Since time immemorial, the Wiyot Tribe has relied on an provided stewardship over its ancestral natural resources. awareness to the relationships of plant and animal communities is an inherent aspect of ecological knowledge and stewardship. The creation of the Tribe's Natural Resources Department has since helped to preserve and sustain plant and animal species, significant to its Tribal heritage
and culture, by working to restore endangered species, protect and sustain precious ecosystems in Wiyot Tribal trust lands and within Table Bluff Reservation. This effort will help to connect both elders and younger generations of Wiyot to the unique living history and ecology of their lands as well as promote the sustainable harvest and management of culturally important species. American Indian Tribes are in a unique position to combine modern scientific methods with Traditional Environmental Knowledge and stewardship techniques to holistically approach resource management and begin to address centuries of environmental harm. after centuries of forces disconnection from the ability to care for out natural resources, we are beginning to regain that capacity. The need is even more acute in the face of the uncertainties associated with global climate change. The Wiyot Natural Resources Department (formerly Environmental Department) was established in August 1996 for this specific purpose, to create resiliency within the ecosystems and communities sacred and significant to the Wiyot, and to monitor and protect the environmental resources of the Table Bluff Reservation, the Wiyot tribal landholdings, and the Wiyot aboriginal territory. The department accomplishes this by managing a panoply of programs and projects; coordination and collaboration with federal, state, and local agencies as well as the regional community; and regular interaction with the tribal community by staging environmental education events for tribal youth, holding workshops, and including updates in the tribal newsletter. The Wiyot Natural Resources Department is funded entirely by grants. EPA Indian General Assistance Program provides funding for basic infrastructure needs as well as some of the personnel expenses. Environmental Protection Agency's CWA§106 Water Pollution Control and CWA§319 Non Point Source Pollution Control grant programs, which also fund all water quality monitoring and pollution prevention activities. For other specific programs and projects, the Tribe relies on funding from a myriad of grant programs from the U.S. EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and many other agencies.
