Conservation Planning for Navajo Livestock Producers

A development freeze (preventing the erection of buildings, homes and community infrastructure) on lands disputed between the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe persisted from 1966 until 1999 when it was repealed. Only now are these communities beginning to initiate new development in this area that depends heavily on farming and ranching for livelihoods. This project will build on First Nations’ work with Navajo producers started in 2011 with funding from the USDA Office of Advocacy and Outreach and others. These efforts revealed the need to transition first steps in conservation planning from USDA NRCS to the producers by developing a conservation process for Navajo producers in a manner that will balance traditional ecological stewardship with NRCS’ requirements. 12,000 conservation plans on the Navajo Nation are stymied by the logjam created by lack of professional resources. This project will develop a conservation planning process, led by Navajo livestock producers on the Navajo Reservation, which will be offered as a template to USDA NRCS, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Navajo Nation. The conservation planning process could have the potential to remedy the issue of pending conservation plans at the producer level on the Navajo Nation and could be replicated in other Navajo communities and by other tribes.