing significant federal 

intergovernmental mandates. 

In order to facilitate the consultation process, section 204(b) of the Act provides an 

exemption from the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (P.L. 92–463; 5 U.S.C. 

App. 2) “for the purposes of exchanging views, information, or advice relating to the 

management or implementation of Federal programs established pursuant to public law 

that explicitly or inherently share intergovernmental responsibilities or administration.” 

Section 204(b) exempts government-to-government consultation with Tribes from 

FACA. 

OMB guidance (M-95-20, 21 September 1995) for implementing section 204(b) states: 

This exemption applies to meetings between Federal officials and 

employees and . . . tribal governments acting through their elected 

officers, officials, employees, and Washington representatives, at 

which 'views, information, or advice’ are exchanged concerning the 

implementation of intergovernmental responsibilities or 

administration, including those that arise explicitly or implicitly 

under statute, regulation, or Executive Order. The scope of meetings 

covered by this exemption should be construed broadly to include 

meetings called for any purpose relating to intergovernmental 

responsibilities or administration. Such meetings include, but are not 

limited to, meetings called for the purpose of seeking consensus; 

exchanging views, information, advice, and/or recommendations; or 

facilitating any other interaction relating to intergovernmental 

responsibilities or administration. 

* * * 
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As the Conference Report [for section 204(b) of the UMRA] stated, 

"an important part of efforts to improve the Federal regulatory 

process entails improved communications with ... tribal governments. 

Accordingly, this legislation will require Federal agencies to establish 

effective mechanisms for soliciting and integrating the input of such 

interests into the Federal decision-making process”.

12. USDA Departmental Regulation 1350-002, Tribal Consultation, Coordination, and 

Collaboration (DR), published January 18, 2013. The Regulation directs the USDA and 

its agencies to provide federally recognized Indian tribes the opportunity for governmentto-government consultation and coordination in policy development and program 

activities which have direct and substantial effects on their Tribe. This helps to ensure 

that tribal perspectives on the social, cultural, economic, and ecological aspects of 

agriculture, as well as tribal food and natural resource priorities and goals, are heard and 

fully considered in the decision-making processes of the Department and its agencies. 

The Departmental Regulation: 

a. Sets forth criteria that all USDA agencies will use to identify actions that 

require an invitation be extended to Federally recognized Indian tribes to engage 

in consultation, 

b. Establishes a minimum set of requirements and expectations with respect to 

consultation and coordination throughout the USDA, including the Office of the 

Secretary and each of the Department’s agencies, 

c. Holds the head of each USDA agency accountable for the implementation of 

this policy, 

d. Establishes requirements for reporting on consultation, as well as training and 

education for agency employees, and 

e. Affirms that each USDA agency is responsible for appropriate consultation 

and collaboration with Indian tribes. 

1563.8d - National Forest System- Cooperative Land Management and Planning 

with Indian Tribes 

1. Coordination with Tribal Land Use Management and Planning. The Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701et seq.) at 1712(b) provides that: 
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In the development and revision of land use plans, the Secretary of 

Agriculture shall coordinate land use plans for lands in the National Forest 

System with the land use planning and management programs of and for 

Indian tribes by, among other things, considering the policies of approved 

tribal land resource management programs. 

Section 1712(c)(9) of FLPMA further directs the Secretary to coordinate land use 

planning with Indian tribes, to the extent the Secretary finds practical, by keeping 

apprised of tribal land use plans; ensuring that consideration is given to those tribal plans 

that are germane in the development of land use plans for public lands; assisting in 

resolving inconsistencies between Federal and tribal plans; and providing for meaningful 

public involvement in the development of land use programs, land use regulations, and 

land use decisions for public lands. 

2. Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes on Forest Planning. Regulations 

implementing the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et 

seq.) direct the Forest Service to consult with and coordinate forest planning with Indian 

tribes. The Forest Service must also consult with Alaska Native Corporations pursuant to 

PL 108-199 and PL 108-447. 

