The Forestry program is tasked with the management of forested lands on the reservation. Activities include timber sale design and administration, forest development and fuels management projects, wildfire suppression, prescribed burning, firewood permits, and spirit firewood processing and delivery.
Timber Harvest
Timber management activities have the greatest impact upon wildlife by the vegetation management that occurs. Either through the timber that is harvested or equally important, by which timbered stands are left uncut. White-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, woodcock, black bear, timber wolves, and nongame-birds are just some of the species affected by timber harvest activities.
Wildland Fire Management
White Earth Tribal Forestry and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources share responsibility for wildfire protection and suppression on the White Earth Reservation. Most fires are caused by humans, and wildfire season is usually limited to April and May, with minor activity in the summer and fall of the year. Most of the fires are confined to open fields, sedge and cattail meadows, and cause minimal timber loss. The White Earth Reservation Wildland Fire Management Plan and Environmental Assessment, updated in 2015, describes the current policies towards the use and management of fire on the reservation.