Secretary Haaland and USDA Secretary Vilsack issued Joint Secretarial Order 3403 outlining steps to strengthen Tribal co-stewardship efforts, including agreements with Alaska Native corporations and the Native Hawaiian Community. The Department of Commerce signed onto S.O. 3403 on Nov. 21, 2022.
Interior also chartered two intro-Departmental bodies to fulfiill the objectives of S.O. 3403. The new Committee on Collaborative and Cooperative Stewardship will help coordinate the Department’s land management bureaus and field units on implementing co-stewardship. The new Office of the Solicitor Working Group on Collaborative Stewardshipwill create a forum for Associate, Regional, and Field Solicitors to discuss and coordinate co-stewardship-related legal issues.
One year later, on Nov. 30, 2022, Interior issued its first-ever annual report on tribal co-stewardship and the implementation of S.O. 3403.