On April 9, 2012, the Department of Agriculture published in the Federal Register, a 

final rule, codified at 36 CFR Part 219, for NFS land management planning under 

NFMA. Section 219.4 of the final rule requires opportunities for public and tribal 

participation and coordination throughout the planning process. Section 219.4(a)(2) 

requires consultation with Federally Recognized Indian tribes or Alaska Native 

Corporations, and 219.4(a)(3) requires that the responsible official request “information 

about native knowledge, land ethics, cultural issues, and sacred and culturally significant 

sites” during consultation and opportunities for tribal participation. Section 219.6(b) 

requires the assessment to include identification and evaluation of information about 

cultural conditions, areas or tribal importance, and cultural and historic resources and 

uses. Section 219.8 requires “cultural and historic resources and uses” be taken into 

account to guide a plan area’s contributions to social and economic sustainability. 

Section 219.10(b)(1)(ii) requires plan components for a new plan or plan revision must 

provide for “protection of cultural and historic resources,” and “management of areas of 

Tribal importance.” The final rule also includes recognition of and requirements for 

assessment and provision of “ecosystem services,” which include “cultural heritage 

values” in their sub-definition of “cultural services” (sec. 219.19).

While land management plans must balance all issues related to management of NFS 

lands and resources, development of a land management plan may provide a proactive 

process for evaluating methods of consulting, coordinating, and collaborating with Indian 
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tribes, including protecting American Indian and Alaska Native sacred sites. Forest 

Service decision makers must consider sacred sites in land management plans and 

incorporate processes to protect sacred sites wherever practicable. 

Forest Service directives for implementing 36 C.F.R. Part 219 are located in FSM 1920 

and FSH 1909.12. 

3. Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes on National Forest System Project 

Planning and Decision Making. The National Environmental Policy Act’s (NEPA of 

1969), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing 

regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500-1509 require Federal agencies to invite Indian tribes to 

participate in the scoping process for projects and activities that affect Indian tribes and 

requires NEPA documentation. Section 1501.2 requires that: 

The Federal agency consults early with appropriate State and local 

agencies and Indian tribes and with interested persons and 

organizations when its own involvement is reasonably foreseeable. 

Indian tribes may also meet with Line Officers in advance of the formal planning 

processes as part of ongoing consultation, cooperation, and collaboration relating to 

planned or potential projects. 

1563.8e - National Forest System – Subsistence Uses in Alaska 

Section 801 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA) 

(16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) provides that: 

Congress finds and declares that (1) The continuation of the 

opportunity for subsistence uses by rural residents of Alaska, 

including both Natives and non-Natives, on the public lands and by 

Alaska Natives on Native lands is essential to Native physical, 

economic, traditional, and cultural existence and to non-Native 

physical, economic, traditional and social existence; (and) . . . (4) in 

order to fulfill the policies and purposes of the Alaska Native Claims 

Settlement Act and as a matter of equity, it is necessary for the 

Congress to invoke its constitutional authority over Native affairs and 

its constitutional authority under the property clause and the 

commerce clause to protect and provide the opportunity for continued 

subsistence uses on the public lands by Native and non-Native rural 

residents (16 U.S.C. 3111)
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ANILCA provides that the taking on public lands of fish and wildlife for nonwasteful 

subsistence uses by Native and non-Native rural residents of the State of Alaska shall be 

accorded a priority over the taking of fish and wildlife for other purposes, except as otherwise 

provided in the Act and other Federal laws. Specifically, 16 U.S.C. 3114 provides that: “Except 

as otherwise provided in this act and other Federal laws, the taking on public lands of fish and 

wildlife for non-wasteful subsistence uses shall be accorded priority over the taking on such 

lands of fish and wildlife for other purposes.” 16 U.S.C. 3120 stipulates how subsistence 

priorities affect land use decisions:

In determining whether to withdraw, reserve, lease, or otherwise 

permit the use, occupancy, or disposition of public lands under any 

provision of law authorizing such actions, the head of the Federal 

agency having primary jurisdiction over such lands or his designee 

shall evaluate the effect of such use, occupancy, or disposition on 

subsistence use and needs, the availability of other lands for the 

purposes sought to be achieved, and other alternatives which would 

reduce or eliminate the use, occupancy, or disposition of public lands 

needed for subsistence purposes.

16 U.S.C. 3120 also requires prior to withdrawal, reservation, lease, permit, or other use, 

occupancy or disposition of such lands which would significantly restrict subsistence uses that 

the heads of Federal agencies to determine that:

(A) Such a significant restriction of subsistence uses are necessary,

consistent with sound management principles for the utilization of the 

public lands.

(B) The proposed activity will involve the minimal amount of public 

lands necessary to accomplish the purposes of such a use, occupancy, 

or other disposition; and

(C) Reasonable steps will be taken to minimize adverse impacts upon 

subsistence uses and resources resulting from such actions.

