Ecological and human dimensions of tribal and state natural resource management

Access restricted to the OSU CommunityA daunting ecological reality facing natural resource managers is that ecological functions and biotic populations (both native and exotic) do not fit neatly within political boundaries, necessitating broad scale, cross-boundary approaches to their work. This reality is daunting because working beyond one's own jurisdictional borders requires cooperation across cultural and political differences, an inherently complex endeavor. Some of the most challenging cross-boundary natural resource management practices occur at the interface of neighboring tribal and public lands. This dissertation is an interdisciplinary exploration of ecological and human dimensions of neighboring tribal and state natural resource management systems where the Lac du Flambeau (LDF) Tribe and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) cooperate extensively while taking distinctly different approaches in certain programs including hunting and forest management. The goal of the dissertation was to provide insights of value within the local study area that also improve general understanding of tribal-state relations, contemporary subsistence hunting, cross-boundary natural resource management and interrelated management of oak forests and deer. With this goal in mind, I interviewed tribal hunters to help dispel misconceptions about their hunting practices and perspectives. Interviewees provided explanations of the primary purposes of hunting, traditional values related to hunting and human-animal relationships among LDF Ojibwe. Primary findings were that LDF Ojibwe hunt deer for subsistence purposes and they value safety, reciprocal sharing of harvested meat and wildlife conservation. They believe deer willingly give up their lives to feed people contingent upon people showing proper respect to deer at all times. I also studied forest regeneration following LDF-specific forest management practices. My results indicated that residual pockets (clusters of trees <3 ha in area) of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) produced fewer but faster growing seedlings than larger oak stands (>15 ha). Tribal timber stand improvement practices showed no effect on northern red oak regeneration. Comparison of seedling growth and survival on tribal and state forests indicated that northern red oak was regenerating significantly better on tribal lands where the white-tailed deer population was maintained at a low density for several decades. Although the LDF Tribe and WDNR took distinct approaches to hunting and oak forest management, they were interested in learning from one another's approaches. This willingness to engage and learn openly from one another resulted from more than 20 years of relationship building and regular communication. I interviewed LDF and WDNR officials to learn how they were able to communicate and cooperate effectively across their political boundaries and cultural differences. Results point to the importance of building cross-boundary personal relationships among field staff, administrators and elected officials through regular, informal interactions. The results from this dissertation help dispel misconceptions about contemporary tribal subsistence hunting, provide insights regarding interrelationships between oak forest management and deer management and provide a case study of cooperative tribal-state relations