Natural Resource Management and Environmental Resilience and Adaptation (Virtual Informational Session)

This session addressed how natural resource conservation and management and environmental adaptation and resilience strategies that guide community economic development activities enable tribes and Native communities to examine economic development through the lens of sustainability and cultural appropriateness. 

This session featured an introduction of the Makah Sawmill, presented by the mill’s manager and enrolled Makah tribal member Jedediah Johnson. It also highlighted the efforts of the Yurok Tribe to balance their Northern California coastal land’s health, culture, tourism, and economic impact. 

Navigate This Page:

• Session Summary

• Introduction to Natural Resource Management and Environmental Resilience and Adaptation

• Project Highlights

  • Makah Sawmill

  • The Yurok Tribe’s Conservation and Tourism

• Developing Environmental Adaptation Plans

• Funding and Resources for Natural and Environmental Resilience

• Closing Thoughts

• Resources and Upcoming Events

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Session Summary

Introduction to Natural Resource Management and Environmental Resilience (Slides 1-6)

In the clip to the below, Kevin Klingbeil provides an overview of natural resources and environmental resilience and adaption. Tribes and Native communities have long been stewards of their natural environments, playing a central role in preserving and maintaining ecosystems on their Native lands. During this session, we consider: 

Tribes and Native communities hold impactful traditional ecological knowledge, preserve treaty rights and advocate for other legal protections, and create collaborative environmental initiatives with non-Native governments and environmental organizations. 

• Example: co-stewardship agreements with the National Parks Service (NPS) promote inclusive and collaborative decision making about land use surrounding park planning & management and cultural preservation. 

Evaluating the Health and Availability of Natural Resources (Slides 7-9)

Kevin provides an overview of natural resources and environmental resilience and adaption

It is fundamental to consider the health and availability of your land’s natural resources. Identifying unhealthy, vulnerable or depleted resources might indicate a need for conservation or preservation rather than harvest or extraction.  

Scientific Health: Some tribes use ecological monitoring programs to collect and assess environmental data to draw conclusions about the health of natural resources. This may include: 

• Water quality sampling and testing 

• Forest inventory and soil and vegetation assessments  

• Fish and wildlife habitat quality monitoring and tracking population dynamics 

Cultural Availability: Natural resources are traditionally fundamental to Indigenous communities and hold significant cultural importance. 

Legal Availability: Treaties often outline tribally-reserved rights to natural resources, though the interpretation and enforcement of treaties has not always been consistent and equitable. 

• A CoP participant, Donna Miranda-Begay, highlighted an upcoming event. The first 1st CA Native American Tribal GIS Summit 2025 Registration - coming soon (both virtual and on-site) Free event - (2 -day summit).

Identifying Economic Opportunities and Decision-Making Framework (Slides 11-12)

When natural resources are healthy and available, some tribes and Native communities have leveraged their resources to support community economic development either through the processing and sale of resource by-products, creating opportunities for ecotourism, or to catalyze other economic activities. 

Examples: 

• Development of tourism hubs such as river-side or ski resorts (e.g. Sunrise Park Resort, Ski Apache) 

• Investment in large-scale projects such as hydropower (e.g. Haida Alaska Native Village Corporation) 

• Leveraging resources for construction, including timber for structures and water infrastructure for facilities (see Transportation and Water Infrastructure Development) 

• Mineral extraction 

• Harvesting, processing, and sale of fish and other wildlife, wild rice, berries, timber, and animal products (e.g. Suquamish Seafood Enterprises (SSE)) 

• Eco-tourism such as river rafting and tours of the natural environment 

• Using plants and animal products to create jewelry, art, baskets, mats, and other crafts for sale in local, regional, and national markets (e.g. Native Harvest Ojibwe Products) 

Tribes must balance the health and availability of their natural resources from a scientific, legal, and cultural standpoint with the potential economic opportunities those resources unlock. 

Identify the status of resources:​

• Health, resilience, and sustainability​

• Ability/authority to manage​

• Cultural value

Consider the status of your resources and their potential economic uses ​​(e.g., managed buffalo or shellfish harvests, preserving sacred sites instead of extracting coal, restoring ricing areas and endangered fish stocks?)

Balance the health, resilience, sustainability, and cultural value against the financial benefit of each of the potential economic uses/applications of the resource.​​

(e.g., full preservation, managed harvest/use/access, full extraction?)

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Project Highlights

Makah Sawmill

In the clip to the right, Jedediah Johnson introduced the tribally-owned Makah Sawmill. He shared about the history of the mill, its operation, and it’s benefits in the community: 

• The Makah Sawmill started around two years ago when Composite Recycle Technology Center (CRTC) reached out to the tribe and petitioned for the tribe for a partnership to use their timber for houses. The Tribe and CRTC applied and received a $2.7 million Washington State Department of Commerce grant. Part of this funding was used to get the mill started and the other was to purchase a specialized dry kiln. 

• The mill mainly processes western hemlock—a wood that's abundant in the region but traditionally considered low-quality and unsuitable for structural purposes. Through a specialized dry kiln process that removes oxygen and nitrogen under vacuum, the wood is naturally treated and made structurally sound without chemicals.  

  • This innovation allows the tribe to turn underutilized timber into durable housing materials. The tribe plans to create homes made from this lumber for tribal members in the future. 

• The tribe manages 37,000 acres of forest with sustainable logging practices, allowing trees to grow for 60 years before harvesting and replanting the same species to maintain ecological balance. 

