- Details
- By Brian Edwards
- Economic Development
The Department of the Interior has extended a federal demonstration program that allows participating tribes to assume greater authority over trust forest lands and certain surface leasing activities, preserving a self-governance initiative that has seen limited participation since 2016.
The Indian Trust Asset Reform Act Demonstration Project was scheduled to expire June 22. The 10-year extension allows tribes to continue applying for and operating under Indian Trust Asset Management Plans through 2036.
The extension addresses a key concern raised by tribal leaders, who have spent several years urging Congress and federal officials to preserve the program beyond its original 10-year authorization. However, broader debates over the program's scope and implementation remain unresolved.
Created under the 2016 Indian Trust Asset Reform Act, the program allows tribes to develop Indian Trust Asset Management Plans and assume certain approval authorities that would otherwise remain with the federal government.
Only three tribes have secured approved management plans since the law was enacted: the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.
The Coquille tribe became the first to secure an approved management plan in 2020, four years after Congress created the authority. Tribal forestry advocates have argued that the delayed rollout compressed much of the program's original 10-year authorization period before tribes could fully utilize it.
At a congressional hearing last year, tribal leaders argued that Interior has limited participation by interpreting eligible trust assets narrowly, effectively limiting the program to forestry resources and surface leases. Witnesses also cited lengthy implementation timelines and a lack of funding for tribes assuming responsibilities previously handled by federal agencies.
“Recognizing that tribal leaders understand the values and needs of their communities better than federal officials in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration continues to empower tribal communities to manage their own lands,” Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland said in a statement.
The Intertribal Timber Council welcomed the extension, saying in a statement to Tribal Business News that it provides tribes greater certainty to invest in management capacity while Congress considers legislation that would make the authority permanent and broaden statutory definitions governing eligible trust assets.
