How to Advance Your Tribal Forest Initiative Community Forest - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

How to Advance Your Tribal Forest Initiative

Community Forest Program Webinar Series

November 18, 2020

Introductions

Mary Adelzadeh (Diné)

First Nations Development Institute Consultant

Candice Polisky

Community Forest Program Coordinator, Western States USDA Forest Service

Nausheen Iqbal

Program Specialist Cooperative Forestry USDA Forest Service

Ray D. Entz

Director, Wildlife and Terrestrial Resources Kalispel Tribe of Indians

For 40 years

Webinar Management

All participants will be muted during the webinar

• Please use the question box to enter any

questions to staff

• There will be a question and answer

session at the end of the presentation. Please add your questions to the question box

Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program

Purpose

• Economic benefits
• Environmental benefits
• Educational benefits
• Forest Management Demonstration

benefits

• Recreational benefits

Cowee Site, Cherokee Territory in North Carolina

By Matthew Timothy Bradley - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56894863

• Tribal governments
• Qualified nonprofit

entities (must have a conservation purpose)

• Local governments

Eligibility

3 38 37

TRIBAL GOVERNMENT NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION LOCAL GOVERNMENT

NUMBER OF PROJECTS FUNDED

Land Eligibility and Requirements

Eligibility

• Threatened Private lands
• Full fee purchase
• At least five acres in size
• Suitable to sustain natural

vegetation

• At least 75% forested

Requirements

• Provide public access
• Cannot be converted into trust
• 5-year self-certifying statements

and occasional spot check monitoring

• Community forestry plan that

addresses public benefits

Public Benefits

• Recreation
• Watershed Protection
• Wildlife Habitat

Protection

• Timber and non-Timber

Products

Why is this program important to Tribes and Native Communities?

• Opportunity for Tribes to regain control and access to ancestral lands.
• Restore Traditional Ecological Knowledge on the land
• Forest management demonstration/Public education
• Improve community access to traditional foods/resources (acorns,

mushrooms, cedar, etc.)

• Develop economic opportunities for hunting, timber, fishing, etc.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Funded in FY12 (~108 acres) and FY20 (20 acres) Culturally and historically significant 108-acre tract

Demonstration Project

• Includes a scenic hiking trail system that

exhibits native plants and traditional uses

• f natural resources
• The Cherokee actively manage the forest

through traditional forest management practices.

• Prescribed burning
• Invasive species removal
• Tree planting

Additional benefits….

• White oak regeneration on the property
• Access for Native artisans to obtain the resources (non-timber

forest products) needed to make their crafts

• Preserve waterways, soil, and rare or threatened species.

• Funded in FY12; 350-acres
• Established a Native Plant Nursery
• Established a Fishing Pond
• Developed an Interpretive Trail
• Restored Native Trees and Shrubs

Indian Creek Community Forest

Kalispel Tribe

Funding Requirements

• At least a 50% match with

non-federal funding.

• Not include borrowed

funds that could encumber property.

• Must use funding during

the grant period.

• Full fee purchase price
• Appraisal/Appraisal review

(following Federal standards

• r “yellow book”)
• Land survey
• Legal & closing costs
• Title examination
• Development of Community

Forest Plan

Allowable Costs

Examples of Non-Federal Match

• State Community Forest Grant Programs
• Private Foundations
• Land donation or Bargain Sale
• In-kind Services

Partnerships for Acquisitions

• The Trust for

Public Land

• The

Conservation Fund

• Nature

Conservancy

• Local Land

Trust

Non-Allowable Costs

• Conservation Easement Purchases
• Long-term operation, maintenance, and land management
• Construction of buildings or recreational facilitates
• Research
• Existing liens or taxes owed
• Costs associated with preparation of the application, except any

allowable project costs specified in 36 CFR 230.6(b)

• Property Information
• Community Forest Establishment Information
• Acquisition Information

Application Components

Application Timeline

August 14, 2020 January 11, 2021 February 8, 2021 March 15, 2021 April – May May – June

Request for Proposals Issued in Federal Register Application due to State Forester or equivalent Tribal Authority State Forester or equivalent Tribal Authority submit applications to Forest Service Region/Area/IITF Forest Service Region/Area/II TF submits eligible applications for national consideration Review and ranking of applications

Selections announced. Grant agreements developed with successful applicants

Review Considerations

• Type and extent of community benefits.
• Extent and nature of community engagement.
• Amount of cost share leverage.
• Community forest contribution to a landscape

conservation initiative.

• Extent of due diligence completed on the project.
• Likelihood of conversion to non-forest uses if

unprotected.

• Costs to the Federal government.

In Partnership with the USDA Forest Service’s Community Forestry Program, First Nations Development Institute is:

• Conducting outreach to tribes and Native-led organizations
• Providing technical assistance for application development
• Identifying best practices for project development

Q&A

Please submit your questions in the question box

Contact Information

Mary Adelzadeh

Consultant First Nations Development Institute madelzadeh@firstnations.org 530-402-5404

Nausheen Iqbal

Program Specialist, Cooperative Forestry USDA Forest Service nausheen.iqbal@usda.gov 202-594-7554

Candice Polisky

Community Forest Program Coordinator, Western States USDA Forest Service candice.polisky@usda.gov 971-710-2346

Ray D. Entz

Director, Wildlife and Terrestrial Resources Kalispel Tribe of Indians rentz@kalispeltribe.com 509-447-7278

First Nations Development Institute 2432 Main Street, 2nd Floor Longmont, Colorado 80501 www.firstnations.org Tel: 303.774.7836 Email: info@firstnations.org

Contact and Social Media

The recorded webinar can be accessed

• n our website under the First Nations

Knowledge Center at https://www.firstnations.org/fnk

@FirstNationsDevelopmentInstitute

@FirstNationsDevelopmentInstitute @FNDI303 @FNDI303

Thank you for joining!

This webinar was made possible in part by support from the USDA Forest Service.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.