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Abstract
Tribes and the U.S. Government have entered into co-management agreements to
accommodate tribal interests in regaining access and reasserting traditional practices on
ancestral lands that were lost during colonization. While some Native Americans have
continued to fight court battles to regain ancestral lands, others have sought negotiated
agreements wherein they serve as the principal managers and caretakers of public
resources. One such agreement is between the Washoe Tribe and the U.S. Forest Service
in the Lake Tahoe basin. The implementation of the co-management agreement allows
not only access to ancestral sites but also the restoration of traditional uses, so it is more
reflective of the Tribe’s own needs and culture. The Tribe’s goal is to help preserve its
rich cultural heritage and historical relationship with Lake Tahoe, while reintegrating
traditional ecological knowledge that evolved with this ecosystem for over 9,000 years.
The research provides a multi-dimensional understanding of how the co-management
agreement emerged, the negotiation process, and the end result. Further, it explores
implementation of the agreement from the tribe’s perspective to better understand what
the co-management agreement provides to tribal members that they did not already have
and how the Forest Service has changed local forest management and consultation
practices with the tribe as a result of the agreement. Finally, this research examines what
co-management does not change to better understand its limitations in addressing the
needs of tribal communities.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environmenthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40240/1/Adelzadeh Thesis.pd
