Climate Programs

There are a growing number of tribal programs, government and non-government agencies and programs addressing climate change across the United States. This page includes tribal, federal and NGO climate change programs.

Title Organization Description Geography Website
Indian Health Service (IHS) Regional Contact List IHS

The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Indian Health Service is broken out into 12 physical areas of the United States; Alaska, Albuquerque, Aberdeen, Bemidji, Billings, California, Nashville, Navajo, Oklahoma, Phoenix, Portland and Tucson. This webpage has more information on each region, including regional program descriptions and contact information.

Categories: public health

Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, Northeast, National, Alaska Link
Bureau of Reclamation (BR) Native American Affairs BR, DOI

The BR’s Native American Affairs Office and Program is the BR's policy lead for all Native American issues.

Categories: policy, Water Resources

National, Southeast, Southwest Western US Link
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Tribal Resilience Program BIA, DOI

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for maintaining the trust obligation of the Federal government to recognized tribes. Mainstreaming climate change considerations into all Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) activities, and supporting tribal goals to do the same, is a high priority for the administration and the Department of the Interior (DOI).

Categories: policy

National Link
US Geological Survey (USGS) Office of Tribal Relations USGS

Combining traditional ecological knowledge with empirical studies allows the USGS and Native American governments, organizations, and people to increase their mutual understanding and respect for this land. USGS provides information to tribes as part of our basic mission of providing unbiased scientific information to the Nation, and as part of the Federal Trust Responsibility to tribes.

Categories: policy

National Link
USACE Tribal Policy Principles DOD, USACE

The USACE has worked with tribes on many projects, and its guiding principles for working with tribes are accessible at this link.

Categories: policy

National Link
Native Plant Materials Development Program BLM Plant Conservation Program

The interagency Native Plant Materials Development Program has been working since 2001 to develop high quality seeds and seedlings of America's native plant species for restoration, rehabilitation, and reclamation.

Categories: plant restoration, production, native plants, plant development

Link
Intertribal Nursery Council USDA Forest Service

The Intertribal Nursery Council (INC) is a USDA Forest Service managed, tribally guided, organization for advancing the interests of native peoples involved with plant production in nurseries.

Categories: plant production, traditional ecological knowledge, nursery training

Link
Office of Environmental Management (EM) Tribal Programs DOE, EM

The Office of Environmental Management (EM) is involved in the cleanup of nuclear waste at nationwide sites and facilities. The waste, a result of the production of nuclear weapons, has affected sovereign Tribal nations located near these facilities. The Environmental Management program maintains cooperative agreements with Tribal nations to enhance their involvement in cleanup decisions while protecting relevant tribal rights and resources.

Categories: Nuclear Waste, Restoration, Clean-up

National Link
Partners for Fish and Wildlife 2013 DOI

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife is a voluntary habitat conservation program that provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners for habitat restoration projects that benefit Federal trust species. 9/28/13 is the end of the Federal fiscal year. For application instructions, contact the local Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program office. For office contact information please visit: http://www.fws.gov/partners/contactUs.html

Categories: Natural Resources, Wildlife, Conservation, Fisheries, Water

Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska Link
Partners for Fish and Wildlife DOI

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife is a voluntary habitat conservation program that provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners for habitat restoration projects that benefit Federal trust species. For application instructions, contact the local Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program office. For office contact information please visit: http://www.fws.gov/partners/contactUs.html

Categories: Natural Resources, Wildlife, Conservation, Fisheries, Water

Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska Link
NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO) Regional Integrated Science and Assessments (RISA) Program DOC

The NOAA Climate Program Office's (CPO) Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program supports research teams that conduct innovative, interdisciplinary, user-inspired, and regionally relevant research that informs resource management and public policy.

Categories: Natural Resources, Regulatory, Research

Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Coastal, Pacific Islands, Alaska Link
USDA Climate Change Program Office: USDA

The Climate Change Program Office (CCPO) coordinates USDA’s responses to climate change, focusing on implications of climate change on agriculture, forests, grazing lands, and rural communities. CCPO ensures that USDA is a source of objective, analytical assessments of the effects of climate change and proposed response strategies both within USDA and for our partners.

Categories: Natural Resources, Coordination

National Link
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) USDA, FSA

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a voluntary land retirement program that helps agricultural producers protect environmentally sensitive land, decrease erosion, restore wildlife habitat, and safeguard ground and surface water.