16 U.S.C. 3121directs the Secretary of the Interior to ensure both Native and non-Native rural 

residents have reasonable access to subsistence resources on public lands.

While ANILCA does not provide a Native preference for subsistence in Alaska, the Federal 

Subsistence Board and those delegated authority to act on behalf of the board engage in 

consultation with Indian tribes and Alaska Native Corporations, which is conducted pursuant to 

Executive Order 13175, the Federal Subsistence Board’s Tribal Consultation Policy and the 

Draft Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Corporations Consultation Policy.
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1563.8f - National Forest System – Tribal Cultural Resources and Indian Sacred 

Sites 

Federal land managing agencies hold in public trust a great diversity of landscapes and sites, 

including many culturally important sites held sacred by Indian tribes. The Forest Service’s 

responsibility to protect tribal cultural resources and sacred sites is codified in Executive Orders, 

legislation, regulations, and other statutory authorities. Some authorities relate to cultural 

resources as sites of historical importance and other authorities relate to sacred sites as places 

held sacred because of religious or spiritual importance. 

On December 6, 2012, the Secretary of Agriculture accepted the recommendations included in 

the USDA Policy and Procedures Review and Recommendations: Indian Sacred Sites. That 

report recognizes many authorities that Forest Service personnel adhere to in protecting the 

cultural resources and sacred sites of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Implementation of 

the recommendations from that report increases the level of protection and access to Indian 

sacred sites. 

In general, the Forest Service Heritage Program is the lead staff for cultural resources and the 

Tribal Relations Program is the lead staff for Indian sacred sites. However, there is a great deal 

of overlap because these are not mutually exclusive categories. For actions that may affect 

Indian tribes or Alaska Native Corporations, the two programs have shared responsibilities. The 

Heritage Program directives are set forth at FSM 2360. 

1. American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) (42 U.S.C. 1996). This act 

declares that: 

. . . it shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve 

for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, 

express, and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, 

Eskimo, Aleut, and Native Hawaiians including but not limited to 

access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom 

to worship through ceremonial and traditional rites. 

Actions protective of cultural resources, watersheds, animal or biological communities, and 

other natural resources that also protect an American Indian or Alaska Native sacred site may 

accommodate Tribal religion as well as serve a secular purpose. 

2. Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA) (16 U.S.C. 470cc et seq.),

as amended, establishes a permit process for the excavation or removal of any 

archaeological resources from Federal and Indian lands. Agency regulations at 36 CFR 

part 296 implement ARPA. If a permit issued under ARPA may result in harm to, 

disturbance to, or destruction of, any religious or cultural site, as determined by the 

Federal land manager, the Federal land manager shall notify any federally recognized 
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tribe which may consider the site as having religious or cultural importance. The Forest 

Service can, but is not required to, do the same in regards to non-Federally recognized 

Indian tribes (see 36 CFR 296.7). Further, 36 C.F.R. part 296.

a. Establishes criminal and civil penalties for illegally excavating, removing, 

damaging, or defacing any archeological resources on federal lands,

b. Establishes provisions for the confidentiality of archeological resources of public 

lands,

c. Provides criminal penalties (felony and misdemeanor) and civil penalties for the 

unauthorized excavation, removal, damage, alteration, defacement, or the attempted 

unauthorized removal, damage, alteration, or defacement of any archaeological 

resource, more than 100 years of age, found on public lands or Indian lands

d. Includes National Forest System lands in its definition of public lands, 

e. Prohibits the sale, purchase, exchange, transportation, receipt, or offering of any 

archaeological resource obtained from public lands or Indian lands in violation of 

any provision, rule, regulation, ordinance, or permit under the act, or under any 

Federal law, and 

f. Makes no distinction regarding National Register of Historic Places eligibility, 

and directs Federal land managers to survey land under their control for 

archaeological resources and create public awareness programs concerning 

archaeological resources.

3. Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority (25 U.S.C. 3053 and 3056). These two 

sections of the Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority authorizes the Forest Service 

to utilize National Forest System land for the reburial of human remains and cultural 

items, including human remains and cultural items repatriated under the Native American 

Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); and prevent 

the unauthorized disclosure of information regarding human remains or cultural items 

reburied on National Forest System land. The pertinent language of these two sections is 

as follows:

Section 3053(a) Reburial Sites: In consultation with an affected Indian 

tribe or lineal descendant, the Secretary may authorize the use of 

National Forest System land by the Indian tribe or lineal descendant 

for the reburial of human remains or cultural items in the possession 

of the Indian tribe or lineal descendant that have been disinterred 

from National Forest System land or an adjacent site.
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Section 3053(b) Reburial: With the consent of the affected Indian 

tribe or lineal descendant, the Secretary may recover and rebury, at 

Federal expense or using other available funds, human remains and 

cultural items described in subsection 3053(a) at the National Forest 

System land identified under that subsection. 

c) Section 3056(a)(1) Prohibition on Disclosure: The Secretary shall 

not disclose under section 552 of Title 5, U.S.C. (commonly known as 

the “Freedom of Information Act”), information relating to–(A) 

subject to subsection (b)(1), human remains or cultural items reburied 

on National Forest System land under section 3053. Subsection (b)(1) 

Reburial: The Secretary may disclose information described in 

subsection (a)(1)(A) if, before disclosure, the Secretary–(A) consults 

with an affected Indian tribe or lineal descendent; (B) determines that 

disclosure of the information (i) would advance the purposes of the 

subtitle; and (ii) is necessary to protect the human remains or cultural 

items from harm, theft, or destruction; and (C) attempts to mitigate 

any adverse impacts identified by an Indian tribe or lineal descendant 

that reasonably could be expected to result from disclosure of the 

information. 

4. Executive Order 13007, Indian Sacred Sites. This Executive Order directs Federal 

land management agencies, to the extent permitted by law, and not clearly inconsistent 

with essential agency functions, to accommodate access to and use of Indian sacred sites, 

to avoid affecting the physical integrity of such sites wherever possible, and, where 

appropriate, to maintain the confidentiality of sacred sites. Federal agencies are required 

to establish, where practicable and appropriate, a process for ensuring that reasonable 

notice is provided to affected Indian tribes of proposed Federal actions or policies that 

may affect Indian sacred sites. Sacred sites are specific, discrete, narrowly delineated 

locations on federal land identified by Indian tribes. 

5. Executive Order 13287 – Preserve America, issued March 3, 2003, establishes Federal 

policy to provide leadership in preserving America’s heritage by actively advancing the 

protection, enhancement, and contemporary use of the historic properties owned by the 

Federal Government. The Order encourages agencies to seek partnerships with State, 

Tribal, and local governments, and the private sector to make more efficient and 

informed use of historic properties for economic development and other recognized 

public benefits. The Order requires Federal agencies to review and report on their 

policies and procedures for compliance with National Historic Preservation Act, Section 

110 and 111, improve Federal stewardship of historic properties, and promote long-term 

preservation and use of those properties as Federal assets contributing to local community 

economies. 
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The Order requires the head of each agency to designate a Senior Policy Official. In 

addition, it directs the Secretary of Commerce, working with other agencies, to use 

existing authorities and resources to assist in the development of local and regional 

heritage tourism programs. 

6. Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) (16 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.). 

FLREA is the authority by which Federal land management agencies charge fees for 

certain services and facilities. Section 6802(d), Limitations on recreation fees, states the 

following, in relevant part: 

(1) Prohibition on fees for certain activities or services: 

The Secretary shall not charge any standard amenity recreation fee or 

expanded amenity recreation fee for Federal recreational lands and 

waters administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest 

Service, or the Bureau of Reclamation under this chapter for any of 

the following: 

* * * 

(I) For any person who has a right of access for hunting or fishing 

privileges under a specific provision of law or treaty. 

(J) For any person who is engaged in the conduct of official Federal, 

State, Tribal, or local government business. 

