Interior Department Issues Guidance to Strengthen Tribal Co-Stewardship of Public Lands and Waters

The Department of the Interior released guidance to improve federal stewardship of public lands, waters and wildlife by strengthening the role of Tribal governments in federal land management. Guidance from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) outlines how each bureau will facilitate and support agreements with Tribes to collaborate in the co-stewardship of federal lands and waters.
In managing public lands and waters, the Department is charged with trust responsibility and treaty rights to protect American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal interests and further the nation-to-nation relationship, and with distinct obligations to the Native Hawaiian Community. Tribal consultation and collaboration will continue to be implemented as components of, or in addition to, federal land management priorities and direction for recreation, range, timber, energy production, and other uses, and conservation of wilderness, refuges, watersheds, wildlife habitat, and other values.