harvesting volumes and values, and reforestation needs, but this has not included forecasts or references to climate and disturbance trends or carbon stocks and fluxes (US Department of the Interior 2020). Some tribes and intertribal groups have developed climate action strategies based on downscaled climate projections, but there have been no requirements, guidance, or standards issued to assure comparability or scientific validity. 3. Encourage the exchange of traditional ecological knowledge and Western scientific knowledge in planning and adjusting to climate change impacts, recognizing the unique strengths that each form of knowledge brings. There is a growing awareness of the role of traditional knowledge in climate response. Important steps forward are outlined in the recent Status of Tribes and Climate Change Report (STACC) of the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP, 2021). The ITEP Climate and Traditional Knowledges Workgroup (CTKW) of ITEP has also produced Guidelines for Considering Traditional Knowledges in Climate Change Initiatives (ITEP 2014). Some tribes have woven traditional knowledge into their assessments of vulnerability, combining insights into their assessments of risk and management response. In 2021, the White House released new government-wide guidance for federal agencies on recognizing and including Indigenous
programs to give tribes access to science findings and tools. The coordination among these entities through regional partnerships among DOI/ USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers (Department of the Interior 2023), USDA Climate Hubs (US Department of Agriculture 2023), NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnerships (formerly RISA’S) (US Department of Commerce 2022), and university programs and have cadres of tribal liaisons to work directly with tribes and intertribal groups. Regional and national
Traditional Ecological Knowledge in federal research, policy, and decision making, following the 2021 Tribal Nations Summit (White House 2021). 4. Require federal agencies to better coordinate interagency delivery of science findings, technical and financial services to tribes. There has been much progress on this front with the growth and maturation of federal and state government science delivery programs as well as intertribal and NGO
Tribal forestry staff and IFMAT members observe fire damaged landscapes during a site visit to the Colville Reservation in Washington state. PHOTO CREDIT: GEORGE E. SMITH
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