"As far as I know, there is really only one place in the United States where a tribe managed to continuously keep control of, and actively manage, their ancestral lands from pre-settlement times all the way through to the present day.

This place is the Menominee Indian Reservation in northeast Wisconsin.

The Menominee Indian Reservation provides a case study in what is possible when American Indian philosophy toward managing natural resources is practiced. In fact, the reservation's implementation of sustainable forestry was studied by leading German foresters visiting America. They credited the reservation to be the only successful implementation of "Dauerwald" (Perpetual Forest) management in America.

I have been to the Menominee Reservation and toured their forest management operations.

The impressive forest looks like "old growth," and gives the impression that the forest has never been harvested. However, responsible forest management here has been supporting the tribe for more than 150 years."

Get the Story:
Clint Patterson: Tribe's forestry practices impressive (The Clarksville Leaf Chronicle 5/21)