Monumental 638 agreement: Forest Service partners with Tulalip Tribes
A formal agreement between the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and the Tulalip Tribes is expanding the agency’s ability to partner to foster shared stewardship with tribes for forest management activities.
On Sept. 16, Tulalip Tribes' Chairwoman Teri Gobin, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Jim Hubbard, Pacific Northwest Regional Forester Glenn Casamassa and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie Forest Supervisor Jody Weil virtually gathered to sign the first 638 agreement under the 1975 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act between the Forest Service and a partnering tribe.
The 2018 Farm Bill expanded authorities for the Forest Service to use the 638 authority for partnering with tribes on Tribal Forest Protection Act work.
The forest’s agreement with the Tulalip Tribes focuses on watershed restoration through efforts to capture, relocate and monitor beavers in the South Fork Stillaguamish watershed in Washington State, and provides a model for other national forests to follow.
“This agreement reflects our commitment to strengthen partnerships and share stewardship with tribes to accomplish common objectives,” Hubbard said. “The more we can work together, the more successful we’ll be at conserving and managing these lands for current and future generations.”
The Tulalips Tribes have previously released beavers on the forest to advance tribal interests, including restoration objectives in its salmon fisheries.
"Tulalip has been working collaboratively with the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to steward our ancestral lands for quite a few years,” Gobin said. “The beaver reintroduction effort is our first project under the Tribal Forest Protection Act. We are glad to be the first tribal nation to utilize USDA's new 638 authority in funding this project.”
This project will foster resilient ecosystems on national forest and tribal lands. Expanding the relocation project acknowledges the shared interests of both the tribe and the agency in habitat restoration for salmon and other aquatic species.
Under the agreement, the Tulalip Tribes will receive funds for a multi-year seasonal crew to reintroduce beavers in the South Fork Stillaguamish watershed.
As beaver dams maintain healthy habitat and water quality, these reintroductions will help improve instream and riparian landscapes that support endangered salmon, a critical treaty resource to the Tulalip Tribes.