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The Navajo RC&D was formally
authorized by the Navajo Nation Council Intergovernmental Relations Committee
and Resources Committee in the fall of 1996 and by the Secretary of Agriculture
in February 1997. The Navajo RC&D Area was formerly a part of the Little
Colorado River RC&D Area in Arizona. The Navajo RC&D Area was incorporated
and granted nonprofit status under the Navajo Nation Corporation Code in
February 1998. The Navajo RC&D Council is comprised of representatives
from each of the five Navajo Nation Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
The Navajo RC&D Area includes
all of the Navajo Nation, except for the Eastern Agency, which is served
by Hub RC&D and McKinley Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD).
The land area encompasses 13,347,000 million acres, or 20,854 square miles.
This area offers unique challenges in the form of "checkerboard" land ownership
status. Because the "checkerboard" patterns of varied land ownership create
jurisdictional problems, it is often difficult to coordinate land and resource
programs.
The members of the Navajo RC&D
Council include five Navajo Nation Soil and Water Conservation Districts:
Navajo Mountain, Little Colorado River, Chinle, Fort Defiance and Shiprock.
The RC&D Area lies within six counties: Coconino, Navajo and Apache
in Arizona; McKinley and San Juan in New Mexico; and San Juan County in
the state of Utah.
Major issues and concerns of the
Council include natural resources and the environment; information, education
and awareness; technology transfer; unemployment; lack of infrastructure
and lack of economic opportunities. Some of the major projects the Council
has worked on are:
* The Annual Navajo Sheep Shearing
and Wool Education Project is a partnership with the Navajo Tribe to teach
the art of sheep shearing and use of wool. Training sessions are conducted
at strategic locations during shearing season.
Navajo Noxious Weed Training Program
This project is in two phases. (1) The first of the year and
a half project consisted to identifying, surveying and mapping of selected
exotic, invasive plant species on the Navajo Nation using Global Positioning
System (GPS). (2) The second part consists of using information gathered,
developed an easy to read noxious weed training manual for the local soil and
water conservation district (SWCD) members, district grazing committee members
and other tribal leaders. The objective is to teach these individuals so they
can in turn teach ranchers, farmers and landowners in using the training manual.
The $52,542 project through a grant from USDA Western Region Sustainable
Agricultural Research Education (SARE) will be completed in October 2001.
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Navajo RC&D Receives USEPA Grant, Builds Trailer Mounted Stream and
Watershed Model
The Navajo Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) received
an environmental education grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The funds have been used to build a trailer mounted stream and watershed
demonstration model.
Trailer mounted stream and watershed models are currently in use in Kansas,
Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The models have proven to be very
effective in teaching youth and adults the effects of poor land use practices on
watersheds. The Trailer-mounted model can be used to demonstrate the effects of
Best Management Practices (BMPs) on minimizing erosion, demonstrating sources of
non-point pollution and how a change in one part of a river or stream affects
the rest of the stream. The Navajo RC&D model will aid in raising awareness
of the and promoting enhanced land stewardship across the Navajo Nation.
Naschitti Range Management Units (RMU) Fencing
This $36,000 grant from New Mexico Environmental Department 318(h) non-point
source project is to establish 20 miles of fence around five RMU of 30,353 acres
to control livestock trespass problems and facilitate proper management and
reduce water pollution through soil erosion of rangeland. The objective is to
increase ground cover from its current 19% to 50% or more through implementation
of the range management conservation plans. Navajo RC&D received $2,000 for
administrativecost. This project is at its final stage of implementation.
Nihi Keyah Binaanish Bahane
A Natural Resource Conservation bulletin for the Navajo people is a
newsletter produced, edit and published quarterly by Navajo RC&D. On average
of 1,500 copies is distributed throughout the Navajo Nation schools,
communities, conservation districts, tribal departments, tribal leaders and
other Federal agencies. Article in the past issue included:
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Range management
after drought
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USDA Farmbill and
EQIP
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EQIP projects on
Navajo Nation
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Who are SWCDs
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Who are RC&Ds
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Navajo Natural
Resources Directory
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Asaayi Lake
restoration project
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Crop residue
management
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Navajo livestock
producers study
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