§3114 Postgraduation recruitment, education and training programs

Summary

Must create a program to recruit Indian and Alaska Native professional foresters and forestry technicians who have finished college or graduate school. The program hires them for work in Bureau of Indian Affairs forestry jobs or, if the tribe agrees, in tribal forestry jobs. In return, the federal government will take over the employee’s unpaid student loans. How long the person must work is set by how much loan is assumed. Must also run a cooperative internship and training program to build skills and improve tribal and BIA forestry work. Internships move people between BIA, other Interior Department agencies, and, with tribal permission, tribal programs. Employees from other agencies who are above their sixth year of Federal service can join under interagency agreements. The sending agency keeps paying salary and benefits for Federal employees; the host agency pays salary and benefits for Indian and Alaska Native employees. Interns get a bonus at the end. The Secretary must also keep ongoing education in the BIA Division of Forestry for orientation on tribal‑Federal relations, technical forestry training, and training in forest land businesses and marketing.