The role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in managing Indian forests is waning as Indian tribes become increasingly responsible for establishing direction and implementing forest practices. Indian forests managed according to tribal traditions produce commodities for economic gain, yet other values are respected and protected as well. Integrating Native American Values into Commercial Forestry By Scott M. McCorquodale, Rosemary H. Leach, Gina M. King, and Kenneth R. Bevis Designed to retain ecological and cultural features important to the tribe, forest management on the Yakama Indian Reservation, Washington State, emphasizes traditional resource values but is also highly profitable. The collaboration demonstrates how Cooperative Extension can help solve real problems in Indian Country. The forest plan, completed by the tribe in 1994, received a national award at the 1995 Intertribal Timber Council Symposium.
Current strategies focus on integrated management guided by tribal culture and priorities.
By Rolan R. Becker and Thomas S. Corse Uneven-aged management has been used on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana to generate income and meet the cultural and spiritual needs of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The Seminole reservations constitute a unique natural resource with subtropical vegetation. Such ecosystems as cypress swamps and savannas, pine flatwoods, and cabbage palm hammocks include a diversity of wildlife. High priority in the current management plan is placed on protecting the forest resources that were extensively harvested before the reservation was established in the early 1900s and eradicating invasive exotic species. A two-year natural resources program, developed with the help of tribal organizations and government agencies, combines work and study to prepare Native American and Alaska Native students for baccalaureate programs and careers in the natural resources.