[Senate Report 119-23]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 76
119th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 119-23
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TO AMEND THE TRIBAL FOREST PROTECTION ACT OF 2004 TO IMPROVE THAT ACT,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
May 12, 2025.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 719]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill, (S. 719), to amend the Tribal Forest Protection Act of
2004 to improve that Act, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon, without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
S. 719 would amend the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004
(TFPA) to expand the lands and activities eligible for
inclusion in the TFPA program and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
In 2002 and 2003, catastrophic wildfires, originating on
national forests and other federal lands, swept across the West
and devastated many Tribal forest resources and communities.
The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004\1\ (TFPA) was passed
in the aftermath of these wildfires as a tool for Tribes to
propose work to protect Indian forest lands and resources from
various threats, including wildfires. The TFPA authorizes the
Forest Service (USFS) or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to
enter into contracts and agreements with Tribes to carry out
Tribally-designed land management activities on USFS or BLM
administered forest lands or rangelands that are ``bordering or
adjacent to'' lands under Tribal jurisdiction. The TFPA was
intended to facilitate treatment and collaboration between the
USFS, BLM and Tribes to manage and restore healthy forests on a
landscape scale to mitigate wildfire threats to Tribal lands.
The Congressional intent of the TFPA has gone largely
unfulfilled for nearly two decades as the tool has been under-
utilized with few projects proposed and successfully
implemented.\2\
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\1\Pub. L. No. 108-278; 118 Stat. 868 (2004).
\2\Intertribal Timber Council and U.S. Forest Service, The Tribal
Forest Protection Act Workshops 2014-2018: Sustaining Forests and
Communities (December 31, 2018).
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In 2018, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018\3\ (2018
Farm Bill) provided the USFS (for the first time) and the BLM
the authority to execute ``638'' contracts and agreements to
undertake the administrative and management functions of
programs implementing TFPA work under the Indian Self-
Determination Education and Assistance Act (ISDEAA).\4\ The
Forest Service's ISDEAA ``638'' authority was initiated as a
demonstration effort.
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\3\Pub. L. No. 115-334 (2018).
\4\Pub. L. No. 93-638, 88 Stat. 2203 (1975).
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Like the ISDEAA, the TFPA authorizes Alaska Native
Corporations (ANCs) as well as federally recognized Tribes to
enter into contracts and agreements with the BLM and USFS--
however the reference to trust or restricted fee lands in the
definition of ``Indian Forest Lands'' in the TFPA, and the
requirement that the lands be under the jurisdiction of the
Tribe, has practically excluded ANCs from participation under
the statute.
Legislation is needed to expand the definition of ``Indian
forest land or rangeland'' in the TFPA statute to provide
clarity for the use of TFPA by ANCs.
Removing the barrier in the TFPA statute requiring TFPA
projects occur on federal lands that are ``bordering or
adjacent'' to Indian forest land and rangelands, and replacing
it with a requirement that the federal lands present or involve
a special geographic, historic, or cultural significance to the
Tribe, will permit Tribes and ANCs to conduct landscape-scale
management projects throughout federal lands, more fully
realizing the congressional intent of the TFPA to provide
Tribes and ANCs a greater voice in management strategies to
reduce threats to Indian forest lands and rangelands and nearby
communities, trust resources, and values.
SUMMARY
S. 719 would amend the TFPA to expand the definition of
``Indian forest or rangeland'' to include lands held by ANCs,
eliminate the requirement that projects take place on federal
lands that are ``bordering or adjacent to'' Indian forest or
rangeland'' and replace it with a requirement that the federal
lands present or involve a special geographic, historical, or
cultural significance to a Tribe or ANC, and it allows for TFPA
projects to be carried out on Indian forest or rangeland. S.
719 also provides an authorization of $15 million in annual
appropriations for each of Fiscal Years 2026 through 2031 for
TFPA implementation.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1--Short title
This section sets forth the short title as the ``Tribal
Forest Protection Act Amendments Act of 2025.''
