WYOMING — More than $12 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be invested in the fiscal year 2023 to complete projects in support of the Tribal Forest Protection Act (TFPA).

Projects have been selected to support a range of activities focused on forest and grassland restoration. Work will include vegetation management, hazardous fuels risk reduction and cultural and ethnobotanical surveys on indigenous landscapes.

In Wyoming, the Bighorn National Forest and Hinono’eino or Inun-ina (Northern Arapaho), Tsis tsis’tas (Northern Cheyenne), Apsáalooke (Crow), Oglála Lak?óta Oyáte (Oglala Sioux) and Newe (Shoshone) will work on resiliency and restoration of traditionally significant plants impacted by climate change and site disturbances by incorporating indigenous knowledge into ecological restoration activities.

The Forest Service noted its “unique, shared responsibility” in ensuring decisions related to federal stewardship of lands, waters and wildlife consider how treaty rights and spiritual, subsistence and cultural interests of American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Nations are considered. The agency’s tribal action plan provides a framework for advancing existing laws, regulations and policies and provides steps that can be applied through existing programs and processes based on four focus areas:

  • Strengthening relationships between American Indian Tribes and the USDA Forest Service
  • Fulfilling trust and treaty obligations
  • Enhancing co-stewardship of the nation’s forests and grasslands
  • Advancing tribal relations within the USDA Forest Service.

This work focuses on improving relationships and working together through co-stewardship, restoring traditionally significant plants and reducing hazardous fuels while incorporating indigenous knowledge, creating job opportunities for tribal crews and increasing youth engagement.

“Many of these projects will tackle our most pressing issues, including climate change and the wildfire crisis while creating job opportunities for tribal members with the benefit of incorporating indigenous knowledge into ecological restoration activities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This is just one example of how our renewed commitment to work with tribal nations has multiple benefits, including expanding opportunities for tribal youth to pursue land management careers and integrating indigenous traditional ecological knowledge passed through the generations into ongoing co-stewardship activities.”