The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, through the Fish and Wildlife Management
Assistance program, strives to fulfill Federal trust responsibilities
to Native American Tribes. The program works with Native American
Tribes to conserve and manage fish and wildlife resources on Tribal
lands and ceded territories.
Native
American cultures are closely connected to fish and wildlife resources
for sustenance, cultural enrichment, and economic support. Tribal
governments manage or have influence over some of the Nation’s most
important fish and wildlife resources.
There are
572 Federally recognized tribes in the United States, including
224 village groups in Alaska. “Federally recognized” means these
tribes and governments have a special, legal relationship with the
U.S. government.
The U.S.
government is legally obligated to protect tribal trust resources,
including fish and wildlife. The Native American Policy of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, dated June 1994, articulates
general principles that guide the Service’s government-to-government
relationship with Native American governments in the conservation
of these resources.
Native Alaskan
students and Fish & Wildlife Management
Assistance biologists cooperate to conserve fish and habitats
by monitoring water quality and fish communities in a local stream. |
What Are
We Doing?
The relationship
between the Service and Native American Tribes has evolved over
time. As Tribal capabilities have developed, the relationship with
the Service has changed from one of dependence to one of partnership.
Today,
some tribes possess technical capabilities similar to State or Federal
agencies. However, many Tribal fish and wildlife programs are still
in the development stages and greatly benefit from our assistance.
For example, Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance biologists
assess fishery resources on Indian reservations, develop fishery
management plans, coordinate fish stocking and habitat improvement,
and evaluate the results of management actions.
Members of the
White Mountain Apache Tribe remove
invasive salt cedar to restore natural flows to a dewatered spring.
Despite
the growth of tribal capabilities, Federal agencies retain trust
responsibility for tribal natural resources. Tribes look to the
Service’s Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance program to provide
technical assistance, to supplement tribal capabilities, and to
serve as a trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation.
What Have
We Accomplished?
A few examples:
- Conducted a telemetry
study on the Crow Indian Reservation to provide baseline information
on a migratory elk herd, and training and educational opportunities
for tribal students.
- Assessed
walleye fisheries in northern Wisconsin, with tribal, federal,
and state biologists, and determined that treaty fishing by
Chippewa Indians was not damaging the fishery resource, leading
to a resolution of public controversy and long-standing litigation.
- Documented
the distribution of Bonneville cutthroat trout on the Goshute
Reservation in Utah, rehabilitated two streams and reintroduced
Bonneville cutthroats to help restore this imperiled species
to Reservation waters.
- Reintroduced
lake sturgeon to waters of the Menominee Reservation, Wisconsin,
by transferring lake sturgeon from below dams in the Wolf River,
and tracked their movements using radiotelemetry.
- Marked
1,800,000 chinook and coho salmon with coded-wire tags for Nez
Perce tribal restoration programs in Idaho, and Yakima tribal
restoration programs in Washington.
By providing
fish and wildlife management and assistance to tribes, the Service
fulfills Federal obligations, improves the quality of life for Native
Americans and others who use and enjoy these resources, and fulfills
the agency’s mission to “conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife,
and plants and their habitats.”
Apache (left)
and Gila (right) trout may be removed from the endangered
species list within two years due to cooperative restoration efforts
of the
White Mountain Apache Tribe and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Activities
include (left) reclaiming the stream habitats by removing
invasive species that out compete the native trout. Then (right)
native
trout are reintroduced to the stretch of river by relocation of
hatchery stock.
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