On September 29*, 2021 from 1-2 p.m. EST, the National 303(d)/TMDL Webinar Series will host a webinar providing perspectives on meaningful government-to-government communication and relationship building between states and tribes to address water quality issues. (*Please note our new date for this event!)

The webinar will feature three speakers:

• Bruce Jones of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) will speak about his work to coordinate data management with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and NWIFC member tribes in support of the Salmon and Steelhead Habitat Inventory and Assessment Program. He’ll also discuss his approach to effective communication with Washington State agency staff over his decades of work in this arena.
• Nancy Schuldt of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will present on the Fond du Lac Band’s ongoing efforts to have the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency include impaired wild rice waters in their 303(d) lists, and recent actions by the Tribe and EPA Region 5 to ensure that these waters are appropriately listed and restored.
• Elizabeth Betancourt of California’s Central Valley Regional Water Board will share lessons from the process she’s developed and led to establish Tribal Beneficial Uses in collaboration with the more than 100 Tribal communities in her region, including the steps she’s taken to build policy support for the program at the Tribal, regional, and state level.

Register online for the webinar, which is free and open to the public. The webinar will be recorded and will be available online for those who cannot join on September 29.

Since 2016, NEIWPCC, through a grant from the EPA, has hosted a series of informational webinars for state, territorial, and tribal program staff working on pollution budgets in impaired waterways under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act.

The webinars have featured presentations from a diverse array of experts on topics ranging from modeling tools to media relations skills. All previous webinar recordings, presentations, and supporting material are available in our archives. To propose a topic for a future webinar, submit an abstract here or contact Emma Gildesgame with ideas.

Please contact Emma Gildesgame with any questions or comments.

Tribal community members harvest wild rice in Minnesota. (Photo: George Stringham, USACE)