7. National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.), 

establishes the National Register of Historic Places, establishes the Advisory Council on 

Historic Preservation and the State Historic Preservation Officers, and requires agencies 

to designate Federal Preservation Officers. 

a. NHPA Section 101(d)(2) establishes criteria for designating Tribal Historic 

Preservation Officers to assume the functions of a State Historic Preservation Officer 

on Tribal lands. 54 U.S.C. 302702. 

b. NHPA Section 106 directs all Federal agencies to take into account the effects of 

their undertakings (actions, financial support, and authorizations) on properties 

included in or eligible for the National Register. 54 U.S.C. § 306108. Advisory 

Council on Historic Preservation regulations at 36 CFR 800 implement NHPA 

Section 106. 

c. NHPA Section 110 establishes inventory, nomination, protection, and preservation 

responsibilities for federally owned historic properties. 54 U.S.C. §§ 306101(a), 

306102, 306107, 306113, and 306114. 
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8. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA), 

25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.). NAGPRA provides a process for museums and Federal agencies 

to return certain Native American cultural items – human remains, funerary objects, 

sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony – to lineal descendants, and culturally 

affiliated Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. NAGPRA includes 

provisions for unclaimed and culturally unidentifiable Native American cultural items, 

intentional excavation and unanticipated discovery of Native American cultural items on 

Federal and Tribal lands, and penalties for noncompliance and illegal trafficking. The 

Act requires agencies and museums to identify holdings of such remains and objects and 

to work with appropriate Native American groups toward their repatriation. Permits for 

the excavation and/or removal of “cultural items” protected by the act require Tribal 

consultation, as do discoveries of “cultural items” made during activities on Federal or 

Tribal lands. The Secretary of the Interior’s implementing regulations are at 43 CFR 

part 10. 

9. Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 42 U.S. 

Code § 2000cc(a)).

This act requires that no government shall . . . 

“. . . impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that 

imposes a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person, 

including a religious assembly or institution, unless the government 

demonstrates that imposition of the burden on that person, assembly, 

or institution - 

 (A) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and 

(B) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling 

governmental interest.”

10. Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) (42 U.S.C. 2000bb-1(a)). This 

act reiterated that the Government may . . . 

“. . . substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion only if it 

demonstrates that application of the burden to the person- 

(A) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and 

(B) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling 

governmental interest.” 
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1563.8g - National Forest System - Tribal Forest Protection Act 

The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a, Tribal forest assets protection 

(TFPA)). The TFPA provides the authority for an Indian tribe and the Forest Service to enter 

into an agreement or contract to carry out a project to protect Indian forest land or rangeland that 

meets certain criteria. If an Indian tribe’s project proposal is denied, the TFPA provides for a 

notice of denial that: 

1. Identifies the specific factors that caused, and explains the reasons that support, the 

denial;

2. Identifies potential courses of action for overcoming specific issues that led to the 

denial; and

3. Proposes a schedule of consultation with the Indian tribe for the purpose of developing 

a strategy for protecting the Indian forest land or rangeland of the Indian tribe and 

interests of the Indian tribe in Federal land.

The Forest Service policy to implement the TPFA is included in FSH 2409.19, chapter 60, 

Stewardship Contracting.

1563.8h - National Forest System – Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, 

Title VIII, Subtitle B

Title VIII, Subtitle B of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 was codified as the 

Cultural and Heritage Cooperation Authority (25 U.S.C. 32A) and included these purposes: 

(1) to authorize the reburial of human remains and cultural items on National 

Forest System land, including human remains and cultural items repatriated under 

the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et 

seq.);

(2) to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information regarding reburial sites, 

including the quantity and identity of human remains and cultural items on sites 

and the location of sites;

(3) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure access to National Forest 

System land, to the maximum extent practicable, by Indians and Indian tribes for 

traditional and cultural purposes;

(4) to authorize the Secretary to provide forest products, without consideration, to 

Indian tribes for traditional and cultural purposes;
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(5) to authorize the Secretary to protect the confidentiality of certain information, 

including information that is culturally sensitive to Indian tribes;

(6) to increase the availability of Forest Service programs and resources to Indian 

tribes in support of the policy of the United States to promote tribal sovereignty and 

self-determination; and

(7) to strengthen support for the policy of the United States of protecting and 

preserving the traditional, cultural, and ceremonial rites and practices of Indian 

tribes, in accordance with Public Law 95-341 (commonly known as the American 

Indian Religious Freedom Act; 42 U.S.C. 1996).

Those purposes are to be accomplished in four areas:

1. (Sec. 3053) Reburial of human remains and cultural items (See FSM 1563.3)

2. (Sec. 3054) Temporary closure for traditional and cultural purposes (See FSM 1563.4)

3. (Sec. 3055) Forest products for traditional and cultural purposes (See FSM 1563.5)

4. (Sec. 3056) Prohibition on disclosure (See FSM 1563.6)

See also FSM 1563.01d, para. 3, and FSH 1509.13.