Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In Montana, collaborative burns on the ancestral lands of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) are helping restore forests for Indigenous uses while reducing severe wildfire risk for all Montanans.
In this video, you’ll discover how the CSKT are working with the Bureau of Land Management and The Nature Conservancy to conduct burns on off-reservation lands with Tribal treaty rights in a unique partnership made possible by the Reserved Treaty Rights Lands (RTRL) program.
The RTRL program, which is administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, provides funds to protect and enhance natural and cultural resources on Tribes’ aboriginal lands that are at high risk of wildfire. Many forests, especially on federal public lands, are governed by nation-to-nation treaties between the United States and Indigenous nations that require the U.S. to steward the lands to ensure Tribes can hunt, harvest culturally important plants or use the land in other traditional ways. Yet after more than a century in which the U.S. government suppressed virtually all forest fires, many forests are overgrown with young trees and brush. These overly dense forests offer poorer habitat for wildlife and are prone to severe wildfire, which puts lives and property at risk. They also make it difficult for Tribes to continue their traditional uses of the land.
Tribes like the CSKT can access critical funding through the RTRL program to engage agencies, non-profits, local governments and private landowners to collaborate on projects that restore the forest’s health. The Nature Conservancy and the Bureau of Land Management are proud partners with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana to restore our forests and to restore Indigenous stewardship to these lands.
Learn more at:
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes: cskt.org
Division of Fire | Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes: fwrconline.csktnrd.org/Fire
For more information about the RTRL program, contact:
Darrell Clairmont
Prescribed Fire and Fuels Manager, Division of Fire, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
406-676-2550 ext. 6452
darrell.clarimont@cskt.org
Kenneth Jaramillo
Program Manager RTRL/Prevention
Kenneth.Jaramillo@bia.gov
505-980-6240
Brad Donahue
Northwest Regional RTRL Coordinator
brad.donahue@bia.gov
(503) 729-0555
Steven Kloetzel
Western Montana Land Steward, The Nature Conservancy
skloetzel@tnc.org
Keep up with The Nature Conservancy's latest efforts to protect nature and preserve life:
Facebook - nature.org/facebook
Instagram - nature.org/instagram
LinkedIn - nature.org/linkedin
Text NATURE to 97779 to join The Nature Conservancy on text.
To sign-up for nature e-news visit: preserve.nature.org/page/82226/data/1
In Montana, collaborative burns on the ancestral lands of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) are helping restore forests for Indigenous uses while reducing severe wildfire risk for all Montanans.
In this video, you’ll discover how the CSKT are working with the Bureau of Land Management and The Nature Conservancy to conduct burns on off-reservation lands with Tribal treaty rights in a unique partnership made possible by the Reserved Treaty Rights Lands (RTRL) program.
The RTRL program, which is administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, provides funds to protect and enhance natural and cultural resources on Tribes’ aboriginal lands that are at high risk of wildfire. Many forests, especially on federal public lands, are governed by nation-to-nation treaties between the United States and Indigenous nations that require the U.S. to steward the lands to ensure Tribes can hunt, harvest culturally important plants or use the land in other traditional ways. Yet after more than a century in which the U.S. government suppressed virtually all forest fires, many forests are overgrown with young trees and brush. These overly dense forests offer poorer habitat for wildlife and are prone to severe wildfire, which puts lives and property at risk. They also make it difficult for Tribes to continue their traditional uses of the land.
Tribes like the CSKT can access critical funding through the RTRL program to engage agencies, non-profits, local governments and private landowners to collaborate on projects that restore the forest’s health. The Nature Conservancy and the Bureau of Land Management are proud partners with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana to restore our forests and to restore Indigenous stewardship to these lands.
Learn more at:
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes: cskt.org
Division of Fire | Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes: fwrconline.csktnrd.org/Fire
For more information about the RTRL program, contact:
Darrell Clairmont
Prescribed Fire and Fuels Manager, Division of Fire, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
406-676-2550 ext. 6452
darrell.clarimont@cskt.org
Kenneth Jaramillo
Program Manager RTRL/Prevention
Kenneth.Jaramillo@bia.gov
505-980-6240
Brad Donahue
Northwest Regional RTRL Coordinator
brad.donahue@bia.gov
(503) 729-0555
Steven Kloetzel
Western Montana Land Steward, The Nature Conservancy
skloetzel@tnc.org
Keep up with The Nature Conservancy's latest efforts to protect nature and preserve life:
Facebook - nature.org/facebook
Instagram - nature.org/instagram
LinkedIn - nature.org/linkedin
Text NATURE to 97779 to join The Nature Conservancy on text.
To sign-up for nature e-news visit: preserve.nature.org/page/82226/data/1
