S719-119

What This Bill Does

The Tribal Forest Protection Act Amendments Act of 2025 expands the authority of federally recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Native Corporations to protect and restore forests and rangelands on both tribal lands and adjacent Federal lands. The bill broadens the definition of tribal lands eligible for protection, explicitly adds restoration activities to the scope of tribal authority, and expands the criteria for which Federal lands can be protected by tribes to include areas sharing watersheds with tribal territories. It also authorizes $15 million in annual federal funding for these activities from 2026 through 2031.

Who Benefits and How

Federally recognized Indian tribes with forests or rangelands near Federal lands gain significantly expanded authority to enter agreements with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to manage and protect adjacent Federal lands. Tribes can access up to $90 million in total appropriations over six years ($15 million annually for FY 2026-2031) to fund these protection and restoration projects. Alaska Native Corporations benefit from explicit statutory inclusion, which provides clear legal standing to participate in tribal forest protection programs for the first time. Environmental conservation organizations also benefit as the bill's emphasis on protection and restoration aligns with their missions and creates partnership opportunities with tribes. Watershed restoration contractors gain new business opportunities from the explicit inclusion of watershed protection in the bill's criteria.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal taxpayers bear the cost of the $90 million in authorized appropriations ($15 million per year for six years). Commercial timber companies, mining operations, and other resource extraction industries operating on Federal lands near tribal territories may face new restrictions if tribes enter protection agreements that prioritize conservation over development, effectively creating barriers to entry or limiting existing operations. The magnitude of this impact will depend on how aggressively tribes use their new authority and whether they emphasize preservation over resource extraction in their Federal land management agreements.

Key Provisions

• Expands the definition of "Indian forest land or rangeland" to explicitly include Alaska land held by Alaska Native Corporations under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, providing these entities clear statutory authority to participate in tribal forest protection programs.

• Adds "restoration" to the scope of tribal authority, allowing tribes to not only protect but actively restore degraded forest and rangeland ecosystems on both tribal and Federal lands.

• Broadens the criteria for Federal land eligibility to include lands that share a watershed with tribal territories, not just lands directly adjacent to tribal lands, significantly expanding the geographic scope of potential tribal-federal partnerships.

• Authorizes $15 million in annual appropriations for fiscal years 2026 through 2031 (total of $90 million) to fund tribal forest protection and restoration activities under the Act.

• Updates the effective date references in the original 2004 Act to reflect the 2025 amendments and clarifies that both the Secretary of Agriculture (for Forest Service lands) and Secretary of the Interior (for Bureau of Land Management lands) have authority to enter agreements with tribes.