Tribal Resource Programs
Fish and Wildlife Technical Assistance To Tribal Resource Programs
The Service’s
roles and trust responsibilities with tribes in the management of their fish
and wildlife resources emanates from various federal policies, mandates,
Executive and Secretarial orders, and the Service s own Native American
policy. The genesis of the Service’s Native American Policy actually began
in the Fisheries Program. With the help of the Native American Fish and
Wildlife Society, the long and arduous process began in May of 1991,
culminated when the Policy was officially signed in June of 1994, by
Director Mollie Beattie.
One of the goals of the Ashland FWCO is to fulfill Federal trust responsibilities to Native American tribes in managing, enhancing, and restoring fish and wildlife resources and ecosystems. To reach this goal the Ashland FWCO provides technical assistance to tribal resource programs in the planning, design, and operational phases of fish and wildlife management and fish hatchery activities in treaty-ceded areas. In practice, tribes from northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan have received assistance.
The Ashland FWCO provides wildlife management assistance to Native American governments by restoring wetlands and other habitats under the Partners for Fish & Wildlife and Circle of Flight programs. The goal is to increase fish and wildlife through habitat restoration activities. Under this concept, we provide technical and cost-share funding assistance in the planning, design, and construction phases of wetland restoration and other wildlife habitat activities. Recent projects have included bird/waterfowl surveys, construction of nesting boxes and stabilization of streambanks.
The Ashland FWCO also assists tribal resource managers with fish hatchery development and lake/stream fishery assessments. The purpose of these projects are to assist the tribes with the monitoring and management of their fishery resources, to document habitat types, fish species diversity and fishery trends. Previous projects have included fish hatchery technical assistance, brook trout and lake sturgeon assessments and fish passage enhancement projects. This information enables tribal resource managers to determine if fishery management options, habitat improvement projects or fish stocking should be initiated for a specific fishery.
