An evaluation of the feasibility and desirability of establishing minimum standards against which the adequacy of the forestry programs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in fulfilling its trust responsibility to Indian tribes can be measured
TASK G
Introduction Establishment of standards, funding to support forestry at established standards, and enforcement of standards are central to the theme of state- of-the-art forestry. Many of the failures in Indian Forestry are linked to inadequate support of standards. IFMAT I proposed that standards for evaluating performance should be agreed to between each tribal government and the Secretary of the Interior. This call seems to have gained traction after 25 years through the ITARA demonstration project which has been implemented on several reservations. NIFRMA requires that each FMP include standards setting forth the funding and staffing requirements necessary to carry out each management plan. Few FMPs approved by the BIA contain these requirements. NIFRMA sets minimum standards for tribal forestry program staffing, yet more than half of the tribal forestry staffs receive less than the minimum staffing budget allocations that NIFRMA lays out. Overstocking, poor road conditions, planting backlogs, invasive species, loss of watershed function, and inadequate facilities are largely the result of inadequate standards, lack of funding support where standards exist, lack of enforcement, and lack of BIA technical capacity (See Appendix xi). Regardless of efforts by the BIA to establish standards through handbooks
and manuals or tribes to establish standards through tribal regulations, there is widespread acknowledgement that the
funding gap is increasing between what is required for state-of- the-art forestry and actual federal support. IFMAT has long
“We stretch a dollar very far to complete projects.” —IFMAT IV focus group participant
Navajo Nation forest stand that has been pre-commercially thinned for the pole marking program where tribal members can purchase and harvest poles for building materials and as fuel. PHOTO CREDIT: SERRA HOAGLAND
Task Findings and Recommendations 137
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