The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has released a new Tribal Relations Strategy, demonstrating the agency’s commitment to honoring its federal trust relationship with the 574 federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native Villages that have sovereign interest in more than 119 million acres of land across the United States.
In November 2024, NRCS released a new Tribal Relations Strategy, demonstrating the agency’s commitment to honoring its federal trust relationship with the 574 federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native Villages that have sovereign interest in more than 119 million acres of land across the United States.
The strategy is based on feedback from Tribal Nations, including recommendations made to Chief Terry Cosby at the 2021, 2022, and 2023 National Tribal Consultations, and in-depth collaboration that took place at seven Regional Tribal Conservation Advisory Council meetings. Its six action items include:
- Hiring a Tribal Relations Director to establish an NRCS Office of Tribal Relations within the Office of the Chief.
- Filling positions dedicated to tribal conservation.
- Providing housing assistance on tribal lands (in partnership with the Department of the Interior).
- Implementing a tribal knowledge training plan.
- Creating an advanced tribal development program.
- Recording correctly tribal conservation data.
This strategy builds on many years of listening, working and consulting with tribes to address their natural resources concerns. NRCS is committed to carrying out its federal trust responsibilities by ensuring that the agency has tribal operations built into its organizational structure.
Learn more about the strategy.
