In September 2016, the Forest Service Chief committed the Chippewa National Forest (CNF) to enter into formal consultation with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (LLBO) to address desired vegetation-management conditions and to develop a shared decision-making process for resource management on the CNF within the LLBO Reservation. An MOU was signed between the LLBO and CNF in October 2019 that establishes a framework to allow the Band and the Forest to collaboratively advance shared priorities, coordinate investments, and implement projects on a landscape scale across shared boundaries. The historical and legal relationship between the LLBO and the CNF is unlike any other federal-tribal relationship in the National Forest Service system. The CNF was created by statute in the early 20th century out of lands that had been set aside to serve as a treaty-guaranteed reservation for the LLBO. The result being that approximately 90 percent of the Reservation is now found within the boundary of the CNF, and approximately 45 percent of the Forest is within the LLBO Reservation. The foundational statutes that established the Forest were driven by the intent to balance the general public’s need for goods and services while continuing to protect the natural resources found on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation for the benefit of the Band. This unique overlap of boundaries and jurisdiction provides leadership and staff the opportunity to implement Shared Stewardship through this MOU, enhancing the partnership between the Forest Service and the Band. Shared Stewardship will help identify collective priorities and implement collaborative projects focused on forest and watershed restoration as well as fish and wildlife habitat improvement.

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