National Tribal Conservation Districts and USDA Tribal Conference Hosted by: Indian Nations Conservation Alliance (INCA) November 26 – 30, 2018

Caring for Mother Earth, Plants and Animals and Strengthening the Circle of Life Through Conservation

Location: 

Hard Rock Resort and Casino
777 W. St.
Catoosa, OK 74015

Room Reservations :1-800-760-6700
Casino Airport Shuttle: 1- 918-384-7673.

Registration – $400.00

Three Lunches are included with Registration

Daily Registration is $80.00/day with lunch

 

Monday, November 26, 2018

1:00 – 5:00 Registration

3:00 – 4:30 Meet and greet – Location will be provided at Registration.

4:30 – 6:00 Native American Agriculture Fund (KeepsEagle), Janie Hipp, Executive Director.

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Tuesday, November 27, 2018

7:30 – 8:30 Registration

7:30 – 8:30 Agency Liaison’s Meeting – Room will be provided at registration.

 

General Session – Room – Sequoyah 3 and 4

Moderator: Ed Mouss, INCA Board of Directors.

8:30 – 8:45 Cherokee Nation Honor Guard and Invocation.

8:45 – 9:15 Welcome to Cherokee Nation – Bill John Baker, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

9:15 – 9:45 Welcome to Oklahoma – Gary O’Neill, NRCS Oklahoma State Conservationist.

9:45 – 10:15 How Can We Help Your Tribal Conservation District – Terry Tatsey, Vice President, INCA Board of Directors and Dick Gooby, INCA Executive Director.

10:15 – 11:15 Cooperation and Communication in Indian Country: Leonard Jordan, Acting NRCS Chief.

11:15 – 12:00 National Association of Conservation Districts Partnering with Tribal Conservation Districts – Michael Crowder, 2nd Vice-President and Chair of the Tribal Outreach and Partnership Resource Policy Group.

12:01 – 1:10 LUNCH – Provided with registration.

 

Moderator: Jonathon Pyatskowit, INCA Board of Directors.

1:10 – 2:00 Success in Oklahoma, Conserving Native Resources – Gary O’Neill, NRCS Oklahoma State Conservationist, Dr. Carol Crouch, NRCS Oklahoma Tribal Liaison, Nathan Hart, Cheyenne &

Arapaho Tribes and Chairman John Berrey and Chris Roper, Quapaw Tribe.

2:00 – 2:40 Conservation Activities by the United South and Eastern Tribes, INC.- Jerry Pardilla, Director, Office of Environmental Resource Management.

2:40 – 3:20 Success in Arizona – Conserving Native Resources – Roland Tso, President, Arizona Association of Tribal Conservation Districts (AATCD) and INCA Board of Directors.

3:20 – 3:35 Break

3:35 – 4:15 Success in Alaska, Conserving Native Resources – Bob Jones, NRCS Alaska State Conservationist, Kristi Harper, NRCS Alaska Tribal Liaison and Angela Peter, Alaskan Tribal Conservation Alliance.

4:15 – 5:00 Establishing and Benefits of Tribal Conservation Advisory Council – Alan Johnson, Executive Director, Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory Council.

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Wednesday, November 28, 2018

General Session – Room – Sequoyah 3 and 4

Moderator: Terry Tatsey, Blackfeet Tribal Business Council and INCA Board of Directors

8:00 – 8:10 Invocation.

8:10 – 9:00 Working Co-operatively for NRCS Programs in Indian Country – Ronald A. Harris, Director of Outreach and Advocacy Division and Barry Hamilton, NRCS National Tribal Relations Liaison Officer.

9:00 – 9:40 Trust and Restricted Indian Agricultural Lands in Indian Country – Annette Jenkins, USDI-BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional Real Estate Services Officer.

9:40 – 10:00 Break

10:00 – 10:30 USDA Office of Tribal Relations – Linda Cronin, Acting Director.

10:30 – 11:15 Strategies to Increase Investment in Tribal Ecological Stewardship in Indian Country – Jackie Francke, Vice President, First Nations Development Institute.

11:15 – 11:45 TSCAN and weather stations in Indian Country- Dr. Mike Wilson, NRCS Senior Scientist, Climate Change.

11:45 – 1:00 LUNCH

 

Break-out Sessions

Indian Country Irrigation – Session 1- Room – Deer 1.

Moderator: Bob “Sonny” Belcourt, INCA Conservation Specialist.

1:00 – 1:45 NRCS assisting with Indian irrigations projects – Noller Herbert, DC NRCS Engineer.

1:45 – 2:30 BIA-WIIN Act: authorizing funding for irrigation project infrastructure – Travis Teegarden, P. E. USDI – BIA Irrigation.

2:30 – 2:50 Break

2:50 – 3:35 Tribal irrigation systems improvement opportunities – Kelly Titsensor, PE, Native American Advisor, USDI – Bureau of Reclamation.

3:35 – 4:20 What is NAPI: Delane Atcitty- INCA Deputy Executive Director and NAPI Board of Directors.

 

Potpourri – Session 2 – Room – Sequoyah 2.

Moderator: Sadie Lister, INCA Conservation Specialist.

1:00 – 1:45 Conservation Activities Updates – Travis Britton. BIA Acting Agriculture Branch Chief.

1:45 – 2:30 Seasonal High Tunnels – Aubra “Butch” Lee, Travis Badger, Kristi Harper and Tim Oakes, NRCS Tribal Liaisons.

