Restoring tribal eco-cultural resources

Attention to tribal interests on public lands in the Pacific Northwest has increasingly focused on the quality and accessibility of ecocultural resources for tending and harvest by American Indians. This shift reflects the importance of reserved treaty rights, cultural ecosystem services, food sovereignty, resilience to climate change, forest heterogeneity, and environmental justice. Forest restoration can advance these values through partnerships with tribes to apply fire and other approaches in ways that reflect traditional practices and enhance desired biological resources and associated gathering places.