MAHNOMEN — White Earth Nation and the Department of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began a new partnership Wednesday.
The two groups signed a multi-year funding agreement at Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday, June 30.
It allows the band to conduct activities and programs in the refuge, like water quality monitoring and educational programs for schools, with money provided by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The federal agency said White Earth will be responsible for completing tasks FWS previously would have done.
“We’re here to collaborate and help where we can,” said Dustin Roy, White Earth Nation natural resources divisional director, in a phone interview. “This is going to benefit everybody in the refuge. We all care about it.”
The refuge, which lies in Becker County, is partially within the boundaries of the White Earth Nation reservation.
Tamarac is also historically significant to White Earth.
“White Earth members have been partaking in [wild rice] harvesting there for hundreds of years,” Roy said. “A lot of our members go there to do different activities, whether it's pick medicine or pick mushrooms or any of that type of stuff.”
Burial, ceremonial and other culturally significant sites for the tribe are also on the refuge, Roy said.
The agreement includes three main areas where White Earth will take over responsibility — water and wild rice management, forestry and visitor services.
White Earth Nation will manage water resources, including water quality monitoring, data management and manipulation of water levels in support of habitat management goals, according to an overview of the partnership.
They will also coordinate with Becker County where flowing water intersects with roads, maintain specific refuge trails and ricing canoe landings, and coordinate beaver dam management.
Within forestry, the tribe will evaluate forest conditions, conduct timber stand improvement and harvest activities, support reforestation projects and implement overall forest habitat goals.
For visitor services, White Earth Nation will co-develop signage, collaborate on educational programs, present workshops on traditional activities and incorporate culturally relevant messages into materials.
The three pillars were decided through discussion within White Earth Department of Natural Resources and White Earth elected leaders, Roy said.
The funding agreement builds off of previous collaborations between the Fish and Wildlife and White Earth Nation.
When the Tamarac refuge was established through the Collier agreement of 1936, White Earth members were allowed to hunt, fish and gather within the refuge.
In 2024, the agency and White Earth signed a memorandum agreement, which removed duplicative permitting requirements for band members to hunt, fish and gather. It also started the process of a co-stewardship agreement, which was signed in late 2024.
The funding agreement came as a way to enact the work outlined in the co-stewardship agreement.
“The agreement strengthens co-stewardship, supports the exercise of tribal expertise and helps to ensure that Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge continues to benefit wildlife, tribal communities and all visitors for generations to come,” Fish and Wildlife stated in a news release.
The multi-year funding agreement is through the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975. The act states that tribes with a special historical, geographical or cultural connection to a federal entity can propose to assume programs, functions, services, or activities being provided by that agency.
The agreement ends in 2028. Roy said the hope is for another to be signed at that time, with increased responsibilities for the band.
