Historic land conservation agreement between three tribes and USDA

RAPID CITY – Three Tribal Nations in the Great Plains are partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help conserve, maintain and improve grassland productivity, reduce soil erosion, and enhance wildlife habitat through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The Cheyenne River, Oglala and Rosebud Sioux Tribes are entering into CREP agreements with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to enroll eligible grassland, pastureland, and other agricultural lands within the boundaries of their reservations in this conservation program.

These are the first-ever CREP agreements in partnership with Tribal Nations— reflecting priorities and goals of USDA to broaden the scope and reach of its voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs to engage underserved communities.

On November 17, Scott Marlow, FSA’s Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, met with Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Scott Herman and Oglala Sioux Tribe President Kevin Killer at the Western Dakota Technical College in Rapid City to highlight the CREP agreements and to discuss the benefits of conservation. Attendees also included representatives from the Intertribal Agriculture Council.

Fanny Brewer, Technical Assistant with the Intertribal Agriculture Council who was born and raised on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, a land owner and a producer introduced the dignitaries present for the announcement of the historic agreement between the tribes and USDA.

First to speak was Kim Martin from USDA who said, “Over the last year we had worked with members of the Cheyenne River, Oglala and Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s to build these CREP agreements. I am grateful for our conversations and their trust. I look forward to all of the future conversations that we will continue to have while we work together to positively impact conservation on tribal lands.”

“It is a good day on behalf of the farm administration,” Marlow said. “I am honored to announce that USDA and three tribal nations, Cheyenne River, Oglala and Rosebud Sioux Tribes are entering into partnerships to promote conservation, maintenance and improvement of grassland productivity, reduce soil erosion and enhance wildlife habitat through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.”

He said that although the agreements do not in and of themselves involve or require enrollment of any acreage, the historic first ever CREP Tribal Agreements will increase access for land owned by the tribe and members of the tribe through the grassland Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.

“This historic milestone for USDA will substantially bolster our efforts to deploy climate smart agriculture and conservation in the Great Plains. Its programs like CREP and CRP that are not just available but accessible for all agriculture communities.”

Scott Herman President of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, pointed out that although CREP has been around since 2003 Tribes are just now getting involved. He said that there is still a lot of work to be done the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is proud to be a part of it.

“We appreciate the chance to be a part of this program and we welcome the partnership that we are going to be having with the state, the counties and USDA,” Herman said and is hopeful the Rosebud Sioux Tribe will return some of its grasslands to their natural state and further their wildlife and conservation efforts.

Scott said the Rosebud Sioux tribe has about 600,000 acres out of about 1 million acres that are eligible for enrollment in the program.

“This is a good thing and it is going to be a good thing for the tribes. If you think about the western half of South Dakota…most of it is tribal land,” Kevin Killer President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe said. “It is so important that we as tribes have programs that allow us to work together, I think CREP is going to do that.

Killer also pointed out that while CREP has been around for almost 15 years, tribes finally have the opportunity to be part of it, “As tribal nations need to think outside the box about how to be better stewards of our land. We are trying to make sure that our future generations have something that they can protect, that they can have for their grandchildren.”

CREP is a part of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the country’s largest private-land conservation program. CREP leverages federal and non-federal funds to target specific Tribal land, State, regional or nationally significant conservation concerns.

Each CREP agreement authorizes enrollment of:

Up to 1.5 million acres by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe;

Up to 1 million acres by the Oglala Sioux Tribe; and

Up to 600,000 acres by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

How to Participate

Through these Tribal CREPs, farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers voluntarily enter into contracts with the federal government for 10-to-15-years, agreeing to maintain an existing vegetative cover of permanent grasses and legumes (Conservation Practice 88), while retaining the right to conduct common grazing practices and operations related to the production of forage and seeding. In return, FSA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance for establishing permanent fencing and livestock watering facilities needed to support livestock grazing.

Only Tribal land, either land owned by the Tribe or owned by a member of the Tribe, are eligible for these projects. FSA will open enrollment in the coming weeks. To learn more and determine eligibility, farmers, ranchers, and producers should contact FSA at their local USDA Service Center.

More Information

Currently, CREP has 36 projects in 27 states with more than 860,000 acres enrolled nationally.  Last December, USDA announced improvements to the program as well as additional staffing.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.

(Contact Ernestine Anunkasan Hupa at anunkasanhupa@gmail.com)

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