Eastern Band of Cherokee IndiansHistory & Future of Forest Management

Preserving & Protecting for Generations yet to come Through Wisdom of our Elders and All our Relations! By: Tommy Cabe (Tribal Forest Resource Specialist)

History of Forested Land & Management on the “Trust Lands” of the Eastern Band of Cherokee

• 1817-1819: Treaty Era: Remaining Cherokees were forced to sign treaties. Cherokees were given allotted reserve acres (640). Later reserve acres were taken over by NC and auctioned off in Haywood & Macon Counties.

• 1830-35: Removal Act & Treaty of New Echota: Basically Cherokees were told to give up your land peacefully and move west or US force will be enacted.

• 1838-1860: Cherokee Removal and the Establishment of Qualla Boundary: 17,000 + Cherokees were rounded up and moved. Several Hundred resisted and fled into the mountains. William Thomas Holland purchased land for the remaining Cherokees. The original boundaries included land in Swain, Haywood, Jackson, Graham, Cherokee and Blount County in Tennessee.

• 1860-1875: Civil War era Cherokees initial intent was to remain neutral however, in 1862 The Thomas Legion became the 69th North Carolina. Fighting resistance along the TN border. 1866 Small Pox epidemic killed several hundred Cherokee.1868 Cherokee Constitution & By-Laws established, 1870 after lots of litigating the Qualla Boundary was mapped and placed into “Trust” by the US Government.

• 1890-1930: The shift from general subsistence to commercialism. Tribal Land sold to Timber speculators 33,000 acres of the “Love Speculation Tract” sold in 1906 for 245,000.00 to Warton & Company for timber rights. In 1934 the Indian Reorganization Act was enacted. The purpose of this act was to de-nationalize tribal governments.

• 1930-1970: National Parks from 1930-1940 brought some economic relieve to EBCI. 1940-1970s BIA was the authoritative management entity with no effective funding for scientifically based management for Forest Resources. An estimated six to ten million board-feet was cut from EBCI Lands. In the mid seventies the BIA place special appropriations for timber enhancement on Tribal Reserve Lands. In doing so the forecast on the horizon had a new conflict. Data gathering initiated CFI (Continuous Forest Inventory) to identify the health and a strategy for future management on ALL Tribal lands not just the Tribal Reserve.

History of Forested Land & Management on the “Trust Lands” of the Eastern Band of Cherokee cont.

• 1970-Present: Tribal Resolution Era for the protection of natural resources.

• 1980’s: Tribal Council passed resolutions on harvesting regulations on possessory holdings and the Tribal Reserve.

• 1980’s -1990’s: Cherokee’s BIA Forestry & Wild-land fire field office offered employment for part-time forest techs and wild-land fire fighters. USFS and BIA established partnerships for joint efforts in landscape management and fire suppression.

• 1990’s: Tribal Gaming (TSHTF)

• 1996-2000: Tribal Environmental Office Established, Hunting and fishing ordinances passed by Tribal Council. BIA produced a Forest Management Plan for all Tribal Lands.

• 2006: Environmental Proclamation established for Tribal Lands.

• 2015: IRMP Passed as a guiding document for all natural resource management plans. EBCIenvironmental.com website created. FMP Draft.

• Currently: Tribal Chief and Council passed resolution to 638 PL BIA forestry and reality. Revised FMP approved by Tribal Leadership. FMP is being reviewed by regional BIA office. Current leadership is planning to create a Cherokee Department of Agriculture.

Understanding Sustainable Forest Management in Cherokee through Agency to Agency relations

Tribal Departments:

Cultural Resources Environmental &

Natural Resources Fish & Game Parks & Recreation Economic

Development GIS VOC Preservation

Foundation RTCAR Cherokee

Preservation Foundation

Non-Tribal Departments

BIA ($) Natural Resource

Conservation Service($)

USFS ($) EPA ($) USFWS ($) N.C. Arboretum Little Tenn. Land

Trust (Main Springs)

Traditional Land Base of the Cherokee

Geographical Location of Eastern Band of Cherokee Lands

Tribal Lands total Acres: 56,893

Possessory Holding Acres: 43,889

Total Forested Acres: 49,019

Non-forested Acres: 7,874

Tribal Reserve:5,500 Approximately 1200

acres owned in taxed based status.

