The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources today held a hearing on U.S. Senator Ron Wyden’s legislation that would protect the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs reservation from wildfire and empower the Tribe to restore cultural and forest resources on Mt. Hood. The legislation is also co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley.
Wyden said about today’s hearing that the “legislation is about honoring Tribal Treaty rights and making sure the deep knowledge of Tribes like the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is integral to any forest management plans on the mountain.”
Wyden and Merkley’s Wy’east Tribal Resources Restoration Act directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and develop a management strategy on parts of the Mt. Hood National Forest that incorporates the Tribe’s traditional knowledge of the area and reduces wildfire risk. This hearing is a key step to get a committee vote to send this legislation to the full Senate for consideration.
View the press release here.