Categories: Natural Resources

National Link
National Agricultural Library Natural Resources and Environment Resource Guide USDA

The National Agricultural Library has compiled a set of resources and information pretaining the natural resource and environmental issues.

Categories: Natural Resources

National Link
Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems; ARS USDA, ARS

Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems National Programs support researchers at seventy locations developing the technologies and strategies needed to help farmers, ranchers, and other managers effectively steward the diverse agricultural mosaic spread across the nation. From livestock grazing expansive natural western rangelands, to crops grown in the rich Midwestern Heartland and the Southern States regions, to the high-value produce that comes from the valleys and plains along both coasts, these diverse landscapes generate more than $200-billion in goods and services that are the basis of a strong rural economy. Emphasis is given to developing technologies that are economical to use and systems that support profitable production and enhance the Nation’s vast renewable natural resource base. Research priorities are identified through a continual dialogue with a wide range of customers and stakeholders to ensure that our science is relevant and provides effective solutions to their concerns. We address issues affecting both private and public lands, because together these are the foundation of a healthy and vibrant agricultural industry that not only provides food, feed, fiber, and renewable energy to the nation, but also abundant and high quality supplies of fresh water and clean air, as well as healthy ecosystems.

Categories: natural resource management, agriculture, research, stewardship, science and technology, sustainable industry

National Link
Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchang NGO

EcoAdapt runs the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE), which is a joint project with Island Press aimed at building a shared knowledge base for managing natural systems in the face of rapid climate change.

Categories: Natural Resource Management

National Link
Intertribal Timber Council (ITC) ITC, Tribal Entity

Established in 1976, the Intertribal Timber Council (ITC) is a nonprofit nation-wide consortium of Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, and individuals dedicated to improving the management of natural resources of importance to Native American communities. The ITC works cooperatively with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), private industry, and academia to explore issues and identify practical strategies and initiatives to promote social, economic and ecological values while protecting and utilizing forests, soil, water, and wildlife.

Categories: Natural Resource Management

National Link
Native American Fish & Wildlife Society (NAFWS) NAFWS, Tribal Entity

The Native American Fish & Wildlife Society (NAFWS) is a national tribal organization established informally during the early 1980's. NAFWS was incorporated in 1983 to develop a national communications network for the exchange of information and management techniques related to self-determined tribal fish and wildlife management.

Categories: Natural Resource Management

National Link
Our Natural Resources (ONR) ONR, Tribal Entity

Our Natural Resources (ONR) is an alliance of intertribal organizations and tribes committed to develop and advance a national tribal natural resources strategy. ONR brings together a unique blend of expertise to support the capacity of tribes to use, protect, restore, and enhance the natural resources that are central to the well-being of all communities. ONR is open to all tribes, organizations, and individuals that support the mission, attainment of the goals, and work towards the vision.

Categories: Natural Resource Management

National Link
Tree Assistance Program (TAP) USDA, FSA

The 2014 Farm Bill authorized the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) to provide financial assistance to eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers to replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes, and vines lost by natural disasters. TAP is administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). To be considered an eligible loss:Eligible trees, bushes, or vines must have suffered more than a 15 percent mortality loss in a stand (adjusted for normal mortality) due to an eligible natural disaster;Mortality loss on a stand of eligible trees, bushes, or vines is based on:Each eligible disaster event, except for losses due to plant disease; andFor plant disease, the time period as determined by the FSA for which the stand is infected.The loss must not have been preventable through reasonable and available measures;The loss must be visible and obvious to the FSA representative; if the loss is no longer visible, FSA may accept other loss evidence and determine whether that other evidence substantiates that an eligible loss due to natural disaster occurred; and FSA may require information from a qualified expert to determine extent of loss in the case of plant disease or insect infestation

Categories: natural disasters, rehabilitation, replant, tree health, plant health

National Link
Plant Conservation Alliance

The Plant Conservation Alliance is a public-private partnership of organizations that share the same goal: to protect native plants by ensuring that native plant populations and their communities are maintained, enhanced, and restored.

Categories: Native plants, plant restoration, plant development

Link
Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research

SEATOR is a partnership committed to monitoring and communicating our findings about shellfish toxins, harmful algal blooms, and ocean acidification.

