Tribal sovereignty and the Endangered Species Act: Recovering the gray wolf

Long-standing disagreements in the United States regarding the application of the federal Endangered Species Act to Native American tribes have often hindered the relationship between the federal and tribal governments on environmental protection and restoration efforts, including endangered species recovery.  Our research explores the role of the federal-tribal relationship in endangered or threatened species conservation and management through a case study of federal gray wolf recovery in central Idaho.  We conducted interviews with members of the Nez Perce Tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in order to characterize their relationship and explore the context in which the recovery program was implemented.  Respondents from both the Tribe and Service attributed the success of the biological aspects of wolf recovery to the robustness of the wolf as a species and to close interagency coordination at the operational level.  However, our interviews also revealed key differences in perspectives between the Tribe and Service concerning species recovery, adequacy of funding, and the rights and role of the Tribe in wolf management, particularly with respect to opportunities for policy planning and decision-making via co-management and cooperative management regimes.  Future federal-tribal partnerships in endangered species protection should include a bilateral review of the Service’s existing Native American Policy, be consistent with international treaties and conventions regarding the participation of indigenous cultures in the conservation of biological diversity and broader natural resources management, and incorporate the meaningful participation of tribes in all levels of decision-making, including policy planning.