Tribal stewardship for resilient forest socio-ecosystems

The Yurok Tribe, along with other tribal communities in northwest California, non-profit organizations, universities, and governmental agencies are working to restore forests and woodlands to be more resilient to wildfires, drought, pests and diseases. Our current work within ancestral Yurok territory is designing and evaluating effects of forest treatments including fuels reduction, tree harvesting, and intentional burning based upon indigenous knowledge and associated traditional stewardship practices. Central to these evaluations are the potential availability, quantity, and quality of desired cultural resources used for food, basketry, medicine, ceremony, tools, and building materials, as well as habitat quality for plants, fungi, and animals that are an integral part of the Yurok homeland. A key element of the restoration approach is to utilize fuels, forestry, and fire treatments to promote and maintain prairie and other open forest and woodland habitats that support cultural keystone species for a range of tribal interest and practices.