10. APPENDIX: DIRECT AND INDIRECT IMPACTS, OUTCOMES, AND INFLUENCES FROM IFMAT ASSESSMENTS
■ IFMAT recommendations have supported ITC testimony for funding for 25 years. Example: ITC President Rigdon’s testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee for the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies on April 8, 2014. ■ Out of the 74 IFMAT III recommendations, 65 have been addressed with actions, projects or in discussions during the ITC symposia or workshops. ■ BIA Forestry and fire management budgets have been trending upward. Even though many federal programs have seen drastic funding reductions, Indian forestry programs have been steadily increasing (over 20% in total since IFMAT III), even though the level of comparable funding continues to be well below what is needed. ■ IFMAT proposed the reorganization of federal trust responsibility to Indian Forest Management beginning with the IFMAT I report and repeated in IFMAT II, III. In 2016, The Indian Trust Asset Reform (ITARA) adopted a similar structure. ITARA authorizes tribes to submit trust asset management plans to the Secretary that will guide federal or tribal management. ■ IFMAT I recommended that forestry and natural resource department decision making be integrated. Today nearly all are. ■ IFMAT III was concerned about hazardous fuels reduction funding for Indian forests under the HFPAS model. Shortly after the release of IFMAT III, HFPAS was decommissioned and replaced with a more equitable fuels funding distribution model. ■ IFMAT III raised concerns about lack of workforce development. ITC has launched a workforce development strategic plan that has incorporated many of IFMAT III’s findings and recommendations.
■ IFMAT II recommended wildfire and forestry funding be integrated to permit increased efficiency in meeting tribal goals. In 2018 an Executive Order permitted this to be done. ■ Tiering off IFMAT reports, several positions have been established by BIA: – As part of the overall workforce development effort, the BIA initiated grants focusing on youth engagement and hired a Pathways coordinator. – BIA NIFC has developed a workforce development position. – BIA hired a Climate Change coordinator, now the BIA Resilience Coordinator ■ As part of the implementation plan for IFMAT III recommendations, ITC carried out major projects on Anchor Forests. ■ IFMATs I and III recommended increased access to research for Indian forestry. In the 2018 Farm Bill, Tribal Colleges and Universities received access to McIntire Stennis federal forestry research funds. ■ IFMAT III recommended increased tribal involvement in cross boundary management. The 2018 Farm Bill contained several landscape level management authorities that included tribal participation, including extension of Good Neighbor authority to tribes and a provision for 638 contracting within the Tribal Forest Protection Act. ■ IFMAT III held a roundtable in Washington, D.C to discuss interagency trust responsibility. In the following decade, the USFS, NRCS among others have increased their involvement, engagement and support of tribal forestry research, management and stewardship and has developed significant partnerships with ITC on several projects including Anchor Forests, a TFPA analysis and 638 contracting webinars and planning.
Appendix ix — IFMAT IV Site Visit Handbook A-77
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