Sovereign-to-Sovereign Cooperative Agreements

Consultation is a central feature of the sovereign-to-sovereign relationship that exists between tribal nations and the federal government. Accordingly, a government-to-government consultation requirement is present in many federal statutes applicable to co-management processes, albeit in varying forms. The following governmental directives and guidance documents clarify federal agency processes of tribal consultation:

• Exec. Order No. 12898, Federal Actions To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629 (Feb. 11, 1994)
• Exec. Order No. 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments, 65 Fed. Reg. 67249 (Nov. 9, 2000)
• Memorandum on Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal Governments, 59 Fed. Reg. 22951 (Apr. 29, 1994)
• Memorandum on Government-to-Government Relationship with Tribal Governments (Sept. 23, 2004)
• Memorandum on Tribal Consultation, 74 Fed. Reg. 57881 (Nov. 5, 2009)
• Off. of Mgmt. & Budget, Exec. Off. of the President, Memorandum 10-33, Guidance for Implementing E.O. 13175 (July 30, 2010)
• Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships, 86 Fed. Reg. 7491 (Jan. 26, 2021)
• Memorandum on Uniform Standards for Tribal Consultation, 87 Fed. Reg. 74479 (Nov. 30, 2022)
• Council on Env. Quality, Memorandum on Designation of Non-Federal Agencies to be Cooperating Agencies (July 28, 1999)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA)

• Policies on American Indians and Alaska Natives, DR 1340-007 (Mar. 13, 2008)
• Tribal Consultation, DR 1350-001 (Sept. 11, 2008)
• Action Plan for Tribal Consultation and Collaboration (Nov. 5, 2009) (see also, Consultation Action Plan 270 Day Report)
• Tribal Consultation, Coordination, and Collaboration, DR 1350-002 (Jan. 18, 2013)
• Joint Secretarial Order No. 3403 (Nov. 15, 2021)
• Report, Joint Secretarial Order 3403 and Stewardship
• First Annual Report on Tribal Co-Stewardship: Implementation of Joint Secretarial Order 3403 on Fulfilling the Trust Responsibility to Indian Tribes in the Stewardship of Federal Lands and Waters (Nov. 30, 2022)

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (DOI)

• Secretarial Order No. 3206 (June 5, 1997)
• Secretarial Order No. 3317 (Dec. 1, 2011)
• DOI Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes, 512 DM 4 (effective Nov. 30, 2022)
• Procedures for Consultation with Indian Tribes, 512 DM 5 (effective Nov. 30, 2022)
• DOI Policy on Consultation with Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Corporations, 512 DM 6 (effective Nov. 30, 2022)
• Procedures for Consultation with Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Corporations, 512 DM 7 (effective Nov. 30, 2022)
• Improving Tribal Consultation and Tribal Involvement in Infrastructure Decisions (2017)
• Joint Secretarial Order No. 3403 (Nov. 15, 2021)
• First Annual Report on Tribal Co-Stewardship: Implementing Joint Secretarial Order 3403 on Fulfilling the Trust Responsibility to Indian Tribes in the Stewardship of Federal Lands and Waters (Nov. 2022)
• Advisory Council on Historic Pres. & Council on Env. Quality, NEPA & NHPA: A Handbook for Integrating NEPA and Section 106 (Mar. 2013)

FOREST SERVICE (FS)

• FS Directive FSH-1909.12_40, Public Participation (Jan. 30, 2015)
• Notice, Final Directives on American Indian and Alaska Native Relations Service Manual 1500, Chapter 1560, and Forest Service Handbook 1509.13, Chapter 10 (Mar. 9, 2016)
• FS Directive FSM 1563.1-.12, Consultation with Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations (U.S.D.A. 2016)
• FS Directive FSH 1509.13_10, American Indian and Alaska Native Relations Handbook (U.S.D.A. 2016)
• USDA, Forest Service, Federal Advisory Committee on Implementation of the 2012 Land Management Planning Rule, A Guide for State, Local, and Tribal Governments (Sept. 2016)
  • (see also PDF of PowerPoint presentation) 
• Forest Serv., FS-1211, Strengthening Tribal Consultations and Nation-to-Nation Relationships: A USDA Forest Service Action Plan (2022)

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (BLM)

• BLM Directive MS 1780(P), Tribal Relations (D.O.I. 2016)
• BLM Directive H-1780-1, Improving and Sustaining BLM-Tribal Relations (D.O.I. 2016)

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (NPS)

• Director's Order No. 71C, Consultation with Indian and Alaska Native Tribes (Nov. 4, 2024)
• NPS Directive MP-2006, Management Policies (D.O.I. 2006)
• Director's Order No. 75A, Civic Engagement and Public Involvement (Aug. 30, 2007)
• National Park Service & Advisory Council on Historic Pres., Interagency Programmatic Agreement for Compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Nov. 14, 2008)

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (FWS)

• Tribal Consultation Handbook (Oct. 2018) (see Appendix B.1 for service recommendations for consultation under 638 contracts)
• Fish and Wildlife Service, 510 FW 1, Native American Policy (Jan. 20, 2016)
• Fish and Wildlife Service, NEPA for National Wildlife Refuges: A Handbook (Oct. 2014)

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA)

• Administrative Order 218-8A, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Policy on Government-to-Government Consultation with Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments (Mar. 10, 2023)
• NOAA Procedures for Government-to-Government Consultation with Federally Recognized Tribal Governments (or Handbook) (June 2023)