Task J Findings and Recommendations
J8 Finding
Recommendation Reduce the barriers to getting fire back on the landscape where needed. ■ Increase the tribes’ ability to utilize fire and cultural burning when objectives will lead to improved forest resiliency. ■ The Indigenous Peoples Burning Network is one great intertribal organization that promotes the revitalization of traditional fire practices, but more organizations are needed. ■ Also, states can consider laws such as California law SB 332, which allows increased protection for tribal members to utilize cultural burning to reduce wildfire hazards.
Prescribed fire including cultural burning is a consistently mentioned tool that tribes want to utilize in cross-boundary projects. ■ Many forest restoration projects also include some degree of utilization of fire, however implementing and putting fire back on the landscape is extremely challenging for many reasons. ■ Many cultural benefits that tribes care about deeply can come from using fire. However, this is often the most complex, although very critical component of many silvicultural treatments. ■ Some tribes cannot issue individual permits for underburning, which essentially eliminates the cultural burning potential. Fire planning needs cooperation among multiple agencies, landowners, and municipalities and without agreements in place this can limit progress.
“Without fire, our forests will never be healthy.” —IFMAT IV focus group participant
J9 Finding
Recommendation Increase the utilization of programmatic EAs for cross-boundary projects. ■ Continue to encourage tribal participants in NASP training and when resources exist hire and retain silviculturists to help tribes accomplish their vision.
Programmatic EAs and having certified silviculturists can streamline cross- boundary project implementation. ■ Completing silvicultural planning and NEPA have been significantly improved once a certified tribal silviculturist participated in these processes however the project can be very intense and challenging overall for tribes.
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