What does it really mean to share stewardship of public lands with tribal nations?

In this episode, legal scholar Monte Mills, a leading expert on Federal Indian Law, tribal sovereignty, and Indigenous cultural protection, and public lands policy expert Martin Nie, whose work focuses on the governance of federal lands and collaborative management across tribal, state, and federal lines, unpack the complex, often misunderstood world of tribal co-management. From the legal foundations and bureaucratic roadblocks to the practical models already working on the ground, this conversation cuts through the buzzwords and gets to what real power-sharing looks like.

Together with Bill and Anders, they explore how federal land laws have long erased tribal sovereignty, and why recent momentum toward more meaningful tribal engagement could be at risk. They dive into co-management frameworks in places like the Pacific Northwest and Bears Ears, the legacy of landmark cases like the Boldt decision, and the often-overlooked tension between Western wilderness ideals and Indigenous relationships with land.

Monte and Martin don’t just point out what’s broken, they highlight where the law already provides opportunities for better partnerships, how Indigenous knowledge can reshape stewardship, and what real accountability between sovereigns looks like.

This episode challenges assumptions, connects legal nuance with lived experience, and makes the case that co-management isn’t a buzzword—it’s a necessary shift toward justice, sustainability, and honoring deep, place-based relationships that predate the United States itself.

Today, we explore:

• What co-management is (and isn’t)

• The difference between consultation and shared governance

• Why tribal sovereignty matters in public lands decisions

• Legal barriers and missed opportunities in federal land law

• What the Wilderness Act got wrong—and where it still has potential

• Examples of successful co-management frameworks

• How Indigenous knowledge improves land stewardship

• The political risks to recent progress on co-stewardship

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or at thewildidea.com.

Resources and mentions from today’s episode:

• Bolle Center for People and Forests
• University of Washington Native American Law Center 
• Bridges to a New Era: A multi-part policy report co-authored by Monte Mills and Martin Nie exploring legal frameworks and policy opportunities for tribal co-management and shared stewardship of public lands. Read the entire report HERE
  • Bridges II article focuses specifically on co-management as applied to public lands in Alaska.   Bridges to a New Era, Part 2: A Report on the Past, Present, and Potential Future of Tribal Co-Management on Federal Public Lands in Alaska | Columbia Journal of Environmental Law
  • The most recent installment focuses on tribal co-stewardship and federal public lands planning.  “Planning A New Paradigm: Tribal Co-Stewardship And Federal Public Land” by Monte Mills and Martin Nie
• Sovereign-to-Sovereign” Database and Repository: The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) partnered with the University of Montana Bolle Center for People and Forests, the Gallagher Law Library and the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington School of Law to develop an online repository of materials related to federal-tribal land co-management. Read the  Land Co-management Agreements HERE
• National Wilderness Coalition
• Bears Ears National Monument Management Plan
• Wilderness Act (1964)
• Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA)
• The Boldt Decision (U.S. v. Washington)
• A Third Way: Decolonizing the Laws of Indigenous Cultural Protection by Monte Mills and Hillary M. Hoffmann
• Native American Natural Resources Law: Cases and Materials, Fifth Edition by Judith V. Royster, Michael C. Blumm, Elizabeth A. Kronk Warner, Monte Mills
• (Some) Land Back…sort of: The Transfer of Federal Public Lands to Indian Tribes since 1970 by Martin Nie
• The Use of Co-Management and Protected Land-Use Designations to Protect Tribal Cultural Resources and Reserved Treaty Rights on Federal Lands by Martin Nie
• Featured Image is Badger-Two Medicine by Martin Nie. Learn about the Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance’s mission to protect and steward the culturally and ecologically irreplaceable wild lands of the Badger-Two Medicine and its interconnected ecosystems. 

Martin Nie is Professor of Natural Resources Policy and Director of the Bolle Center for People and Forests at the University of Montana. His research and teaching focuses on federal public lands and wildlife law, policy and management. A central theme of his scholarly work are the challenges and opportunities of managing shared resources that cross boundaries amongst federal, state and tribal sovereign governments. Read more about Martin HERE.

Monte Mills is Charles I. Stone Professor of Law and Director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington. His teaching and scholarship focus on Federal Indian Law, tribal sovereignty, and natural resources. Before joining UW, he directed the Legal Department for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and was a professor at the University of Montana. He is a co-author of multiple leading texts in Indian and natural resources law and served as Executive Editor of the 2024 edition of Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law. Read more about Monte HERE.

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