1. Intertribal Agriculture Council - 2016
Helen Riggs, Deputy Bureau Director
Office of Trust of Trust Services
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Washington, D.C.
Oversee all Natural Resource and Real Estate Service Programs: Forestry/Fire, Real Estate Services, Probate, LTRO, Div. Water & Power, Natural Resources that includes the Agric. & Range program., IESC, & Climate Coordination. 7 Division with 16 programs.
Central Office Staff attending meeting: David Edington, Gayla Schock, Bradley Cress.

2. Department of the Interior Mission
The DOI protects and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities.

3. Bureau of Indian Affairs Mission
The Bureau of Indian Affairs’ mission is to enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes and Alaska Natives.

4. Office of Trust Services Objectives
Protect and improve trust assets
Promote economic opportunity
Advance Indian self-determination
Mostly from IA mission statement.

5. Protect and Improve Trust Assets
Vegetation Inventory
Programmatic and Conservation Planning
Lease and Permit Administration
Invasive Species Management
Large-scale vegetation surveys, programmatic (IRMP, ARMP) plans and invasive species management projects are supported through non-base funding. Lease and permit monitoring are base program activities. Base funding is annual operating budget administered at the Regional and Agency level. Non-base (or project) funding is administered at Central Office level and allows tribes and Agencies to pursue “big-ticket” projects such as reservation-wide vegetation inventories and programmatic resource management plans.

6. Promote Economic Development
19,500+ agricultural leases
13,500+ grazing permits
46,000,000 trust acres dedicated to crop and/or livestock agriculture
$107,500,000± in agriculture and grazing receipts (2016)
There are more than 19,500 agricultural leases and more than 13,500 grazing permits administered by BIA or by tribes under self-determination agreements (contract or compact) with BIA.
These generated approximately $107,500,000 (FY2016) annually for the beneficial owners of trust lands which is the 2nd highest revenue generator on Indian trust lands.
Lease #s from 2017 GPRA targets: ERO 114; GPRO 6,704; NWRO 1,950; PRO 5; RMRO 6,261; SPRO 3,130; SWRO 14; WRO 700; T= (36% GPRO, 33% RMRO = 69%)
Permit #s from 2017 GPRA targets: GPRO 1,174; NRO 10,400; NWRO 225; PRO 26; RMRO 989; SWRO 510; WRO 200; T= 13,523 (NRO 77%, GPRO 9% = 86%)
46KK acres from previous strategic plan agriculture planning measure. Since 2009 on acres brought into trust, 197,261 from 2013 to present.
HEARTH ACT – 30 tribal regs approved for 26 tribes (streamline approval process)
Receipts from M. Abeyta TAAMS query for 2016

7. Advance Self-Determination
54 of 96 self-governance (SG) tribes received Ag funding in FY17
OTS Program Implementation Method:
58% Direct Service
42% Contracted or Compacted
54 of 96 figure from FY17 Greenbook (56%) received Agriculture funding
Waiting on Sunshine Jordan to provide contract numbers.
(Laguna Pueblo is not SG but receives Ag & Range funding under contract.)
2016 Program Implementation Methods for the Office of Trust Services:
Direct Service %
Pub. Law %
Self-Gov. Compacts 5%
ILCA Lein wavers – recently approved by Secretary. Funds return to tribes.
, News Release, $14 million being returned to tribes.
427,313 fractional land interest restored to 20 tribes who participated in the ILCA program started in 2000.

8. Youth Required under AIARMA Annual target of 20 students
A&R effort initiated in 2010
Interns (Placed 7 graduates, 4 within BIA and 3 with Tribes)
“Goal” 50 Interns
American Indian Agricultural Resources Management Act
Trying to get #s from Gayla
Five in front are student interns on the Navajo.
Program Coordination Office – outreach, tracking and assisting Regions and Tribes with administration of on-boarding.

9. Policies Indian Affairs Manual Part 54, Agriculture and Range
Chapter 1, Overview, Authorities and Responsibilities
Chapter 2, Rangeland Resource Inventory and Vegetation Monitoring
Chapter 3, Agricultural Resource Management Planning
Chapter 4, Grazing Permit Issuance, Administration and Monitoring
Chapter 5, Rangeland and Cropland Development
Chapter 6, Trespass
Chapter 7, Management of Noxious Weeds on Rangelands
IAM Part 54 (Agriculture and Range) has seven chapters.
Chapter 1 signed by DBIA 9/26/13. Remaining chapters signed 9/9/14.
URL brings up all BIA IAM parts – scroll to the chapters under 54.
HEARTH ACT OF 2012: 30 regulations approved for 26 tribes. Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Home Ownership Act of 2012 (the HEARTH Act)

10. 54 IAM Chapter 1, 1.3 Policy
It is the policy of IA to take part in the management of Indian agricultural lands and related resources, with the participation of the beneficial owners of the land, in a manner consistent with the trust responsibility of the federal government; to protect and conserve Indian agricultural resources; and to promote the sustained-yield use of Indian agricultural resources.
Much of language from AIARMA.

11. Agriculture Staffing Title -2005- -2010- -2016- Student Trainee 10 710 7
Natural Resource Specialist 77 74 67
Rangeland Specialist 40 29 21
Rangeland Technician 58 51 37
Soil Conservationist 33 25
Soil Scientist 12 8 3
TOTAL
220
197
156
VERA VSIP – volunteers off the rolls February, 2014
1St round – Started March 29, 2014 and ended by May 4, 2013.
2nd round – December and off payroll by February 28, 2014.
Subsequent hiring restrictions.
Around 1995 – Reduction in Force (RIF) BIA wide
New administration – President elect Trump has said he will impose a hiring freeze within his first 100 days in office.

12. Agriculture Budgets Year Agriculture Invasive Sp. FTE 2017 $23,999,000
$6,769,000
120
2014
$23,796,000
$6,762,000
168
2012
$25,375,000
$3,461,000
163
2007
$22,253,000
$983,000
194
2002
$20,426,000
$2,007,000
241
1997
$18,414,000
$1,952,000
264
1992
$20,820,000
$1,990,000
364
1987
$20,279,000
$1,529,000
441
VERA VSIP – participants were to be off the rolls by February, 2014
FTEs under Agriculture – clerical as well as technical/professional likely a factor in pre-2000 numbers.
Due to inflation, would require $43,151,500 to have the same purchasing power as $20,279,000 provided in 1987.

13. Tribal Funding Priorities in Indian Country
From 2017 Greenbook Executive Summary