Expanding Tribal Land Capacity Through Partnering Agencies with a Shared Vision

Land Purchase: Cowee Mound, Hall Mountain Tract, Mother Town (Kituwa)

Summary of Forest Types

Chestnut Oak Forest 17,081 Acres 98 CFI Plots 35% of total area.

Montane Oak-Hickory Forest 9,660 Acres 70 CFI Plots 20% of total area.

Acidic Cove Forest 6,220 Acres 48 CFI Plots 13% of total area.

Rich Cove Forest 5,228 Acres 45 CFI Plots 11% of total area.

Early Succession Forest 3,647 Acres 27 CFI Plots 7% of total area.

Pine-Oak / Heath Forest 3,537 Acres 23 CFI Plots 7% of total area.

White Pine Forest 1,652 Acres 12 CFI Plots 3% of total area.

Northern Hardwood Forest 912 Acres 9 CFI Plots 2% of total area.

Montane Alluvial Forest 737 Acres 6 CFI Plots 2% of total area.

Virgina Pine Successional Forest 345 Acres 4 CFI Plots 1% of total area.

Total 49,019 Acres 342 CFI Plots 100% total area.

Management Issues

Timber enhancement for commercial sale Forest Ecology Dynamics Oak Health Hardwood Threats Data Gathering Public Outreach Enforcement of Tribal natural resource management codes Long term Preservation and Use Identifying climate change effects on forest types

Forest Management Goals

Implementation of an active Invasive Species and Forest Pest Plan Provide healthy management for timber harvest on possessory holdings Promote fire use as a management tool for forest health Protect riparian areas and wetlands Minimize soil erosion Provide eco recreation Protect Forest ecosystems with Cultural Priorities Implementation of silvicultural prescriptions Implementation of a GIS wing for advancing technology in Forest

Management Educational Outreach Adjacent agency support and partnership building Develop forest impacts due to climatic change action plan Develop measurable results through GIS Software Develop green house and nursery

Recent Management Practices & Projects

(CFI) Continuous Forest Inventory= Tree Measurements and Sampling Counts within a quarter acre plot. (300)

Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP) for EBCI (FIA) Forest Inventory Analysis= Data Assessment (CFI) to gage

management efforts. “Promote Oak Stands” Forest Management Plan (FMP)= A genuine working document for Land

Owners and Tribal Reserve. Establish Forest Management for Hall Mountain Tract in Macon County. Incorporate fire as an silviculture practice on tribal lands. Non-timber resource project development. Ramps, Sochan, Selected

Mushrooms. Cultural food protection through Government Forest Invasive Plant and Pest Review for EBCI (TSI) Timber Stand Improvement = Jenkins Ridge in Tribal Reserve Seed Banking Projects (NC Arboretum)

Forest Concerns in Cherokee

Timber Sales / Value Invasive Pest and Plants (Kill or Utilize) Harvest Restrictions Cultural foods and medicine being abused Terrorism (Tribes have been fighting this since the 1600’s) Climate Change Government to Government relations failing due to leadership transitions Micro Atmospheric Changes

Challenges

Creation of an Forestry Program to meets all the needs of the resource and community Politics Policy Code of Federal Regulations Tribal Code vs. Tribal Law Fluent Tribal Programs / Systems with joint goals and objectives / Stream Line Management Staffing Suppression (Get out of the crab box with local support) Federal & State Trust Responsibilities Cultural Reasoning and application in management efforts (Seven Generation Law) Professional Recruitment & Education