Pete Stauber Ask Deputy Chief How Forest Service Can Better Cooperate With Tribes And Local Partners

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During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) spoke about cooperation between the Forest Service and tribal and local partners.

Transcript

00:00The gentleman's time is expired. I'll recognize the gentleman from Minnesota for five minutes.

00:04Thank you, Chair Tiffany and Ranking Member Ngoose.

00:08Deputy Chief Crockett, thank you for joining us today.

00:11As I anticipate we'll hear this morning, proper forest management is a collaborative effort

00:16and it's necessary to include tribes, along with state and local governments

00:22and private individuals and entities in our forest management practices.

00:25As you note in your testimony, the Forest Service has 193 million acres of forest and grasslands under its management.

00:35Without, excuse me, without partnerships with the tribes, along with state, local and private entities,

00:41could the Forest Service properly manage these lands?

00:48So the way I'll answer that question is the Forest Service looks for opportunities with tribes

00:55as well as other entities to help partner in the management of those lands.

01:00And so, as I mentioned earlier, tribes have a significant ecological knowledge that is beneficial for us

01:06in the management of it and we welcome their voice at the table in helping us with future opportunities for them.

01:15And Deputy Chief Crockett, this legislation gives you the opportunities fully to work with our tribes

01:21and I think it's a really, really good opportunity.

01:24So while funding for the Forest Service and other land managers has increased in recent years

01:28thanks to historic investments by Congress and the Land and Water Conservation Fund,

01:33the deferred maintenance backlog for our federal land managers continues to grow year after year.

01:39This shows that increased funding is not just the answer, it's much larger than that.

01:44Deputy Chief Crockett, how can the Forest Service utilize tribes and other partners better for proper forest management

01:53and what is holding the service back from further utilizing these partnerships?

01:58So I don't think there's anything that's holding us back from engaging with tribes.

02:03The work that tribal leaders do on their lands is impressive and we look forward to bringing that perspective

02:11into the work that we do on our federal lands.

02:15So what's holding you up from working even better?

02:21Obviously this legislation allows the work and cooperation to even be better.

02:28So what's, irregardless of this legislation, what was or what has been holding you up?

02:33So I don't think there's anything that's holding us up.

02:36There are opportunities through various bills that gives us a better window in how to partner and collaborate with tribes.

02:44I think this bill does just that.

02:46It provides new windows through good neighbor authority, through stewardship contracting, through retention of sawmills.

02:53But I wouldn't say anything is holding us up from engaging with tribes.

02:56You had mentioned the good neighbor authority.

02:59That is a crucial piece of legislation.

03:03And the sawmill investments on tribal lands.

03:07I think that's a huge opportunity.

03:11So is it safe to say that the expanded authorities in this bill would permit the Forest Service to better collaborate

03:16and partner with tribes, lessening the burden on your agency?

03:20Yes.

03:20So I would be remiss if I didn't mention that currently, or at least the start of last week,

03:28we had three major forest fires in northern Minnesota.

03:31It'll never happen again in my lifetime.

03:33And I am very proud of the U.S. Forest Service and their well-land firefighting.

03:38Excellent job, night and day, and obviously the first priority is life safety.

03:45And as of yet, I haven't heard of any loss of life, which is huge.

03:49And I give credit to our local volunteer fire departments, local community members,

03:56and local restaurants and bars and the U.S. Forest Service for providing that.

04:01So with that, Mr. Chair, I'll yield back.

04:04Gentlemen, yields now recognize Ms. Randall for five minutes of questioning.

04:11Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.

04:16It goes without saying that tribal consultation should be first and foremost.

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