Cow Creek-Umpqua Tribe Sign Forest Service Management Plan

The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the U.S. Forest Service (FS) have signed a co-stewardship agreement covering 155,000 acres in the Umpqua and Rogue River-Siskiyou national forests in southern Oregon, formalizing a government-to-government partnership focused on wildfire mitigation and forest health.

The agreement, signed in Washington, D.C., calls for coordinated landscape-scale projects to reduce wildfire risk and strengthen forest resilience. Work will be prioritized based on fire danger and potential benefits to nearby communities, wildlife, and cultural and spiritual sites important to the Cow Creek Umpqua.

Nearly one million acres within the tribe’s ancestral lands have burned in the last decade, according to a news release announcing the agreement. Tribal officials said the partnership allows the tribe to apply its long-standing forest management practices to protect cultural lands and improve forest conditions for nearby communities. The partnership will develop rolling multi-year plans focused on fuel reduction, forest health treatments, and watershed protection. Projects will undergo required environmental reviews and cultural resource protections, with opportunities for public notice and comment. The tribe owns and manages about 49,000 acres. In 2025, tribal forestry teams eliminated 900 slash piles across tribal lands. The tribe also has multiple co-stewardship projects underway within the Tiller Ranger District.