2:30 – 2:50 Break

2:50 – 3:35 Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Mapping – DOI-USGS, Claire DeVaughan, National Map Liaison for Texas and Oklahoma and USDA-NRCS Collin McCormick, National Elevation

Leader.

3:35 – 4:15 Success on the Tohono O`Odham Nations – Amos Stevens, Tohono O`Odham Nations Tribal Conservation District.

4:15 – 5:00 Blackfeet TCD Activities – Loren Bird Rattler – Tribal ARMP Coordinator, Blackfeet Tribal Natural Resource Conservation.

 

Forming a Tribal Conservation District – Room – Session 3 – Sequoyah 1.

Moderator: Roland Tso, President AATCD and INCA Board of Directors.

1:00 – 2:30 Forming a Tribal Conservation District Round-table Discussion –Dick Gooby, INCA Executive Director, Barry Hamilton, NRCS National Tribal Relations Liaison Officer, Gary O’Neill, NRCS

Oklahoma State Conservationist and Kristi Harper, Alaska NRCS Tribal Liaison.

2:30 – 2:50 Break

3:20 – 4:10 Assisting Tribal Conservation Districts – Round Table Discussion by Agency Tribal Liaisons. All agency tribal liaisons are invited to participate.

4:10 – 4:50 General Discussion with Audience Participation.

 

TCD and Tribal Conservation Successes – Session 4 – Room – Deer 2.

Moderator: Danielle Plainfeather: INCA Conservation Technician.

1:00 – 1:35 Grassroots Conservation – Colleen Tessay, Grasshopper Grazing District, White Mountain Apache.

1:35 – 2:30 Sioux and Assiniboine Tribal Agricultural Resource Management Plan and Implementation – Sioux and Assiniboine Indian Nation, Paul Finnicum, NRCS Tribal Conservationist and Myrna

Walking Eagle, Director, Tribal Department of Natural Resources.

2:30 – 2:50 Break

2:50 – 3:30 Klamath Trinity Resource Conservation District Tribal Non-Profit – Meagen Baldy, District Coordinator.

3:30 – 4:15 Narragansett Crandall Minacommuck Farm – Cassuis Spears Sr., Narragansett Food Sovereignty Initiative (NFSI).

4:15 – 5:00 Hualapai Soil and Water Conservation District – Philip Bravo, President and Annette Bravo, Natural Resources Assistant Director

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Thursday, November 29, 2018

General Session – Room – Sequoyah 3 and 4

Moderator: Gail Whiteman, INCA Conservation Specialist.

8:00 – 8:10 Invocation.
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8:10 – 9:10 NRCS Technical Service Provider Program for Tribes and Alaska Villages – Jimmy Bramblett, Deputy Chief, NRCS Programs (Conservation Planning and Program Delivery).

9:10 – 9:50 The Importance to Indian Country of the USDA Agriculture Census – Hubert Hamer, Administrator, National Agricultural Statistical Service.

9:50 – 10:05 Break

10:05 – 11:05 Round Table Discussion of USDA Indian Country Programs – Richard Fordyce, Farm Service Administrator, Dr. Lee Denny, Rural Development Oklahoma State Director and Risk

Management Agency – Speaker to be determined.

11:05 – 12:00 Expansion of APHIS Tribal Partnerships: Terry Clark, DVM, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Deputy Director Office of National Tribal Liaison.

12:00 – 1:10 LUNCH – Provided with registration.

1:10 – 1:50 APHIS PPQ Farm Bill Section 10007 – Feridoon Mehdizadegan, National Operations Manager, APHIS Plant Pest Quarantine (PPQ) Division.

1:50 – 2:25 NRCS Alternative Funding Arrangements – Jimmy Bramblett, Deputy Chief, NRCS Programs (Conservation Planning and Program Delivery).

2:25 – 3:10 Pima-Maricopa Tribal Assistance for Irrigation Systems: David H. DeJong, Gila River Indian Community, Director of Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project Coordinator.

3:10 – 3:30 Break

3:30 – 4:15 Southeast American Indian Workgroup (SEAIWG) – Amanda Buchanan, Katherine Green, Tim Oakes, Aubra “Butch” Lee and Travis Badger – NRCS Tribal Liaisons.

4:15– 5:00 Conservation Plans – Collaboration and Partnership – Travis Britton. BIA Acting Agriculture Branch Chief and Ronald A. Harris, NRCS Director of Outreach and Advocacy Division.

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Friday, November 30, 2018

General Session – Room – Sequoyah 3 and 4

Moderator: Allan Hanley, INCA Conservation Specialist.

8:00 – 8:10 Invocation.

8:30 – 9:15 638-Contracting and Self-governance – Sherri Smith, BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional 638-Contract Specialist and Vicki Hanvey, DOI-ASIA Self-governance Specialist.

9:15 – 10:00 NRCS Regional Tribal Conservation Advisory Councils – Kevin Wickey, NRCS Central Regional Conservationist.

10:00 – 11:00 Strengthening the Circle of Life Through Conservation – Dick Gooby INCA Executive Director and Delane Atcitty, INCA Deputy Executive Director.

11:00 – 11:30 Conference Wrap-up and General Discussion – Drawing for Questionnaire Prizes.

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Indian Nations Conservation Alliance appreciates the financial assistance and sponsorships from the following federal agencies and businesses.

Cherokee Nation – Cherokee.org

Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service – https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/home/

Farm Service Agency – https://www.fsa.usda.gov/

Reproductive Enterprises, INC. – https://reproductionenterprises.com/