Categories: monitoring, shellfish, shellfish toxins, algal blooms, ocean acidification

Alaska (Southeast) Link
Tribal Equity Grants Program USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Deadline is Ongoing. The 1994 Land-Grants use Equity to support faculty who develop classes and degree programs that teach science and math to Native Americans. The programs focus on agriculture, natural resources and human sciences. The faculty strive to graduate students who can achieve their life goals. Since many 1994 Land-Grants are two-year schools, some students aspire to advanced degrees. Other students seek training to begin a vocational career in agriculture. Still other students want to earn certifications just to improve their daily lives. Faculty have used Equity funding to help build laboratories, conduct remedial courses, create new degree programs in forestry and provide students stipends so they can complete their education. The goal is to graduate empowered students who can embrace their future with new skills and knowledge.

Categories: math, science, agriculture, natural resources, human sciences, vocational training, education

National Link
Recommended Practices for Landscape Conservation Design USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers

For practitioners looking to develop, facilitate, or participate in a landscape conservation design (LCD) process, the new Recommended Practices for Landscape Conservation Design guide leverages the knowledge, years of experience working on landscape-scale conservation issues, and the legacy of the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. The guide can serve as a reference and springboard for those seeking to implement broad-scale, multi-species conservation; collaborate and share data across regions and states; and incorporate human dimensions into the landscape

Categories: landscape conservation, species conservation, data sharing, collaboration

National Link
Coastal Zone Enhancement Program NOAA

Improvements to state and territory coastal management programs are encouraged through this program. The focus is on nine enhancement areas: wetlands, coastal hazards, public access, marine debris, cumulative and secondary impacts, special area management plans, ocean and Great Lakes resources, energy and government facility siting, and aquaculture. The program was established in 1990 under Section 309 of the Coastal Zone Management Act.

Every five years, states and territories review their programs to identify priority needs and opportunities for improvement. The programs then work with NOAA to develop multi-year improvement strategies that focus on one or more of the priority enhancement goals.

Categories: Land, Coastal

Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska, Coastal Link
Economic Research Service; Climate Change USDA

The Earth's temperature is rising as a result of increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Agriculture is a source of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, two prominent greenhouse gases. Changes in agricultural practices can reduce emissions of these gases, and reduce atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide by sequestering carbon in soil.

Climate change will affect crop and livestock yields worldwide, which will lead to changes in food and fiber consumption, prices of agricultural commodities, and farm incomes.

ERS is uniquely positioned to analyze these changes through its expertise on the economics of:

Land use and management,
Technology adoption, and
Environmental program design.

Categories: land use management, technology adoption, greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture, carbon dioxide, carbon sequestration

National Link
Cascades to Coast Landscape Collaborative

Our efforts bring together a diverse group of natural and cultural resource partners (including tribes)  to create landscapes and ecosystems that represent commonly held community values, use the best available science and knowledge, with a goal for a connected, resilient region for years to come. CCLC offers habitat connectivity tools, spatial mapping tools, and partner assessments.

Categories: land management, spatial mapping, communication, conservation, networking, data, cascades, coasts, ecosystem services

Cascades, Pacific Northwest, Oregon, Washington Link
Wisdom of the Elders Wisdom of the Elders

Committed to Native American cultural sustainability, multimedia education and race reconciliation, Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. (Wisdom) records and preserves the oral history, cultural arts, language concepts, and traditional ecological knowledge of exemplary American Indian historians, cultural leaders and environmentalists in collaboration with arts and cultural organizations and educational institutions. Wisdom of the Elders especially seeks to correct misconceptions, end prejudice, bring health and wellness to Native people, and demonstrate how Indian culture has and is continuing to enrich our worlds.

Categories: journalism, climate documentation

National, Northwest Link
National Invasive Species Information Center (NISIC) USDA

Gateway to invasive species information; covering Federal, State, local, and international sources.

Categories: invasive species, adaptation, planning, research

National Link
Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Inuit Circumpolar Council

Founded in 1977 by the late Eben Hopson of Barrow, Alaska, the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) has flourished and grown into a major international non-government organization representing approximately 155,000 Inuit of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka (Russia). The US branch of the ICC, ICC-Alaska, is the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC)-Alaska is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works on behalf of the Inupiat of the North Slope, Northwest and Bering Straits Regions; St. Lawrence Island Yupik; and the Central Yup’ik and Cup’ik of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region in Southwest Alaska.

Categories: Inuit, Arctic, Policy, Climate Impacts, NGO

Arctic, International, Alaska, Russia, Greenland, Canada Link