Science and policy applied to trust resource protection and recovery must go beyond the issues addressed in more general environmental protection. Trust asset protection extends to habitat protection and recovery in consultation with tribes. Tribal colleges and tribal natural resource departments have significant compilations of historical data and ability to collect and analyze local environmental data. Ethnobotanical and ethnozoological research can be conducted through tribal colleges in a manner with promotes tribal values and traditions of passing on environmental information. Control of culturally sensitive information is essential in any data collection effort.
Tribal colleges can provide access to elders' knowledge in a culturally appropriate manner.
This culturally based knowledge demonstrates tribal familiarity with natural environment and an ability to recognize changes in animal behavior of local species. Issues in Data Collection Reservations are held in trust by the federal government, strictly for the benefit of the resident Indian tribe. Federal trust status requires meaningful consultation and participation of tribes in a government to government relationship with the federal agencies. Tribal values must be prominent in the federal policies relating to environmental protection, management and preservation on Indian reservations. Tribes have a right to know why federal agencies are seeking environmental information.