Tribal Council approves cost sharing agreement with Natural Resources Conservation Service

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved a cost-sharing contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, which will support forest health initiatives and fuel reduction activities at multiple reservation and trust properties, at its Wednesday, Sept. 9, meeting.

The agreement would utilize a cost-share agreement of up to $300,000 rather than a traditional grant. Under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, NRCS typically reimburses a percentage of costs depending on the activity and eligibility, according to a program description.

There is a total of 542 acres that include the Grand Ronde Reservation forest, Lower Burton, Gopher Valley, Rogue Block, Evey, South Yamhill, Nicole, Jeld Wen and Rowell Creek properties, where NRD plans to implement pre-commercial thinning, hand piling for burning and invasive weed management.

In other news, Tribal Council: 

• Approved renewing the Tribe’s membership to the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and annual membership dues of $7,500, as well as appointing Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George as the Tribe’s delegate and all other council members as alternates;
• Approved amendments to the General Welfare Assistance and Supplemental General Welfare Assistance Program Ordinance to provide a death benefit to beneficiaries of Tribal members who were alive during the assistance payment period;
• Approved a Tribal credit card with a limit of $5,000 for Resource Advisor Jeremy Johnson to use in his duties with the Tribal wildland fire crew;
• Approved an application to the Indian Health Service Small Ambulatory Program Grant for up to $4.98 million. If awarded, funds would be used for a planned expansion project at the Health & Wellness Clinic;
• And approved enrolling six infants and one emergency non-infant into the Tribe because they meet the enrollment requirements in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

Additionally, Tribal Council set the agenda for the Sunday, Sept. 13, General Council meeting. It will be held at 11 a.m. in Tribal Council Chambers and via Zoom and include information on the Tribal Council election results, as well as a report from the Emergency Management program.

Before the meeting began, Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy read a statement regarding a recent post on Tribal social media accounts about the General Welfare payment set for Friday, Sept. 11.

“After a decision on the (payment) amount was made, a member of the Tribal Council asked for a modified draft statement,” she said. “That draft statement was then inadvertently shared on the Tribe’s  app and social media accounts. Tribal Council and staff would like to apologize for this. The statement did not accurately reflect the feelings of the Tribe or the Tribal Council. We apologize for any harm this may have caused our families. We are a loving, caring people, and we value every one of our members. We apologize that the statement did not reflect this.”

To watch the entire meeting, visit www.grandronde.org and click on the Videos tab.