Natalie Wilson of the Coquille Indian Tribe has a boots-on-the-ground approach to logging that connects her to the land of her ancestors on the Southern Oregon Coast.

Wilson, a fish and wildlife biologist and the tribe’s subsistence harvest program manager, inspects every tree to determine which will remain standing and which will be cut down.

Coquille Indian Tribe facts

Coquille Indian Tribe facts

1,200 citizens

600 employees

2nd largest employer in Coos County, Ore.

10,000 acres of land owned

5,400 acres are forest

“It’s a different perspective entirely when I’m deciding about which trees will be here for the future generations of my family. That really influences the decisions you make out here,” Wilson said.

Stewardship of tribal land and local waterways are always kept in mind.

Wilson also looks for opportunities for fellow tribal citizens to visit the forest and harvest traditional food and resources, such as basketry materials.

But timber is vital for the well-being of the Coquille (pronounced ko-kwel), as sales fund priorities such as health care, education and elder services.

“You can trace the trees and the revenue and see the impact firsthand every day,” Wilson said.

Tribal resource

The Coquille tribe was declared terminated by the U.S. government in 1954 but was restored in 1989 after a lengthy effort.

Congress provided 5,400 acres of timber to the tribe in 1996. In 2015, the tribe purchased 3,200 acres of forest along the Sixes River.

The tribe’s total holdings, including developed land, are now about 10,000 acres — a fraction of its ancestral territory.

“We’re always looking to expand,” said Robin Harkins, natural resources director.

Every year, about 2 million to 3 million board-feet are harvested from the terrain, and the tribe manages its forests on an 80-year rotation, Harkins said.

Wilson makes sure the harvest is done sustainably. That includes site preparation, pre-commercial and commercial thinning, and reforestation.

The Forest Stewardship Council has certified the Coquille Indian Tribe’s forests as environmentally sound, and the tribe tries to provide wood to FSC certified markets.

Timber from the Coquille’s forests has made its way into products for the 9-acre wooden roof of the Portland International Airport’s new main terminal, which opened Aug. 14.

The Coquille sold a harvest of Douglas fir on the open market to Herbert Lumber Co. About 30,000 board-feet were transformed into six oval skylights just past the security screening area at PDX.

The Port of Portland incorporated timber from four tribes into the roof, including the Yakama Nation, the Skokomish Indian Tribe and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

The Coquille timber was from the tribe’s first sale under its Indian Trust Asset Management Plan. Nearly a decade ago, Congress approved an act that allows tribes to manage lands under their law and management criteria, rather than federal rules.

Feels like home

Wilson grew up in the Seattle suburbs, but she frequently visited family in Oregon.

In high school, she worked summers at the tribe’s Mill Casino in North Bend.

“As soon as I started being in Coos Bay more frequently, it was like, ‘Yeah, it feels like home.’ It just feels right, I guess,” Wilson said.

At Oregon State University’s Cascades Campus in Bend, as Wilson moved toward her biology degree, she realized the Coquille Indian Tribe had a natural resources department. She began work there shortly after graduating.

Nearly six years later, she’s still learning the intricacies of the landscape.

Wilson said she’s dedicated to bringing tribal youth to their forests every year to plant trees and do other tasks.

Part of her goal during the loosely organized excursions is to show students the high-quality jobs the tribe offers. But it’s also fun to sit and observe in the forest, which has value far beyond timber.

“There’s wildlife and nature and cool things to see right out there in their backyard,” Wilson said.