On August 29, 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs announced that it will provide $3.9 million to the Colville Confederated Tribes with to reforest areas on the Colville Reservation in Washington that were devastated by the catastrophic 2015 wildfire season.
“Our Forestry Management and Natural Resources Division works tirelessly to keep our forests healthy,” said Chairman Dr. Michael E. Marchand. “Our communities were deeply affected by these wildfires. This funding will go directly toward our resources, land and traditional stabilization of a healthy forest, and that includes many different kinds of trees, huckleberries and jobs for the men and women who are stewards to this land.”
The North Star Fire in 2015 burned a state record 218,138 acres, and in combination with the 165,918-acre Tunk Block Fire burned about 600 square miles of forage and forest on and off the reservation.
“The Tribes have been diligently working to replant the forest,” echoed Colville Business Council representative Jack Ferguson. “We began seeking reforestation money from the Department before the 2015 fires were contained. We were disappointed that the Department’s leadership didn’t prioritize our requests in 2015 and 2016, but we now have reason to believe that Department’s leadership understands the severity of the problem,” continued Ferguson.
Replanting and restoration of the Colville Reservation forest will be a multi-year undertaking, Marchand said, and added that additional funding will be needed in the coming fiscal years.
The Department provided the funding in response to letters from both the Tribes and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who secured a commitment from Secretary Zinke to work with the Tribes on the reforestation issue earlier this year.