Forest Service research partnerships with Native American communities ramp up
A recent article in the Southern Research Station's CompassLive blog highlights the wide variety of ongoing Forest Service research partnerships with Native American tribes in the eastern US. The sustainable use and management of plant species of special importance to indigenous communities is a thread running through these management partnerships and research projects. For example, Threat Center scientist Michelle Baumflek works with Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Forest Resource Specialist Tommy Cabe, along with Forest Service collaborator James Chamberlain, on a sustainable harvest project for ramps, a wild onion that is an important spring edible. This project integrates EBCI traditional ecological knowledge to help advance sustainability. The article discusses other ongoing research by Baumflek, tribal partners, and Forest Service colleagues studying rivercane, sweetgrass, and other culturally important plants in the eastern US.
Read the CompassLive article...
