Cover photo courtesy of The Kalispel Tribe
This fall, as you are enjoying the numerous recreation opportunities that our public lands have to offer, don’t forget to take a moment to acknowledge the people who have inhabited this beautiful place long before European colonization. Indigenous residents, such as the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, have survived in harmony with the natural resources this landscape produced and were not just passive occupants of this place. They were actively shaping this land. One of the tools used to modify the land was fire.
Wildfire is an incredibly scary thing. In today’s world, we don’t have a lot of room for wildfire based on how we have built into the Wildland-Urban Interface, which has increased conflict and suppression needs. Not so long ago, fire wasn’t suppressed as it is today and in fact, it was often encouraged. Fires were carefully set to manage the land for specific species of plants and animals, to clear travel corridors, to hunt game, and for other important uses.
Local Tribes are once again taking an active role in the management of their aboriginal homelands. Through federal legislation like the Tribal Forest Protection Act and Good Neighbor Authority, Tribes are engaging in co-stewardship of the places they historically occupied. By working with their partners at the state and federal levels, Tribes can bring indigenous ecological knowledge to the table when setting priorities for land management.
These are exciting times in the world of public land management. It is a massive undertaking to conserve our natural resources, but through collaboration, we can truly accomplish more. Just remember that the wild places we cherish do not exist by accident. Land managers have been active stewards of these places since time immemorial.
To learn more about the Kalispel Tribe and its efforts to protect and preserve our natural landscapes, please visit Knrd.org.
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