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Native News
Dan Gunderson

U.S. Fish and Wildlife signs Tamarac co-stewardship agreement with White Earth

a brown sign in front of trees
A sign marks the boundary of the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge north of Detroit Lakes Minnesota.
Dan Gunderson | MPR News

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the White Earth Nation will collaborate in several areas on management of the nearly 43,000 acre Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge north of Detroit Lakes

The northern half of the refuge is within the boundaries of the White Earth Reservation.

A few months ago, federal and tribal officials signed a memorandum of agreement, setting the stage for the co-stewardship agreement signed on Tuesday.

The co-stewardship agreement lays out specific areas where tribal and federal resource managers will collaborate.

“Things like natural resource management as well as natural resource planning,” said Refuge Manager Kent Sundseth. “Trying to incorporate indigenous knowledge into our interpretive themes and materials and also volunteer opportunities for tribal members to volunteer on the refuge.”

Federal and tribal resource managers will also share data and meet regularly to discuss various management processes and decisions.

One area of shared interest is managing water levels to protect wild rice that grows on the refuge. The rice is harvested by tribal members while also serving as an important food source for migrating waterfowl.

At the June memorandum of agreement signing ceremony, White Earth Tribal chair Michael Fairbanks said his ultimate goal is to have the refuge lands returned to the White Earth Nation sometime in the future.

“We know it’s a tedious process,” Fairbanks said. “We know we have to work with them. These are the steps we have to follow and we’re taking them. We have patience. We’re moving forward.”

Sundseth called the co-stewardship agreement the next step in a long history of cooperation.

“It’s a great way to formalize it and just have a great understanding of exactly what we’re going to work together on,” he said. “And identify some goals and some timelines and some commitments related to communication that are really important.”

The next step will be discussions about a possible annual funding agreement to provide federal funding to White Earth for natural resource management.