Supporting Wildlife and Agriculture on the Wind River Indian Reservation
To the east of the Wind River Mountain Range stretches the 2.2-million-acre Wind River Indian Reservation, a diverse landscape of coniferous forest, sagebrush steppe, and lush valley bottoms. The reservation is home to grizzly bears, wolves, bald eagles, and vast herds of mule deer, antelope, and elk; hundreds of lakes and miles of rivers; and the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes.
The reservation contains critical migratory pathways for antelope, deer, and elk as they move to and from the mountains and habitat to the north and west. Simultaneously, reservation lands support Tribal agricultural producers and their families. Finding ways to keep agricultural operations alive and well while maintaining robust populations of wide-ranging wildlife requires creative solutions.
The Wind River Mountains, the moon, and sagebrush on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. (Photo Jennifer Strickland, USFWS)
The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is in the business of out-of-the-box solutions. In this corner of the ecosystem, we have offices in Lander and Fort Washakie, and one of our areas of focus is keeping landscapes open for wildlife to thrive.
This summer, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), hosted the first of a series of meetings to bring information to producers on the reservation about programs that support agriculture and wildlife.
The meeting was made possible by the Equity in Conservation Outreach Cooperative Agreement through the NRCS with additional support from the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Wind River Development Fund (WRDF), Wind River Food Sovereignty Project (WRFSP), and Akiptan.
On a warm evening in August, attendees and presenters arrived in Fort Washakie, Wyoming to share a meal and conversation. The meeting’s goal: provide information and outreach to producers about NRCS program availability and eligibility on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
The Greater Yellowstone Coalition hosted the first community meeting in the community of Fort Washakie, Wyoming on the Wind River Indian Reservation. (Photo GYC/Matt Cuzzocreo)
NRCS staff were on hand to offer information about the various programs the agency administers that support agricultural producers while providing a conservation benefit. One such initiative is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) – a program that reimburses producers for completing projects that address a natural resource concern.
On the Wind River Indian Reservation, these natural resource concerns may include range degradation from overgrazing, invasive annual grass or conifer encroachment, riparian zone erosion from a lack of accessible water for stock, or barriers to migratory ungulate movement. A producer who voluntarily completes a project to address one or more of these resource concerns – for example creating a grazing plan or removing conifers to improve range quality and wildlife habitat, replacing fencing with wildlife-friendly fencing to keep landscapes open for wildlife movement, or building a stock tank to protect riparian areas – could be eligible for a reimbursement payment from the NRCS. These agreements benefit both the producers involved and the broader landscape and wildlife that inhabit it.
FSA staff shared what is required by the FSA for producers to be eligible for the NRCS programs to ensure interested producers can qualify and pursue the program – hopefully cutting through some of the red tape.
Representatives from community development financial institutions (CDFIs) The Wind River Development Fund and Akiptan attended to offer information about additional financial resources available to producers. Given the constraints associated with reimbursement programs, one resource of interest to producers is a type of upfront loan made available by leveraging a signed NRCS contract with the financial institution. By working with the NRCS and a CDFI, producers can access funds and programs that might otherwise be difficult given the financial limitations that exist with reimbursement requirements.
Attendees gathered to learn about Natural Resources Conservation Service programs available to producers on the Wind River Indian Reservation. (Photo GYC/Signa McAdams)
Folks in attendance were curious about fencing, soil quality and testing, and greenhouse and high tunnel availability at schools. Having NRCS and FSA staff in the room allowed attendees to ask questions directly of the agencies that built into conversations within the community and with other organizations. Overall, attendees were inquisitive and engaged.
This meeting was the first of four GYC is planning to host on the reservation. We look forward to meeting with producers in the Arapahoe, Crowheart, and Ethete communities and sharing information about programs available through NRCS that promote agricultural ways of life while supporting healthy wildlife and wildlife habitat.
Thank you to our partners NRCS, FSA, WRDF, WRFSP, and Akiptan for gathering in person for these meetings and sharing meaningful conversation with each other and producers about how conservation and agriculture can coexist on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
—Signa McAdams, Wind River Conservation Organizer (Fort Washakie, WY)
—Matt Cuzzocreo, Senior Wildlife Conservation Associate (Lander, WY)
