In a nutshell: This presentation offers information on funding mechanisms, resources for, and how, where, and by whom the Reserved Treaty Rights Lands (RTRL) program can be accessed. Watch the recording to hear first-hand accounts of how RTRL is used to implement collaborative fuel management projects on National Forests.
Recorded on: August 28, 2024
Description: Ancestral rights associated with non-trust non-reservation land is of critical importance to many Tribes, Pueblos, and Indigenous communities across the United States. Beginning in late 2014, Wildland Fire Management Fundings through the Department of the Interior (DOI) was appropriated for a new program called Reserved Treaty Rights Lands (RTRL) to address and provide funding to steward these areas within and adjacent to ancestral and reserved treaty rights lands – doing the work of the ancestors.
RTRL is a funding program administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that is designed to protect natural and cultural resources important to tribes on non-tribal lands that are at high risk from wildfire. This webinar introduces the RTRL program and how it has been used to implement collaborative fuel management projects on National Forest lands, providing a basic understanding of the funding mechanisms and how, where, and by whom it can be accessed. The presentation incorporates lessons learned and highlights the experience of Pueblo of Tesuque’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources as they navigated the RTRL process.
Presenters:Sage Mountainflower, Director with Pueblo of Tesuque Department of Environment & Natural Resources (sagem@pueblooftesuque.org); Chris Tafoya, Reserved Treaty Rights Lands Coordinator (RTRL) with Pueblo of Tesuque Department of Environment & Natural Resources (ctafoya@pueblooftesuque.org)
Bios:
Sage is the Pueblo of Tesuque Department of Environment and Natural Resources Director. She has over 18 years’ experience in the environmental field, including providing technical and compliance assistance to New Mexico tribal environmental programs and assisting with forest management through the Reserved Treaty Rights Lands grant program. Her leadership roles entailed working as a Tribal Environment Director for two New Mexico Pueblos and one California tribe, which afforded her the opportunity to work for small tribal communities bordering several encroaching cities in making environmental decisions that directly impact their residents, including development and oversight of tribal environmental programs. Moving forward, Ms. Mountainflower will work closely with the Pueblo of Tesuque Environmental Technician in building capacity in a variety of environmental and forest related programs and projects. She may be reached at sagem@pueblooftesuque.org.
Chris, coming from Santa Clara Pueblo, is currently employed by the Pueblo of Tesuque Department of Environment and Natural Resources as the Reserved Treaty Rights Lands (RTRL) Coordinator. Chris has over 15 years of experience working in Wildland Fire and Forestry on tribal lands. He began his career in Wildland Firefighting with the BIA Black Mesa Southwest Forest Firefighters Crew before moving to the restorative efforts in Santa Clara Pueblo after the Cerro Grande and Los Concha’s fires. He currently manages thinning projects and prescribed burns for Tesuque Pueblo. Chris has come a long way in wildland fire and forestry work, gaining knowledge of forest restoration and wildland fire preventative measures along the way. He may be reached at ctafoya@pueblooftesuque.org.
Resources:
Information about Pacheco Canyon forest restoration, the Medio Fire, and the role of this RTRL project:https://www.santafefireshed.org/medio-fire
This webinar is co-hosted by the Arizona Wildfire Initiative and the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals
Register for all our webinars and get the zoom link delivered automatically to your inbox each month! You can also unsubscribe at this link. REGISTER FOR ALL WEBINARS HERE.
