Introduction of the Wy'east Tribal Resources Restoration Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce the Wy'East Tribal Resources Restoration Act, which establishes a first-in- the-nation tribal co-management structure on the Mount Hood National Forest.

This bill directs the Forest Service to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs to protect and enhance Treaty resources within ``Indian Treaty Resources Emphasis Zones,'' through a co-management structure. The establishment of such Zones will help meet the trust responsibilities of the United States in protecting the exercise of Tribal Treaty rights and integrate indigenous ecological knowledge as an important part of the best available scientific information used to manage land within the Zones. The co-management plan will be developed with public input, subject to all existing environmental laws and regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act. The bill also requires implementation of the Cultural Foods Obligations, which were included in the Public Lands Management Act of 2009 but have never been implemented.

The federal government forced Native Americans off of their homelands and onto reservations, and we haven't honored our promises for their treaty resources. I believe this tribal co-stewardship is an incredibly important step forward. It represents 21st century public lands management and I'm proud to lead the effort. It also helps the federal government fulfill its treaty obligations to Native American communities--a moral obligation that the federal government has never truly fulfilled.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, which will return some land management authority to Native Americans who have lived on, and managed, this land since time immemorial.

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