Utilizing funding awarded by the America the Beautiful Challenge competitive grant program for ecological restoration and cultural preservation, the Holy Cross Tribe, on behalf of the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission, will work to establish a landscape-scale Tribal Conservation District to improve management of ancestral homelands in the region.

Alaska – The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced the America the Beautiful Challenge (ATBC) in 2022, establishing five years of grant funding to support state, territory, and Tribally-led ecosystem restoration. One of twenty-one Tribes awarded FY23 funding, the Holy Cross Tribe will leverage the ATBC funding to create the First Indigenous Sovereign Habitat (FISH) Tribal Conservation District functioning as a platform from which to establish co-management with federal agencies for the conservation and restoration of ancestral homelands and uplift Tribal food security and sovereignty.

On September 12, 2024, NAFWS America the Beautiful Challenge Field Liaison Katie Schultz joined Rachael Roberson from Holy Cross, Micheal (Mickey) Stickman, executive board member of the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission, and Suzanne Little, Officer | US Conservation for The Pew Charitable Trusts for a site visit. The group was also joined by Kaitlyn Demoski, NAFWS Assistant Tribal Climate Resilience Liaison, and Mirjam Kuzee, NFWF Coastal Resilience | Program Director, for the site visit.

Holy Cross Tribe

Holy Cross Tribe is one of 38 Alaska Native Tribes that makes up the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission (Tribal Commission). On behalf of the Tribal Commission, the Holy Cross Tribe is leading efforts under the ATBC grant. Established in 2019 in response to the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) resource management planning efforts which substantially changed protections for millions of acres of federally managed land, the Tribal Commission provides a unified platform for the Tribes to protect their way of life through advocacy for responsible land management.

Since the formation of the Tribal Commission, the BLM released the 2021 Bering Sea-Western Interior Resource Management Plan, which denied the Tribes’ requests and opened 99% of the 13.5-million-acre planning area to extractive development. As a result, ancestral and Tribally nominated lands are now vulnerable, lacking adequate protection under the plan.

With these issues in mind, the Tribal Commission is working to establish the First Indigenous Sovereign Habitat (FISH) Tribal Conservation District. The FISH Tribal Conservation District will cover the Bering Sea-Western Interior planning region, home to over 65 Indigenous communities, and will focus on Tribal co-management with federal agencies. It is anticipated that additional Tribes beyond the 38 members of the Tribal Commission will join the FISH Tribal Conservation District.

Unalakleet River – An example Area of Critical Environmental Concern.

Effective co-management between Tribal Nations and federal agencies would enable a collaborative approach, integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with Western science practices. Micheal Stickman considers this blend to be “super science” because it encompasses a holistic understand of the land. Ultimately, the Holy Cross Tribe and larger Tribal Commission strive to enhance the sustainability of sovereign habitat, recognizing that the health and productivity of the landscape are essential for ensuring food security.

Once the FISH Tribal Conservation District is established, the group will leverage its established collaboration with federal agencies to develop regional and sub-regional conservation plans. These plans will strengthen conservation and restoration of natural systems, with a focus on anadromous stream watersheds that are essential for salmon.

Focusing on natural systems and habitats will be beneficial to responding and recovering from climate change impacts.

In addition to the formation of the FISH Tribal Conservation District for the purpose of co-management and development of regional and sub-regional plans funded by ATBC, the Tribal Commission envisions teams of Indigenous Guardians deployed across the Tribal Conservation District. Funding is being pursued to provide for the implementation of the Indigenous Guardian Teams that would be positioned in the District, collecting data, and serving as the eyes and ears for Tribes out on the landscape.

Supporting Tribal Conservation 

In 2022 and 2023, Tribal Nations requested about $500 million through the America the Beautiful Challenge. NFWF and the agencies have committed to providing at least 10% of annual funds to Tribes. Thus far the quality of Tribal proposals has been rewarded with over a third of funds going to Tribal Nations! In the first two years NFWF has awarded 35 projects, to Tribal Nations, totaling about $77 million. While this amount is significant, the disparity between requested and awarded funding demonstrates the need for long-term, sustainable funding for Tribal conservation and restoration.

Disclaimer: This project is made possible through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.