February 18, 2026 3:30 a.m.
The U.S. Forest Service and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians have signed a shared stewardship agreement to expand collaborative forest and rangeland restoration across two national forests in Oregon.
An Umpqua National Forest release said that signed on February 12th at Forest Service Headquarters in Washington D.C., this agreement builds on a previous collaboration between the Tribe and the agency. It strengthens the government-to-government relationship and expands capacity to accelerate work that supports healthier forests and safer communities.
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said, “The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians brings deeply rooted indigenous land management experience and traditions that focus on caring for the land”. Schultz said, “In partnership with the tribe, more than 37 miles of fuel breaks were created to protect tribal lands, private property and National Forest System lands. I look forward to our expanded partnership and our joint efforts to reduce wildfire risk on a landscape scale and create resilient forests that benefit all”.
The agreement includes an initial planning project area of about 155,000 acres on the Umpqua and Rogue River-Siskiyou national forests. Within this landscape, the Forest Service and the tribe will work together to increase the pace and scale of forest management projects that protect people and communities, as well as natural and cultural resources.
Cow Creek Tribal Chair Carla Keene said, “Wildfire is the greatest threat to the health of our forests, which is not only of cultural significance to the Cow Creek Umpqua, but also a critical part of Oregon’s environmental and economic landscape”. Chair Keene said, “This government-to-government partnership allows us to work toward a future where our forests are managed for long-term resilience, our communities are protected from the health risks of smoke, and our national forests remain an asset for all Oregonians seven generations into the future”.
A tribal release said the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe has stewarded these forests since time immemorial, developing sophisticated ecological knowledge passed down through generations. Today the Tribe owns and manages approximately 49,000 acres of land and has a proven record of implementing forest management projects at scale.
The full agreement and additional details are available on the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians website: https://www.cowcreek-nsn.gov/