Section 2--Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 amendments
This section amends section 2 of the TFPA to:
Add land in the state of Alaska held by
Alaska Native Corporations pursuant to the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)
to the definition of Indian Forest Land or Rangeland;
Expand the authority of the Secretary to
enter into agreements or contracts with Tribes to
protect Indian forest or rangeland to include forest
and watershed restoration activities;
Expand the authority of Tribes and ANCs to
carry out protection and restoration projects directly
on Indian forest and rangeland;
Remove the requirement that Indian forest or
rangeland border or be adjacent to USFS or BLM lands,
and replace it with a requirement that the federal land
eligible for TFPA agreements have special geographic,
historical, or cultural significance to a Tribe or ANC;
Update the program reporting requirement to
require the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
USFS land, and the Secretary of Interior, with respect
to BLM land, to submit a report to Congress not later
than four years after the date of enactment of this
bill\5\ that describes Tribal requests received and
agreements or contracts that have been entered into
under this bill; and
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\5\Section 2(g) of the TFPA (Pub. L. 108-278) states, ``the date of
enactment of this Act.'' Corresponding text of the U.S. Code at 25
U.S.C. 3115a(g) was changed by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel
to read, ``4 years after July 22, 2004'' for clarity purposes.
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Authorize appropriations of $15 million per
year, from Fiscal Years 2026 through 2031.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 719 was introduced by Senators Murkowski and Heinrich on
February 25, 2025.
In the 118th Congress, a similar bill, S. 4370, was
introduced by Senator Murkowski on May 21, 2024. Senator
Sullivan and Senator Heinrich later joined as cosponsors. The
Committee held a hearing on S. 4370 on July 25, 2024 (S. Hrg.
118-532). The Committee, in an open business meeting on
September 25, 2024, by a majority voice vote of a quorum
present, ordered S. 4370, as amended, favorably reported by
voice vote (S. Rept. 118-249).\6\ The Senate passed S. 4370
with an amendment by voice vote on December 12, 2024.\7\
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\6\S. Report No. 118-249 (2024).
\7\170 Cong. Rec. S6994 (daily ed. Dec. 12, 2024).
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COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The Committee has requested, but has not yet received, the
Congressional Budget Office's estimate of the cost of S. 719 as
ordered reported. When the Congressional Budget Office
completes its cost estimate, it will be posted on the Internet
at www.cbo.gov, and printed in the Congressional Record.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture from the July 25, 2024 hearing on S. 4370 follows:
Chairman Schatz, Vice Chairman Murkowski, and Members of
the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear
before you today to discuss the views of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
Federally recognized Indian Tribes are sovereign nations
with long-standing government-to-government relationships with
the Federal Government. We acknowledge that many of the Federal
lands and waters managed by the USDA and the Department of the
Interior are the traditional territories of American Indians
and Alaska Natives. These lands are home to sacred sites and
burial sites, wildlife, and other sources of indigenous foods
and medicines. Many of these lands are in areas where Tribes
have reserved rights to hunt, fish, gather, and practice their
traditional ceremonies pursuant to statutes and ratified
treaties and agreements with the Federal Government.
Forest Service policy honors the Federal trust relationship
with Tribes, promotes protection of these ancestral lands and
waters, and enhances co-stewardship opportunities with Tribes
based on a suite of treaties, Federal laws and regulations,
court decisions, executive orders and memorandums, interagency
agreements, and agency-specific direction. These include but
are not limited to the Tribal Forest Protection Act, Good
Neighbor Authority, Stewardship Contracting Authority, Wyden
Amendment, Service First, Executive Order 14096 on Revitalizing
Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All, and
the Presidential Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and
Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships.
The Forest Service's recent expansion of work is consistent
with our general trust responsibility and honors Tribal
sovereignty. It has taken many forms:
Tribal co-stewardship agreements developed
in response to Joint Secretarial Order 3403 promote an
approach to managing national forests and grasslands
that seeks to protect the treaty, religious,
subsistence and cultural interests of federally
recognized Indian Tribes. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, the
Forest Service and Tribes executed more than 120
agreements, representing a total investment of
approximately $68 million, more than triple the $19.8
million invested in FY 2022. These agreements implement
vegetation management projects to protect Tribal land
and communities and reduce hazardous fuels in critical
and cultural landscapes while strengthening our
government-to-government relationships with Tribal
Nations.
The 2018 Farm Bill also expanded the Good
Neighbor Authority (GNA) to Tribes. GNA allows the
Forest Service to enter into cooperative agreements and
contracts with Indian Tribes, States, and counties to
perform forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration
services on the National Forest System. Since FY 2018,
Tribes have entered 30 GNA agreements, totaling $7.3
million, to accomplish a variety of restoration work,
including addressing wildfires, pest control, climate
change vulnerability assessments, and cultural resource
protection.
In FY 2021, the Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act (IIJA) made additional funds available for
Indian Tribes and states to implement forest management
and wildfire mitigation projects on Federal lands
pursuant to the GNA or the Tribal Forest Protection Act
(TFPA). The IIJA provided the Forest Service with $5.5
billion to reduce wildfire risk and create healthy and
resilient ecosystems across Tribal, Federal, State, and
private lands. This included the first-ever Tribal
program appropriations for the Forest Service,
increased eligibility for Tribes, and opportunity for
priority allocations for Tribes.
Several statutes and implementing regulations authorize the
Forest Service to enter into agreements and contracts with and/
or provide grants to Indian Tribes to protect Tribal land,
communities, and resources. The Tribal Forest Protection Act of
2004 (TFPA) provides authority for the Forest Service to enter
into agreements or contracts to carry out projects on the
National Forest System that protect bordering or adjacent
Indian forest land and rangeland from threats such as fire,
insects, and disease while being informed by Tribal knowledge.
Tribes may submit requests to the Secretary of Agriculture to
enter into agreements or contracts. The 2018 Farm Bill provided
additional opportunity, with a new Tribal forestry self-
determination demonstration authority, for increased Tribal
participation in the co-stewardship of the National Forest
System.
TFPA has been a key authority available to the Forest
Service to collaborate with Tribes to protect Tribal forest
lands, rangelands, and communities from threats that originate
from the National Forest System and to restore National Forest
System lands that encompass treaty rights, traditional use, and
other areas of Tribal significance. Notwithstanding the import
of the TFPA in bringing Indigenous Knowledge and Tribal voices
to Federal management of the National Forest System, some have
observed that there are aspects of the authority that limit its
application.
Some have argued that TFPA's structure has limited the
program's utilization and ability to meet Congress' intent of
protecting and restoring Tribal lands. S. 4370, the Tribal
Forest Protection Act Amendments Act of 2024, would amend
existing law to:
1. Expand the definition of ``Indian forest land or
rangeland'' to include lands held by Alaska Native
Corporations. Under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(ANCSA), Congress did not place Native land in Alaska into
trust or restricted status. Instead, land was conveyed to
Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) to manage for their
shareholders. TFPA's current definition of ``Indian forest land
and rangeland'' prevents nearly 44 million acres of ANCSA
Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service and
Bureau of Land Management. In addition, the TFPA requires that
the land be ``under the jurisdiction'' of a Tribe, which
further prevents ANSCA lands from qualifying. There are four
ANCs that hold lands pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) that border or are
adjacent to the Chugach and Tongass National Forests and/or may
be proximate to potential threats from those National Forests.
Expansion of TFPA to those lands under ANC oversight would
create opportunity for Sealaska and Chugach Alaska
Corporations, and potentially Ahtna, Inc. and Cook Inlet
Region, Inc. The Forest Service does not have a presence
outside of southeast Alaska.
2. Strike the requirement that Indian lands ``border on or
be adjacent to Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management
lands.'' The bill instead requires the Forest Service or Bureau
of Land Management land to have a special geographic,
historical, or cultural significance to an Indian Tribe. Tribes
have sacred sites, cultural landscapes, and other resources on
federal lands that they want to protect or restore, but the
lands on which those resources exist are not always bordering
on or adjacent to Indian lands.
Some have observed that a limitation of TFPA is the
requirement that the Indian forest land or rangeland border or
be adjacent to lands in the National Forest System. This
reduces participation for Tribes without an existing, or no,
land base that meets these criteria.
The TFPA currently includes the following Tribally-related
factors in evaluating the proposal of the Indian Tribe:
the status of the Indian Tribe as an Indian
Tribe;
the trust status of the Indian forest land
or rangeland of the Indian Tribe;
the cultural, traditional, and historical
affiliation of the Indian Tribe with the land subject
to the proposal;
the treaty rights or other reserved rights
of the Indian Tribe relating to the land subject to the
proposal;
the Indigenous Knowledge and skills of
members of the Indian Tribe;
the features of the landscape subject to the
proposal, including watersheds and vegetation types;
the working relationships between the Indian
Tribe and Federal agencies in coordinating activities
affecting the land subject to the proposal; and the
access by members of the Indian tribe to the land
subject to the proposal.
Amending the bordering or adjacency criteria to include
Indian forest land or rangeland and Tribal communities that are
reasonably proximate to a threat from the National Forest
System may be a more effective framework to expand eligibility
and to implement, as it can include factors such as the type
and extent of the risk to Tribal lands, resources, and
communities. For example, wildland fire travels over many
acres; disease can flow downstream over many miles; insects can
pervade over great distances. Therefore, the scope of
reasonable proximity to the threat will expand the range of
eligible Indian forest land or rangelands so that more Tribes
will be able to submit TFPA proposals for work on National
Forest System land.
Amending the bordering or adjacency requirement to instead
allow for proximity, amending the definition of Indian forest
land and rangeland to include ANCSA lands, and clarifying when
Tribes must exercise jurisdiction over the lands, may achieve
the desired goals of establishing Tribal relationships to the
landscapes of interest and allow ANCs to participate. If the
Committee would like to discuss additional/different criteria
to establish ``special geographic, historical, and cultural
relationships'' or other approaches to define the Tribal
relationship to the lands within the National Forest System,
the Forest Service would welcome that conversation.
3. Expand program eligibility to allow for work on Indian
forest land or rangelands. The current program only applies to
work conducted on Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the
Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management. The TFPA came into
being after the fire season of 2003 when 18 reservations were
affected by wildfire from federal lands. To help reduce the
threat of future tragedies, the Tribal Forest Protection Act of
2004 established a process to allow Tribes to perform hazardous
fuels reduction operations and other forest health projects on
U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands
bordering or adjacent to their own.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has authority and
responsibilities as trustee to manage Tribal forest lands
pursuant to the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act
(25 U.S.C. Chapter 33). Given this, the Forest Service would
like to work with the Committee to discuss the legal and
administrative impacts of changing the scope of the TFPA,
including how such changes may benefit by clarifying the role
for each of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Forest Service, and
Bureau of Land Management as agencies with the different
missions, obligations, and equities regarding work on the same
Tribal landscapes.
4. Add/update reporting on the program. Although the TFPA
is a process authority and not a program, the Forest Service
takes no issue with instituting a reporting regime to monitor
and assess the performance outcomes of work performed under the
TFPA.
5. Add a five-year authorization of appropriations of $15
million per year. The Forest Service received its first-ever
TFPA appropriations in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act, of up to $8 million per year for TFPA (Division J) and $32
million per year (40804(b)(2)) for both States and Tribes to
implement TFPA and Good Neighbor Authority. In FY 2024, more
than $185 million was requested by Forest Service field units
to execute these authorities with Tribes on the National Forest
System.
----------
The testimony provided by the U.S. Department of the
Interior from the July 25, 2024 hearing on S. 4370 follows:
Chairman Schatz, Vice Chairman Murkowski, and Members of
the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to present
testimony on S. 4370, Tribal Forest Protection Act Amendments
Act . . .
s. 4370, tribal forest protection act amendments act
The Tribal Forest Protection Act (TFPA) allows federally
recognized Tribes to propose forest or rangeland projects to be
conducted on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service
to reduce threats to adjacent Tribal lands, trust resources,
and values. S. 4370 would amend the TFPA to provide for
participation of Alaska Native Corporations (ANC), remove the
requirement that projects to achieve land management goals
occur on lands bordering or adjacent to Tribal lands, and
extend application of TFPA to projects occurring on Indian
forest land or rangeland.
On November 15, 2021, Secretary of the Interior Haaland and
Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack issued Secretary's Order 3403,
Joint Secretarial Order on Fulfilling the Trust Responsibility
to Indian Tribes in the Stewardship of Federal Lands and Waters
(S.O. 3403, Order). At the Tribal Nations Summit on November
22, 2022, Secretary of Commerce Raimondo joined S.O. 3403.
S.O. 3403 affirms the trust relationship between the United
States and Tribes and acknowledges that the United States would
benefit from the land management expertise and practices Tribal
Nations have developed over centuries. The Order is also a
commitment ``to ensure that Tribal governments play an integral
role in decision making related to the management of [F]ederal
lands and waters through consultation, capacity building, and
other means consistent with applicable authority.''
The Department of the Interior (Department) recognizes that
forest and ecosystem health does not stop at the border of
Tribal lands. The Department is committed to improving the
stewardship of our Nation's Federal forest lands by
strengthening the role of Tribal communities in Federal land
management, honoring Tribal sovereignty, and supporting the
priorities of Tribal Nations. S. 4370 aligns with these
important Administration priorities, and the Department
supports the bill.
The Department defers to the USDA regarding impacts to
lands managed by the USDA Forest Service.
background
The TFPA authorizes the Department to enter into a contract
or agreement with Tribes to carry out projects to protect
Indian forest land or rangeland, including proposals to restore
Federal land that borders on or is adjacent to Indian forest
land or rangeland. The statute defines ``Indian forest land or
rangeland'' as ``land that . . . is held in trust by, or with a
restriction against alienation by, the United States for an
Indian tribe or a member of an Indian tribe,'' and is ``forest
land . . .; or . . . has a cover of grasses, brush, or any
similar vegetation; or . . . formerly had a forest cover or
vegetative cover that is capable of restoration.'' Covered
projects must meet certain criteria, including that the BLM-
managed lands involved must be adjacent to the Tribe's trust or
restricted fee lands; those lands must be under the
jurisdiction of the Tribe; pose a fire, disease, or other
threat to those trust lands or be in need of land restoration
activities; and present or involve a feature or circumstance
unique to that Tribe (including treaty rights or biological,
archaeological, historical, or cultural circumstances). The
TFPA requires that the Department respond to such projects
within 120 days of receiving a proposal. If the Department
denies a Tribe's request to enter into an agreement, the TFPA
requires the agency to provide the Tribe with an explanation
for its decision, and to propose consultation with the Tribe.
Under the TFPA, Tribes and the Department have engaged in
mutually beneficial work to improve forest and grassland
conditions and protect Tribal lands and communities from risks.
Projects proposed by a Tribe under the TFPA may be carried
out through an Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (ISDEAA) funding agreement. Like the ISDEAA, the
TFPA may extend to ANCs as well as federally recognized
Tribes--although the reference to trust or restricted lands,
and the requirement that the lands be under the jurisdiction of
the Tribe, means that ANCs are practically excluded from
participation under the statute.
analysis
S. 4370 would expand the definition of ``Indian forest land
or rangeland'' to include land in the state of Alaska that is
held by an ANC under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) or has ``a special geographic,
historical, or cultural significance to the Indian tribe.'' The
bill also removes the requirement that projects occur on
Federal lands managed by the BLM or the USDA Forest Service
that are adjacent to Tribal lands. Rather, S. 4370 requires
Federal lands present or involve a special geographic,
historic, or cultural significance to the Tribe. Expanding the
definition of ``Indian forest land or rangeland'' provides
clarity for the use of TFPA by ANCs. Further, removing the
requirement that projects occur on Federal lands bordering or
adjacent to Tribal lands removes ambiguity pertaining to
proximity. The BLM supports these amendments to reduce the
threats to Tribal forest lands and rangeland, trust resources,
and values.
S. 4370 also expands the lands on which Tribes may carry
out land management activities to include Indian forest land or
rangeland; requires the Department to submit to Congress a
report describing the Tribal requests received and agreements
or contracts that have been entered into; and authorizes the
appropriation of $15 million per year from 2026 through 2031 to
carry out the Act. The TFPA has been successfully used to
address management of lands administered by the BLM and USDA
Forest Service that are a priority to Tribes due to their
associated risks to Tribal forest land resources. The
Department notes that without more specificity in the proposed
bill's definition, there is a risk that expanding the TFPA to
include Tribal lands could potentially result in duplicate
efforts and the comingling of trustee obligations by the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA), USDA Forest Service, and the BLM, as
the BIA administers programs including forest management and
wildfire fuels reduction on lands held in trust for Tribes.
However, in any format, this proposal would further Tribal
ability to protect and restore forest lands across boundaries
as threats to and the overall health of these lands do not stop
at the boundaries of Tribal and Federal lands.
S. 4370 could allow for a TFPA project to occur in part or
in whole on trust lands managed under the authority of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). We would welcome the
opportunity to work with the Sponsor and the Committee on
revisions to clearly define the role of the BIA for such
projects. Finally, the Department would welcome the opportunity
to work with the Sponsor on revisions that clarify agency
financial responsibility for cross-jurisdictional projects.
The Department would welcome the opportunity to work with
the Sponsor and the Committee to ensure that the expansion of
the TFPA to apply to Tribal lands results in complementary,
rather than duplicative, efforts.
REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 719, as
reported, will have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork
requirements.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In the opinion of the Committee, it is necessary to
dispense with the requirements of subsection 12 of rule XXVI of
the Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite business of the
Senate.
[all]