[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 190 (Wednesday, November 15, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE WY'EAST TRIBAL RESOURCES RESTORATION ACT

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 15, 2023

  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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