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You are here: Home » Policy Issues » Land & Natural Resources » Timber Timber
Tribal Lands and Forestry
Land is of great spiritual and cultural significance to Indian tribes, and many Indian communities continue to rely upon the land for subsistence through hunting, fishing and gathering. Land-based production such as agriculture, forestry, mining, oil and gas production play a prominent role in tribal economies. Moreover, Indian lands are critical for the exercise of tribal self-governance and self-determination.
- Currently, Indian tribes hold more than 50 million acres of land, approximately two percent of the United States. Most of these lands are in arid and remote regions.
- The largest reservation-the Navajo Nation-covers an area as large as West Virginia.
- Some reservations are as small as a few acres, and some tribes hold no land at all.
- With the exception of Metlakatla's reservation in Southeast Alaska, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 shifted land title for many tribes in Alaska to Alaska Native Corporations.
- There are 302 forested Indian reservations which encompass 17.9 million acres of Indian forest lands. 7.7 million acres of timberland and 10.2 million acres of woodlands.
- There are 199 reservations containing timberlands and 185 reservations containing woodlands. Indian forestlands have particular ecological value as an essential component in the mosaic of forested landscapes which includes federal, private, and industrial forestland in the U.S.
- Forest health issues related to insets, disease, and wildfire risk represent some of the largest continuing challenges on Indian forests.
- Indian forest managers have made significant strides to begin to address wildfire risk during the last decade. However, acreage treated for hazardous fuel reduction remains lower than needed.
- Funding for fire management has increased sharply over the last 10 years in recognition of the fuel buildup on Indian forests due to past management practices and forest health needs.
- In large part, restrictions on the use of fuels management funding limit the ability to integrate these monies into a comprehensive program that addresses wildland fire hazard and risk abatement with silvicultural treatments and fire prevention education.
- Protecting forest health will be an ongoing effort that is most efficiently addressed through integrated management.
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