TASK G (continued)
IFMAT I – 1993 II – 2003 III - 2013
Recommendation Implementation Status
Recommendations in Response to Task G Findings
Establishing and Implementing Trust Standards (continued)
Funding needs and significant underfunding are fully documented in all the IFMAT reports. Funding needs can be defined as standards for the various forest management activities addressed in these assessments. As tribes shift from economic priorities to greater stewardship focus in management, more attention is needed in the development of standards that address broader stewardship and socials aspects of Indian forest management.
Establish standards for funding Indian forestry that recognize the special ecological, social, and economic importance of Indian forests. (Recommendation G2, page 193)
III
Trust Oversight, Evaluation, and Management Structure
Require that trust standards be agreed upon between the tribal government and the Secretary of the Interior. (Recommendation G1, page V-51) Implement the forest trust oversight recommendations of IFMAT I and adopt a management structure that can efficiently plan and implement a timber program as part of an integrated resource plan based on a tribal vision (Recommendation G1), page 84) Consistent with IFMAT I and II, create an independent trust oversight body, for example, a permanent commission independent of both BIA and Secretary of the Interior, to evaluate the overall government’s fulfillment of its trust duties to Indian tribes. (Recommendation G7, page 194) Ensure that the annual evaluations of compacted and contracted tribes, now done by the Office of the Special Trustee, include personnel with expertise in forestry. (Recommendation G3, page 193)
After three decades of focus on the need for effective trust oversight, BIA and tribal resource managers still have no clear guidance as to the discharge and effect of the federal government’s trust oversight responsibilities. Many tribal management structures place supervision of multiple natural resource programs under a single manager (NR Director).
I
I & II
The recommendation for an independent trust oversight commission has not been implemented.
III
DOI/BIA process for trust evaluations remain unchanged. Evaluations are now conducted by the Bureau of Trust Fund Administration (BFTA). Evaluations focus on internal controls, accounting systems and conflict of interest safeguards. The BTFA team does not include professional forestry expertise.
III
A-52 Assessment of Indian Forests and Forest Management in the United States
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator