This bill directs certain Interior Department land agencies (Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs) to create "Tribal Co-Management Plans" within 1 year. Plans must list agency activities that could be carried out on agency lands that are historically, culturally, or geographically related to an Indian Tribe, consistent with land management plans, and allowed by law. If a similar plan already exists, an agency must adopt or update it within 120 days. The Interior must train employees who work on these plans to include indigenous knowledge, learn local Tribal history, and understand the federal trust relationship with Tribes.
The bill also lets the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Forest Service) enter into agreements with Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations to perform Forest Service activities on National Forest System lands that meet similar criteria. The Secretary must enter into at least five such agreements within four years of enactment. Agreements may cover planning, restoration, research, heritage program activities, and recreational services, but may not delegate nondelegable functions or create reliance on state funding. The bill requires consultation, protection of Tribal data sovereignty, periodic reviews of agreements (every five years), and special review after natural disasters. It makes tribal employees carrying out agreement tasks covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act for certain liability purposes, exempts these activities from the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and requires the Forest Service to publish eligible activities and report to Congress on progress on a set schedule.
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