The vitality and sustainability of natural resources are integral to the health of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples, communities, cultures, and economies, as well as to their surrounding communities. The benefits of tribal natural resource management and development include creating jobs; maintaining tribal societal cohesion; forming healthy tribal and non-tribal communities and relations; developing innovative approaches to address pervasive unemployment and poor health brought on by environmental factors; and diminishing strain on land management and law enforcement services, among other things.
Fisheries
Many tribes and intertribal organizations work diligently on fisheries, fish restoration, and recovery projects, often in collaboration with non-tribal groups. An example is the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF), which addresses watershed restoration and salmon recovery work for Endangered Species Act listings and populations, and is critical to meeting trust obligations codified in treaties, laws, and other legal instruments regarding Indian fishing rights. This fund originated with the groundbreaking, multi-governmental collaborative project in salmon habitat restoration that was led by the Nisqually Tribe and recognized by President Obama with the nation’s first Coastal America Partnership Award in late 2011.
Forests
Forests are also a central tribal resource. Of the 56 million acres of federal Indian trust land, 18 million acres are forest lands, within which 5.7 million acres are designated for commercial forestry. Tribal and US Forest Service (USFS) forests share 2,100 miles of common boundaries. Combining sound business practices, traditional ecological wisdom and practice, modern techniques, and an inherent respect for the land, many tribes engage in sustainable forestry management practices that are recognized as innovative national (and international) models. Indian trust forests are significantly more productive than their counterparts on USFS lands, generating on a per-acre basis about 250 percent of the harvest produced by comparable USFS lands. With an allowable harvest of 700 million board feet, commercial forestry on Indian lands is a key economic activity for over 80 tribes. Additionally, several timber tribes are engaging in biomass projects to generate renewable energy and jobs for tribal people and the surrounding community.
NCAI Publications
Analysis of President's FY 2016 Budget Request
Feb 04, 2015
Testimony & Speeches
NCAI Comments on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for the Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline
Apr 22, 2013
Resolutions
Call for Alaska Native Self-Determination in the Management of Their Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, And Gathering Rights and Resources
Oct 03, 2014
Protection of Alaska Native Traditional Resource Management Practices
Oct 03, 2014
To Support the Swift Enactment of the Federal Subsistence Board Proposed Amendments to Determine Rural Community Status under Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
Oct 03, 2014