• The mill currently employs four people with plans to expand and hire more tribal members in the near future. The mill also provides local lumber for community use, reducing the need to travel long distances for materials. 

• The tribe’s Natural Resources Department inventories forests annually to count and catalog tree species in the lands to ensure help avoid over-harvesting. 

• Fishing remains a central cultural and economic activity for the tribe. A new fishing dock, partially funded by an EDA grantand New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC), supports the community's year-round fishing livelihood. 

• The revival of traditional whaling practices has sparked excitement and pride among tribal members, with families bringing out ancestral tools and rekindling cultural traditions that were paused in past land-use agreements. 

Learn more about this story through the article, Washington Tribe Starts Up Sawmill, by Forestnet. 

The Yurok Tribe’s Conservation and Tourism

Speaking on behalf of the Tribe and their activities by recalling conversations with tribal leadership, Kevin highlighted on the clip below how the Yurok Tribe is balancing health, culture, and economic impact through tourism. For more on tourism, see Tourism and Culture-Centered Economic Development. Kevin highlights: 

• The Yurok Tribe was involved in one of the largest dam removal projects in history on the Klamath River, significantly transforming the ecosystem and restoring the natural health of the river and surrounding land. They have a website highlighting their tourism opportunities, www.visityurokcountry.com. 

• While managing a casino, the tribe noticed heavy wear on carpets due to sand—highlighting that visitors were more drawn to natural features like beaches, rivers, and forests than to gaming. 

  • Recognizing this trend, the Yurok Tribe pivoted from prioritizing gaming to focusing on eco-tourism and cultural tourism as a sustainable economic development strategy. 

• The tribe now offers jet boat tours, hand-dug canoe experiences, and quiet nature-based excursions along the restored river to share their cultural heritage and natural environment. 

• The dam removals and related restoration efforts not only revitalized the ecosystem but also strengthened the tribe’s connection to their ancestral lands and provided meaningful experiences for visitors. 

• Located near Redwood National and State Parks, the Yurok Tribe emphasizes low-impact, environmentally respectful tourism that leverages their unique natural and cultural landscape rather than over-relying on traditional commercial enterprises like casinos. 

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Developing Environmental Adaptation Plans (Slides 16-17)

Environmental adaptation plans help Indigenous communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from the impacts of environmental variability—while preserving cultural traditions, natural resources, and sovereignty. Typically, these plans include: 

Environmental Risk Assessment – what environmental impacts (e.g. drought, flooding, wildfire) are affecting the community now and will impact it in the future?

Vulnerability Assessment – which systems, places or resources are most at risk—cultural sites, food systems, water, infrastructure?

Adaptation Strategies – supported by traditional ecological knowledge, what actions will help us manage and adapt to variability?

E.g. restoring native plants and traditional food systems, relocating infrastructure away from flood zones, and protecting culturally significant landscapes

Implementation & Monitoring Plan – who will do what? How will the plan be tracked, updated, and funded?​

Examples:

Photo from Must Read Alaska

• The Native Village of Barrow will develop a Tribal environmental resilience plan funded through a $250k BIA Tribal Community Resilience grant. The plan is based on previously established goals outlined in the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). Other hazard mitigation reports, community input, & guidance from Tribal leadership will also be used to address concerns faced by the community due to rapid warming of the Arctic. 

  • This project showcases a Native community advancing self-determination and sovereignty by strategically planning their future based on the changing environment, CED goals, and community values and input. 

The Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance is a certified 501(c) non-profit organization. It serves as an advisory committee to the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association on all matters with regard to technical and policy issues regarding the water resources of all 7 member Tribal Nations. 

• This project highlights the importance of intertribal cooperation and strategic partnerships in strengthening community economic development, ensuring sustainable resource management, and reaching shared regional goals. 

Funding and Resources for Natural and Environmental Resilience (Slides 18-19)

• Federal sources:  

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants

  • Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS): Tribal Wildlife Grant Program (TWG), Coastal Program FY25, Candidate Species Conservation Fund​

  • U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Bison Production and Marketing Grant Program (BPMGP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program

  • Permitting Council: ERIF Tribal Assistance Program

  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Multipurpose Grants to States and Tribes

• State-run sources:  

  • Look for grants in your state that gives to tribes/Native organizations. Example: The Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund (AKSSF) program manages the State of Alaska's allocations from the federal Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund

• Nonprofit organizations: 

  • Native American Fish and Wildlife Society (NAFWS), Native American Agricultural Fund (NAAF), Seven Generation Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), The Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILRF), Indigenous Environmental Network,

• Loans/TA from traditional banks or Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI)

Find resources through grants.gov, National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers grants search page, and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grants search page

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Natural and Environmental Resources:

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Closing Thoughts

Connect and Ask Questions

There are resources available, including the above subject matter experts (SMEs), who can help tribes and their programs get involved in small- and large-scale projects. 

Questions, with answers from the Resource Group and fellow participants, will continue to be posted in the Knowledge Bank on the CoP website. If you have questions that you want answered, please ask in the LinkedIn group or share it with the administrators. 

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Upcoming Events

Navigate This Page:

Session Summary

• Introduction to Natural Resource Management and Environmental Resilience and Adaptation

• Project Highlights

  • Makah Sawmill

  • The Yurok Tribe’s Conservation and Tourism

• Developing Environmental Adaptation Plans

• Funding and Resources for Natural and Environmental Resilience

• Closing Thoughts

• Resources and Upcoming Events

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