Tribal Water and Natural Resources Conservation Guide
On This Page:
Overview:
This guide aims to provide resources to Tribal environmental programs about federal assistance opportunities that can support Tribally led efforts to protect and restore waters, protect air quality, protect wildlife and habitat, prepare for climate change and natural hazards, steward lands, and support and engage Tribal communities. The 75-page resource guide includes an introduction to federal assistance for new Tribal staff, quick reference tables highlighting Tribal-specific funding and technical assistance programs, Tribal case studies and example federal planning frameworks and tools. The EPA is also publishing a federal funding program inventory as a supplement to the guide, available as a downloadable Excel Workbook that contains basic information about 150+ federal funding programs supporting Tribal conservation work. This guide was developed with the input of 10 federal agencies.
Background:
The U.S. federal government manages numerous assistance programs across multiple agencies that collectively support Tribally led conservation efforts. In pursuing federal assistance, Tribal governments are accustomed to the work of navigating assistance opportunities to identify those that best align with Tribal goals and needs, applying for assistance under various solicitations and managing assistance agreements with multiple funding agencies. In recent engagements with the EPA’s national nonpoint source (NPS) program, Tribal partners have highlighted the need for federal support in identifying and pursuing partnership and leveraging opportunities to help achieve Tribal water quality and complementary environmental program goals.
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Information Webinar:
An informational webinar highlighting this guide was held on December 17, 2024. This event will included program discussions from multiple federal agencies and overviews of case studies found in the guide from Tribal environmental staff.
A recording from the event is available on YouTube.
Related Links:
For a broader resource on federal Tribal funding programs, the Bureau of Indian Affairs hosts the Access to Capital Clearinghouse. This is a multi-agency strategy to improve awareness of, access to, and utilization of federal funding resources for Tribal governments, Tribal enterprises, Native entrepreneurs, and Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).