nAppendix xiiin Additional Information about Allotments
purposes. Road maintenance and road access are sometimes difficult on the allotments that are only accessed during harvest which may occur every 40 to 50 years. Management responsibility for allotments may include the BIA directly, tribes under P.L. 93-638 authorities, or, in Alaska, by regional corporations under self-governance compacts. Some allottees feel that they do not have a voice in the management of their properties and would like to have a delegated organization that has the authority to assist in the management of the allotments. Transparency in the appraisal process is also needed. One allottee association member expressed that they would like to have access to the allottees’ contact information which must be authorized by the BIA and the tribe so they could assist the tribe and the BIA in securing the required POAs. Some lands that are poorly stocked or of low productivity are often set aside as there is little incentive or funding to treat these acres. Non-timber forest products are typically not managed on allotment lands because there is not enough funding to support noncommercial forest management activities on these lands. The issue of fractionated interest, where a 40- acre or an 80-acre allotment could have 200 or more fractionated owner interest, increases each decade with the transfer of ownership to the next generation. When allottees receive Individuals Indian Money (IIM) checks from the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration for the sale of their timber, there is no description or background information provided with the payment. The allottee is not provided with an explanation of what the check is for, explanation of accounting, and whether there will be more payments in the future. Depending on the level of fractionation, the size of the timber sale and quality of the timber, an allottee’s check could range from thousands of dollars to only a few cents. Discussions indicated that government checks cannot include any other documents or information in the check envelope. For IIM account holders who have recent transactions the IIM statement may reference a timber sale name but that was all the information that may be provided. Forest Management Deductions (FMDs) collected on allottees’ timber harvest should be spent on allotment lands in equitable proportion to the FMDs that are collected from tribal land. Tribes with many allottee acres need to have an appropriate number of Allottee Services Foresters to meet the needs of these individual landowners.
Some reservations have many individually owned allotment properties. The allotments complicate land management due to the scattered ownerships and small sizes and increase the difficulty of coordinating management on a landscape basis. The management costs on individual allotments are often greater than standard management costs as they must follow all BIA regulations. The BIA has trust responsibilities to individual allottees and the management of allotments in the lower 48 states and the state of Alaska. There are many obstacles to forest management particularly in Alaska due to the difficult topography, seasonal operation conditions, and poor or nonexistent transportation systems and markets for forest products. The situation with allotments is the outcome of a failed federal policy. Allotment lands within reservation boundaries should be managed in a more integrated process with other tribal lands, however at this time that does not occur. Tribal and allottee objectives sometimes differ resulting in conflict over the resources and may at times create issues between the allottees and the tribe. For carbon sequestration projects, currently the BIA does not recognize carbon credits as a trust asset. This has complicated the opportunities for the allottees desiring to enter carbon projects. The BIA has been examining how carbon projects on allotments may be managed for more than 10 years. The number of forested acres (timberland and woodland) in allotments approaches one million acres. Allotments are individual Indian owned trust lands and need to be managed in accordance with NIFRMA and 25 CFR § 163 requirements and allottees’ interests. Timber on allotment lands is often sold in conjunction with tribal timber sales and may not receive priority for markets. Also, the timing of the timber revenue income may not align with financial needs of the allottee. The process of getting the power of attorney (POA) for each allottee is very cumbersome and often delays management for many years. Generally, the POA needs to have majority interest approval of all the owners. Some allottees would like to sell their lands to the tribe but there are no funds for tribes to acquire these lands on a consistent basis. Identifying the majority ownership is difficult as many landowners’ locations are unknown, probate process and interpretation of competency must clear and be addressed before activities can be implemented. In addition to home locations, some allottees want to hold their lands for long-term timber management and recreational
A-86 Assessment of Indian Forests and Forest Management in the United States
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