Chapter 2

Tribal Preferences Have a Strong Influence on Timber Harvests

The federal policy shift toward promoting Indian self-determination was followed by a shift within the forestry program from maximizing timber production to accommodating tribal preferences for forest use. As a result of this shift, timber harvests are to a large degree the result of tribal preferences.

The tribes influence annual timber harvests primarily in two ways. First, the tribes actively participate in developing the required multiyear forest management plan that provides the basis for managing the forest, including the determination of the annual allowable cut and tribal goals for annual timber harvests. Second, the tribes participate in the timber sale planning process and generally have the opportunity to approve or disapprove individual timber sales.

Annual timber harvests are also affected to some degree by such things as market conditions and the ability of a reservation's forestry program staff to prepare and complete the required number of timber sales.

Tribes participate in the Bureau's forest management planning process by establishing their preferences for forest use and the goals and objectives for the reservation's forestry program. These preferences are reflected in the reservation's forest management plan.

Tribal preferences for forest use are also reflected in calculating the annual allowable cut level for the reservation. The Bureau seeks the tribe's agreement on using the annual allowable cut level as the timber harvesting goal for the reservation. This annual allowable cut is incorporated into the forest management plan for the reservation and becomes the reservation's official annual allowable cut until the plan is modified with the approval of the tribe and the Bureau or a new plan is developed and approved.

At three of the five reservations we visited-Yakima, Menominee, and San Carlos-the official annual allowable cut level in each reservation's forest management plan was considered by the tribe to be the reservation's harvest goal. However, at the remaining two reservations, the tribes were using timber harvest goals that differed significantly from the official annual allowable cut:

The Colville reservation does not have a current forest management plan. Its most recent plan was approved in 1961 for the period from 1961 to 1970. The annual allowable cut in this plan is 120 million board

Tribal Preferences Have a Strong Influence
on Timber Harvests

feet, which remains the official Bureau estimate for Colville.' However, with agency office agreement, the Colville reservation has for several years harvested against a goal of 80 million board feet. For fiscal years 1988 and 1989, Colville harvested 111 and 89 percent of this revised goal, respectively.

Fort Apache's forest management plan for fiscal years 1981-90 contains an official annual allowable cut of 92.7 million board feet. However, according to agency office and tribal officials, for fiscal years 1988 and 1989, the reservation lowered its goal to 67.6 million board feet to more closely reflect tribal preferences. During these 2 years the reservation harvested 90 and 110 percent of this lower goal, respectively.

The Bureau requires that all reservations with significant commercial Indian forest land have complete and current forest management plans. These plans are intended to define the goals of the Indian owners for the forestry program and the use of the forest, as well as the options for achieving the goals.

In fiscal year 1985 the Congress began a 12-year special funding program of $1.2 million annually to aid the Bureau in overcoming problems in maintaining current, complete forest management plans for all commercial Indian forest lands. These funds are not intended to be the sole source of funding for forest management planning, but are provided to supplement other Bureau and tribal funds.

A complete reservation forest management plan is generally comprised of the following components:

A forest inventory that contains data on forest volume, growth, and conditions to provide estimates of forest resources to guide land-use planning objectives.

An inventory analysis report that presents the information gathered during the forest inventory and provides the basis for determining the annual allowable cut level.

A management plan that contains the long-range goals for the use of the forest and for the reservation's forestry program, including the annual allowable cut level, timber harvesting and other use objectives, and action plans for achieving these objectives.

An environmental assessment that discusses proposed forest management alternatives and their impact on the forest.

1A board foot is a unit of quantity for lumber equal to the volume of a board 12 by 12 by 1 inches.

Normally, all components of a reservation's forest management plan are to be updated every 10 years and approved by Bureau and tribal officials.

Nearly 90 percent of commercial Indian timberland acreage is located on the 41 reservations that are classified as class one.2 The remaining 66 reservations, classified as class two, account for the remaining 10 percent of the acreage. Table 2.2 shows the percentage of acreage on class one and class two reservations that had current forest management plan components as of the end of fiscal year 1989.

Tribal Preferences Have a Strong Influence
on Timber Harvests

Bureau officials believe that problems will continue in achieving and maintaining complete and current forest management plans for all reservations with commercially viable forest land. As reasons for delays in completing the plans, these officials pointed to (1) funding and staffing shortfalls caused by competing priorities, such as the need to comply with various federal laws such as those relating to the environment, fish and wildlife, and historically significant sites, and (2) the inability to obtain timely tribal involvement and concurrence in developing and completing the various plan components.

Bureau officials told us that the special funding program has helped, but they also expressed concern about their ability to address future forest management planning needs when the special funding ends in fiscal year 1997.

Tribes also influence annual timber harvests by participating in the timber sale planning and approval process. This process involves

selecting and defining areas of the forest where harvesting activity is appropriate;

identifying issues such as environmental, wildlife, and historical preservation that need to be resolved before trees can be harvested; determining the type, size, and quantity of trees to be harvested and the manner in which the harvesting will be carried out to address potential environmental, wild life, or historical preservation problems; and obtaining tribal consent for the proposed sales.

Tribes can reduce annual harvests by (1) imposing conditions or restrictions on timber sales in general; (2) changing the terms and conditions of individual planned sales, such as prohibiting harvesting in a portion of a sale area; and (3) disapproving a sale presented for approval or rescinding a previously approved sale.3 For example, at the five reservations we visited, we found a number of instances in which tribal decisions contributed to reduced timber harvests:

The Yakima tribal council adopted the policy of not approving timber sales unless all timber to be removed will be scaled by Bureau or tribal

3 Although the Secretary of the Interior has the authority to approve sales of Indian timber, it is Bureau policy to generally act in accordance with the tribal government's decision on individual sales.

Tribal Preferences Have a Strong Influence on Timber Harvests

employees. Previously, third-party scalers had been regularly used. Agency office officials said this policy has limited the amount of timber that can be harvested annually because there are not enough Bureau and tribal scalers.

The Yakima tribe also has set policies to protect food and medicinal plants within timber sale areas.

The Fort Apache tribal council has, for cultural and religious reasons, prohibited timber harvesting on selected portions of land within designated timber sales areas.

The Fort Apache tribal council issued timber harvesting guidelines for the reservation that specify the types of trees that can be harvested from approved sales areas. For instance, the tribal council was allowing trees of sawmill size to be harvested only if they were dead or dying. The agency office forest manager generally accommodated the tribal preference not to harvest healthy trees but believed this practice resulted in (1) smaller harvests and greater environmental impacts and sale costs because the sale areas have to be entered for harvesting activity much more frequently and (2) overstocked timber stands that contribute to slower growth and lower future forest productivity.

In addition to imposing conditions or restrictions on timber sales in general, tribal councils also may disapprove or rescind previously approved sales. For example, at Fort Apache the tribal council rescinded a previously approved timber sale because it believed the logging method to be used would damage grazing land and streams.

Finally, tribes may change the terms and conditions of previously approved planned sales on the basis of changing tribal priorities. For example, tribal priorities may change with changes in the tribal council. While forest management plans usually cover 10 years and individual timber sales can take as long as 4 or 5 years to prepare, tribal council membership can change yearly.

4Scaling is the process of estimating the number of board feet of lumber contained in a log. This information is used to determine the amount of timber removed from a timber sale area and the amount paid for that timber.