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		Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program -- Our Partners Tribes	Contact us - Service internet policies - Site index

Partners for Fish and Wildlife Works--
With Tribes

Ho-Chunk Tribe members and others at a ceremony celebrating their wetlands restoration project.

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program places a high priority on working in partnership with tribes to restore fish and wildlife habitats. In 2001 alone we developed nearly 100 habitat restoration agreements with Indian tribes. Here are a few examples of our tribal partnerships in Maine, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Working with Maine's Indian tribes to restore habitat

Maine's Indian Tribes are leaving a legacy of stewardship for future generations by making the lands they own or manage a better place for fish and wildlife. The Partners Program has worked closely with four Maine Indian Tribes who collectively own 230,000 acres. For example, the Houlton Band of Mailiseets worked with the Partners Program to restore a mile of riparian habitat along the Meduxnekeag River in northeast Maine. They planted native red and white pine and a variety of hardwoods along the river banks to prevent soil erosion and provide shade. This restoration project benfits a variety of wildlife, including migratory birds, fish and mussels.

Restoring grassland with the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape in New Jersey

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program partnered with the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape tribe of New Jersey to restore grasslands on tribal lands. A 12-acre meadow of native grasses an wildflowers was established, which will benefit grassland-dependent birds and other native species. Sweetgrass (Hierchoe odorata), a native plant with cultural significance to the Nanticoke Lenni-Lape tribe, will be added to the restored area when the young plants are ready for planting.

Reestablishing wetlands in cooperation with the Ho-Chunk tribe in Wisconsin

The HoChunk tribe of Wisconsin restored 57 acres of wetlands on tribal lands, with the help of the Partners Program, the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association and LMS Construction. The tribe is sharing its restored lands with the public, by allowing public access.

Working with the Shoshone/Arapaho tribes in Wyoming to improve fish passage

With the more intensive settlements of the arid West, irrigation systems were developed to deliver water to cultivated fields. In some cases these systems interfere with fish passage. To improve fish passage on Mill Creek in the Wind River Indian Reservation, the Shosphone/Arapaho tribes worked with the Partners Programs to revamp their irrigation system. The improved irrigation system retained irrigation efficiency, but makes it possible for fish like the cuttroat trout to migrate along historic migration routes.

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Last updated June 24, 2002.