USFWS and White Earth sign agreement on Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge

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An agreement between the federal government and the White Earth Nation gives tribal members easier access to natural resources in the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge.

White Earth Tribal Chairman Michael Fairbanks called it a “great day” as he prepared to sign a memorandum of agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tuesday in Mahnomen.

“Our great-grandfathers are happy, too,” Fairbanks told several dozen people gathered for the signing ceremony.

The agreement will ease permit requirements for tribal members to gather resources in the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge.

“Our tribal membership will be able to apply for different permits out there to leech or to fish or to hunt and to slide, the biggest one,” Fairbanks said.

Tribal conservation officials will also have data on water levels and water quality to protect wild rice centers in the sanctuary.

“We really have a common goal of conservation,” said shelter manager Kent Sundseth. “The number one priority for us is healthy wild rice grains. They are important for wildlife and certainly important for local people to be able to harvest that resource.”

Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge is 42,534 acres located north of Detroit Lakes in Becker County. About half of the refuge is within the boundaries of the White Earth Reservation. The shelter was established in 1938.

White Earth and the USFWS have had an enforcement agreement in effect since 2017.

Fairbanks called this memorandum of agreement a first step in what he expects to be a long process. His ultimate goal is to return the land of refuge to the White Earth Nation.

He also knows that won’t happen anytime soon.

“We know it’s a tedious process. We know we have to work with them,” Fairbanks said. “These are the steps we must follow and we are taking them. We have patience. We’re moving forward.”

The agreement signed Tuesday sets the stage for negotiations on joint custody and an expanded shelter management role for tribal officials.

White Earth will change its conservation codes to better align with federal law to streamline the permitting and enforcement process.

White Earth and the Fish and Wildlife Service have long collaborated, said USFWS Midwest Region Director Will Meeks. He sees this agreement as a basis for future conservation agreements.

“It’s really that process of trust and respect that you have with a sovereign nation and what that looks like through an agreement,” Meeks said.

Meeks said it is premature to even talk about the return of housing lands to White Earth. White Earth has made it clear that’s their goal, but Meeks said this deal “doesn’t signal an end to that.”

He said the federal government is obligated to have those discussions at the request of the White Earth Nation.

USFWS officials said this agreement will not result in any changes to public access, but visitors may notice more tribal activities occurring on the refuge. The agency will add tables explaining permitted tribal activities.

White Earth expects additional agreements to further expand tribal input into refuge management.

“My job as chief of the White Earth Nation is to protect the next seven generations,” Fairbanks said. “I believe we are here to protect what we have left.”