Traditional ecological knowledge and restoration: Trails will take us where we need to go

Planning for landscape level ecological restoration usually relies upon reference conditions to guide future desired conditions. However, changing environmental and socio-cultural systems have, are and will add complexity to human-ecological relationships. Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of tribal people can assist scientists and natural resources managers with understanding past, current and future interactions of people and the environment. Understanding former and current desired land use practices of indigenous people can increase the potential for cooperative landscape level restoration projects and programs. Many tribal communities desire to continue traditional land use practices, but may be limited because of degraded environmental conditions and fewer opportunities to participate in land management activities. Tribal involvement with restoration efforts can facilitate socio-cultural, economic, and ecological components of sustainability. This research focuses on collecting TEK related to tribal land use practices in northwestern California within the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains. Tribal TEK about the use of historical trails to access and manage different habitats for ceremonial, subsistence, and individual activities can provide information about the extent of human land use, biodiversity and ecological processes. Methods used to collect TEK and how it is displayed using Geographic Information System (GIS) will be discussed. TEK within GIS can be an effective land management planning tool for prioritizing restoration efforts that involve cooperatively working with American Indian tribes and/or tribal communities. Potential uses of TEK in GIS for fuels and fire management will be emphasized.