On Wednesday, hundreds of people toured the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Bison Range. It was a beautiful summer day, with the Mission Mountains standing proudly in the background.
“If you’ve ever been around bison, it’s not an easy animal to handle,” Bison Range Head Biologist Shannon Clairmont tells a tour group. “They don’t take to directions real well”
The tour covered how the Tribes regained ownership of the bison range from federal agencies in 2022, and how they’re bolstering their land management efforts.
It was a part of the three-day Intertribal Timber Council Symposium recently held at the University of Montana. Amid ongoing federal efforts to revitalize the timber industry, the annual symposium centered on managing tribal and multiagency interests, as well as empowering future stewards. The Bison Range is an example of the kinds of collaboration tribes seek for forest management.
The timber industry is a major focus of the Trump Administration. President Donald Trump issued executive orders loosening regulations on logging in national forests. He also imposed additional tariffs on Canada, a major supplier of U.S. lumber. Cuts to the federal workforce have created uncertainty in the management of public lands, as well.
The Intertribal Timber Council (ITC) works to improve the management of natural resources vital to Native American communities. Members say strong partnerships are critical amid policy and market uncertainty.
“We're all neighbors, and so what we're doing affects people downstream or next to us adjacent,” said Post-Wildfire Recovery Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Darryl Martinez. “It makes sense to bring everybody in and say 'what's the best thing for this environment, this watershed, this community,' and take a holistic approach to it,”
Many tribal nations across the country are in rural areas. ITC Vice President Philip Rigdon says, as a result, timber is often a vital industry, but they prioritize cutting forests in a way that is sustainable.
“Our forest management is usually a lot different than industry, a lot different in that we actually do stuff compared to some of the federal agencies,” Rigdon said. “And that's exciting because we actually bring unique civil culture, unique ways in how we manage our land.”
Panelists at the symposium discussed collaboration, fire as an extension of sovereignty and market signals to watch for in the timber industry.
ITC leaders say they’re working with policymakers to ensure tribal priorities are represented in land management. This includes policy around fire suppression, like the federal Fix our Forests Act. That’s a bill which establishes management requirements for federal forests, including reducing wildfire threats.
“When we see suppression resources get allocated, they typically don't come to Indian Country,” said ITC President Cody Desautel. “We live in small rural communities where there's not a lot of infrastructure.”
This is the first time since 2007 that the symposium has been held in Montana. CSKT Director of Tribal Resources Tony Incashola Jr. says he’s proud to highlight the work they've done.
“We're very open to continue to work off and on reservation, as we see that as our aboriginal territory and we want to care for that just as much as we want to care for inside the boundary of the reservation,” he said.
Incashola says despite this period of uncertainty, he hopes the strong relationships tribes have built with their partners will continue to foster opportunities for responsible stewardship of Montana’s forests.
Montana Public Radio is a public service of the University of Montana. State government coverage is funded in part through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
