25 U.S.C. § 3115 — Cooperative agreement between Department of the Interior and Indian tribes

(a) Cooperative agreements. (1) To help administer Interior programs and activities, the Secretary^* may negotiate and enter cooperative agreements with Indian tribes to: (A) conduct cooperative manpower and job-training and development programs; (B) develop and publish cooperative environmental-education and natural-resource-planning materials; and (C) improve land and facilities, including forestry, natural-resource and fire protection, reforestation, timber-stand improvement, debris removal, and other land or resource-management activities. The Secretary may do so when the public interest will benefit. (2) The agreements may advance or reimburse contractors with available appropriations for similar work, or provide or share materials, supplies, facilities, or equipment, without applying section 3324 of title 31 on advancing public money. (b) Supervision. Tribes and their employees may perform cooperative work under Interior supervision in emergencies or as mutually agreed, but are not Federal employees except for sections 2671–2680 of title 28 and 8101–8193 of title 5. (c) Savings. This chapter does not limit other authority the Secretary has to make cooperative agreements.