Sovereign-to-Sovereign Cooperative Agreements

Dispute resolution is a key feature of working cooperative relationships. Like any partnership, federal-tribal cooperative arrangements are subject to uncertainties and disputes. Accordingly, dispute resolution mechanisms provide tribal nations with an opportunity to contest co-management decisions that affect their lands, interests, and communities. To ensure a cooperative relationship continues to operate within the terms of its foundational agreement, dispute resolution language provides consensual mechanisms for resolving a number of disagreements—among others, potential disputes might include a contested project, contested practice, or a party’s failure to comply with terms of the agreement. Dispute resolution also provides an opportunity to proactively mitigate uncertainties—for instance, an agreement’s terms may provide parties with an opportunity to communicate and legitimize an approach, thereby avoiding situations of unilateralism. Monte Mills & Martin Nie, Bridges to a New Era, 44 Pub. Land & Res. L. Rev. 49, 150 (2021).

MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS

• Joint Secretarial Order No. 3403, Joint Secretarial Order on Fulfilling the Trust Responsibility to Indian Tribes in the Stewardship of Federal Lands and Waters, at sec. 3(g) (Nov. 15, 2021).

FOREST SERVICE (FS)

• FSM 1563.2, Dispute Resolution

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (BLM)

• Permanent Instruction Memorandum No. 2022-011, Co-Stewardship with Federally Recognized Indian and Alaska Native Tribes Pursuant to Secretary’s Order 3403, at 4 (Sept. 13, 2022)