Tribal Partnerships

Native American tribes are among the Service's most important conservation partners. As managers of important land and water resources, tribes have a significant role in the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats in California, Nevada and the Klamath Basin.

Liaison With Tribes

The Service is proud of our many tribal government-to-government relationships, and of the fish and wildlife conservation that results from these relationships. In Region 8, effective relationship building and liaison with tribes is established first locally, at our field offices in California, Nevada and Klamath Basin. Tribes are encouraged to first contact the nearest Region 8 Fish and Wildlife Office for questions concerning Federal fish and wildlife regulations, tribal consultation issues or partnership opportunities in our region.

Tribal Wildlife Grants

An important component of Tribal Partnerships is the Tribal Wildlife Grant Program (TWG). These grants provide funding to federally-recognized tribes to develop and implement programs for the benefit of wildlife and their habitat, including species of Native American cultural or traditional importance and species that are not hunted or fished. The grants have enabled tribes to develop increased management capacity, improve and enhance relationships with partners including State agencies, address cultural and environmental priorities, and heighten interest of tribal students in fisheries, wildlife and related fields of study. Some grants have been awarded to enhance recovery efforts for threatened and endangered species.

Fiscal Year 2008 grants to tribes in California:

--Three grants totaling $293,225 for projects addressing the Clear Lake hitch, a culturally significant native fish in Clear Lake. This multi-tribal effort will seek to accelerate the recovery of this fish and to provide stock to other streams in the watershed. The three tribes and their individual grant awards are: The Big Valley Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians in California, $49,791 for the Big Valley Rancheria Clear Lake Hitch Study; Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, $48,498 for the Clear Lake Hitch Study and Recovery Project; and the Robinson Rancheria , $194,936 for the Clear Lake hitch study.

--$200,000 grant to the Yurok Tribe of the Klamath River Reserve in northern California to study the feasibility of reintroducing California condors to the Yurok Ancestral Territory. The condor is listed as an endangered species by Federal and State agencies.

--$100,000 grant to the Karuk Tribe for the Bluff Creek Habitat Protection-Road Decommissioning Implementation Project will improve salmon habitat by decommissioning a road that is a primary source of sedimentation negatively impacting salmon spawning habitat.

In Nevada:

--$97,397 to the Moapa Band of Paiutes for the Muddy River Habitat Enhancement Project (Stream Bank Restoration). This project will restore and enhance the fishery and wildlife habitat of the Moapa River and other important wetland habitats on the Moapa Indian Reservation. The Tribe will restore stream channel and stream bank characteristics so that a riparian component made up of native plants can be established.

Region 8 Tribal Grant Program

In the California and Nevada Region, the Tribal Wildlife Grant Program is managed through Conservation Partnerships and Tribal Partnerships program. The Region 8 Tribal Grant Coordinator is:

David Wooten
U.S Fish and Wildlife Service
2800 Cottage Way, Suite 2606
Sacramento, CA 95825
(tel.) 916-414-6576

More information about the Tribal Wildlife Grant Program, including how to apply for future grants, is available on the following websites:

Grant Programs for Tribal Governments

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Native American Liaison

Native American Policy

The Native American Policy of he U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service articulates the general principles that guide our government-to-government relationships with Indian Tribes in the conservation of fish and wildlife resources. The conservation values and partnerships that we share with Indian Tribes help the Service to accomplish its mission and fulfill our Federal and Departmental trust responsibilities to Native Americans.

Download the Service's Native American Policy (3.5mb .pdf)

Federally Recognized Tribes in the United States (106kb .pdf)

Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments (pdf)

Tribes and the Endangered Species Act

The Service and tribes have a common goal of conserving sensitive species (including candidate, proposed, and listed species) and the ecosystems upon which they depend. Tribal lands are not federal public lands or part of the public domain, and are not subject to federal public land laws. These lands are managed in accordance with tribal goals and objectives, within the framework of applicable laws. Many Indian lands have remained untouched by conventional land use practices and therefore are an island of high quality ecosystems, attracting many sensitive species. More information is available from the Service's Endangered Species Program website.

Q&A: What is the Federal Trust Responsibility to Native American Tribes?

Secretarial Order # 3206: American Indian Tribal Rights, Federal Trust Responsibilities and the ESA

The Summer 2008 Endangered Species Bulletin contains success stories about how Native Americans from across the United States are integrating their unique cultural and traditional values with modern biological management principles to make a difference for conservation.

Fisheries and Habitat Conservation

The Fisheries and Habitat Conservation Program strives to fulfill Federal trust responsibilities to Native Americans through several of its programs, including Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance, the National Fish Hatchery System, Alaska Subsistence Management, and the Sikes Act.

Eagle Feathers for Native American Religous Purposes

Federal law provides for the use of eagle feathers for religious purposes by Native Americans. Eagles and eagle feathers are made available to Native Americans through the National Eagle Repository. Tribal members in California and Nevada must first obtain a permit from the Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office. Permits are issued to adult members (18+ years old) of a federally recognized tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community recognized by, and eligible to receive services from, the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Download the permit application here.

More information about obtaining eagle parts and feathers is available on the Service's Law Enforcement website.

Treaties, Agreements and Executive Orders

In 1902 the U.S. Senate resolved "that the Committee on Indian Affairs is hereby authorized to have prepared for the use of the Senate a compilation of all treaties laws and Executuve orders now in force relating to Indian affairs." The task was given to Charles J. Kappler, clerk to the Committee on Indian Affairs and in 1904, the Government Printing Office published a two-volume set entitled Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties.

Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, is an historically significant, seven volume compilation of U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII).

The Kappler compilation is available online through the Oklahoma State University Library. Volumes I through VII are available as fully searchable digitized text and as page images. The contents may be accessed from the Table of Contents or Index of each volume or through keyword search.

Programs & Issues