17th Annual Council Meeting and Conference
Download the Presentations & Documents from our recent Annual Meeting: "Tribal Environmental Stewardship - Walking the Talk to Protect Mother Earth" held on May 23-27, 2010 in Albuquerque, NM
Alaska Tela-Operator Program
Using the Internet to provide Technical and Emergency Assistance to Native Alaskan Water System Operators
White House Tribal Nations Conference
Read the Tribal Environmental and Natural Resources briefing document NTEC compiled for this event.
NTEC Awarded TPPC Grant
In January 2010, NTEC became the Administrator for the Tribal Pesticide Program Council (TPPC)My Relatives,
Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit of your Nations in prayer.
We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the World. We are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing their sacred color which have been signs for us to pray for the sacred life of all things. As I am sending this message to you, many Animal Nations are being threatened, those that swim, those that crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations. Eventually all will be affected from the oil disaster in the Gulf.
On May 26, 2010, NTEC joined a coalition of environmental groups in submitting a statement calling upon Congress to accelerate implementation of those portions of the American Power Act (APA) that address adaptation to the impacts of climate change.
The Statement reads:
We're pleased the American Power Act recognizes the need to create American jobs on American lands while protecting communities and natural resources from climate change impacts. However, it delays this urgent work until 2019. In order to safeguard our communities by protecting our wildlands, water and wildlife from immediate threats, the American Power Act’s Title VI – Community Protection from Climate Change Impacts must provide significant dedicated funding in the near term, rather than leaving communities vulnerable for another decade.
NTEC accepted an invitation to testify before the House Appropriations Sub-committee on Interior, Environment & Related Agencies on April 15th about the FY2011 Appropriations bill. Written testimony was prepared in a collaborative effort by Bob Gruenig, NTEC Senior Policy Analyst; Garrit Voggesser, Senior Manager, Tribal Lands Conservation Program, National Wildlife Federation; and Kim Gottchalk, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund.
On April 15th, Executive Director Jerry Pardilla presented the oral testimony. His testimony highlighted key facts, presented central themes, and focused on three federal agencies and address specific programs.
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The universe of individuals who might view and reference the Green Budget when developing and considering federal budget and appropriations proposals is quite large, with the document circulated among Senate and House members, and high-ranking officials within federal agencies having jurisdiction over environmental and conservation matters. The report includes a short background on the benefits and challenges for dozens of important environmental programs, with subsequent FY 2011 funding recommendations for each of these programs.
With Health Care legislation finally passed by Congress and signed by the President, one must ask what next? Does the President have the political capital to successfully move climate change legislation in 2010 with a Congress that is deeply divided? Can Congress focus its attention on something of such major proportions when the November elections are close in sight? Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) seem to think so, having spent considerable time meeting behind closed doors to draft legislation (KGL bill) that can secure the 60 votes necessary to pass climate change legislation in the Senate. Time is short, however, as it’s already April and the three senators don’t expect to unveil their bill until April 22nd – i.e., Earth Day. Stranger things have occurred, however, as many folks thought health care legislation was dead on arrival once Scott Brown was elected Senator of Massachusetts. Only two months later, a bill was signed into law although to the chagrin of many in Congress who seem less willing to stretch their proverbial necks out with elections just around the corner. Time will only tell, however, if the passage of climate change legislation will come to fruition this year. |
Six months ago, a plan to develop a national strategy for tribal natural resources management was initiated by Arthur “Butch” Blazer of the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society and Gary Morishima of the Intertribal Timber Council. Since then, a series of conference calls, a forum in Denver, and a roundtable discussion at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Mid-Winter Session were held. The intertribal organizations that are participating in this effort are: Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians; Council of Energy Resource Tribes; Intertribal Agriculture Council; Indian Nations Conservation Alliance; Intertribal Timber Council; Native American Fish & Wildlife Society; National Congress of American Indians; National Tribal Environmental Council; Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission; and United South and Eastern Tribes. |
