Heinrich, Murkowski Legislation to Promote Tribal Forest Management Passes Out of Committee

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, announced that their Tribal Forest Protection Act Amendments Act passed out of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The legislation now heads to the Senate Floor for consideration.

"Tribes are incredibly important stewards of our natural resources, and we need to ensure that we're working with Tribes like Tesuque Pueblo and The Mescalero Apache Tribe that have extensive expertise in forest management, wildfire prevention, and watershed restoration on their ancestral lands. I'm pleased our legislation to help scale Tribal-led and effective forestry practices across Indian Country is one step closer to Senate passage," said Heinrich.

The 2004 Tribal Forest Protection Act was intended to protect Tribal forest lands and resources from various threats, including wildfires, by allowing Tribes to enter into agreements with the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and carry out forest management activities on federal lands that are "bordering or adjacent to" lands under Tribal jurisdiction. In practical terms, the "bordering or adjacent to" requirement has proven to be too restrictive. This requirement does not adequately capture the sites, features, cultural landscapes, sacred places or objects with cultural value to Tribes that may be located on federal land that does not border Tribal land.

The Tribal Forest Protection Act Amendments Act corrects the oversight and expands the original language to enable Tribes to help restore important areas within their ancestral lands, even if their modern lands are not nearby. The legislation promotes Tribal forest management activities - including cultural burning, thinning, and restoration projects to enhance forest health and resilience. Through these sustainable forest management practices, economic development and new jobs can be created within Tribal communities.

The full text of the bill is here.

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