Tribal Stewardship and Management on National Park Service Lands

CEPP engages with Tribal partners to assist in removing barriers to reintroducing beneficial fire to landscapes and begin dismantling policies favoring complete fire suppression. Complete fire suppression neither suits our need to approach fire management with new tools geared towards stewarding the land with fire, nor does it respect tribal sovereignty and Indigenous knowledge when it comes to good fire — both in prescribed and cultural burns. CEPP is committed to helping to remove these barriers and support our tribal partners in their efforts to restore good fire back to the landscape. 

The National Park Service offers numerous visitor goods and services, including lodging, restaurants, gift shops, and recreation, through a system of concessions contracting. Through the contracting process, the Park Service welcomes the public to bid on business opportunities such as these in the parks, with winning bids afforded long-term contracts. In partnership with tribal partners, CEPP works to assist interested tribes in understanding this process and developing bid proposals to national park lands that now encompass ancestral tribal lands. Contracting with tribes not only allows meaningful opportunities for the US government to work with Tribes in providing necessary park services, but revenues generated from the contracts could offer a potential sustained income stream to tribes. Revenue could be used for Tribal concessionaires to engage in conservation efforts such as restoring beneficial fire to Park lands and return management of the lands to those who have stewarded it for many generations.