§3109 Indian Forest Land Assistance Account

Summary

When a tribe asks, the Secretary can create a special account inside that tribe’s trust fund to pay for the tribe’s forest management. The account can hold money from non‑Federal sources tied to the tribe’s forest lands, donations, unused forestry appropriations meant for that tribe, and user fees or interagency transfers allowed by law. Money in the account must be used for managing the tribe’s forest lands, and the funds and any interest stay in the account until spent. These funds cannot be used to reduce federal funding the government owes for managing Indian forest lands. The Secretary can audit the account if a tribe asks or on the Secretary’s own, and must publish the audit results.