Council for Native American Farming and Ranching Transcript 12.11.2014
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United States Department of Agriculture Council for Native American Farming and Ranching December 11, 2014 [Start of file - 05:05] Mark Wadsworth: All right. It's Thursday, December 11th, approximately 8:30. We’ll begin with calling the meeting to order. I have a roll call beginning with Mary Thompson. Mary Thompson: Here. Mark Wadsworth: Jerry McPeak? Jerry McPeak: Here. Mark Wadsworth: Angela Peter? Angela Peter is not here. Edward Soza? Edward Soza is not here. Sarah Vogel? Sarah Vogel is not here. John Berrey? John Berrey is not here. Gilbert Harrison? Gilbert Harrison: Here. Mark Wadsworth: Porter Holder? Porter Holder: Here. Mark Wadsworth: Derrick Lente? Derrick Lente: Here. Mark Wadsworth: Tawney Brunsch? Tawney Brunsch is not here. Reid Strong? Reid Strong: Here. Mark Wadsworth: Chris Beyerhelm? Chris Beyerhelm: Here. 1 Mark Wadsworth: Leslie Wheelock? Leslie Wheelock: Here. Mark Wadsworth: Val Dolcini? Val Dolcini: Here. Mark Wadsworth: We do have a quorum. We'll start the meeting with a quick blessing here, and we'll have Jerry McPeak. Jerry McPeak: Everyone [indiscernible] rise. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for giving us the freedom to do the things we’re able to do. Thank you for giving us our health, for giving us the ability to maintain our health. Thank you for the things that you give us each day to help us to be aware of those things, to carry them with us in our heart. Help us to remember to give you the blessings, to give you the credit for all that you do for us. Over here help to make us strong. Help us to make us alert. Help us to make the right decisions. Let us ask for [indiscernible]. Amen. All: Amen.*** Mark Wadsworth: The next item is the review of the agenda. I guess the next item after that will be CNAFR housekeeping forms. Then we’ll have OTR, Office of Tribal Relations, and Farm Bill update. Then we’ll have an IAC, Intertribal Agricultural update. We’ll break it 9:50 for about 10 minutes. Then we’ll have a representative from NRCS to do a presentation 2 on EQIP and engineering standards. Then we’ll go to the Farm Loan Service update. Then we’ll go to the USDA Ombudsman update. Then we’ll go on to USDA opportunities for tribal college students. We’ll break for lunch and return approximately 1:30. Then we’ll go through the subcommittee updates, and I guess we’ll have education and extension moved up as the first one. Then we’ll go in to BIA facilitation. Then we’ll go in to climate change and conservation, credit and credit deserts, and the Forest Service and BLM management and then subsistence. We’ll break it 3:30 and then we’ll have another Council for Native American Farming and Ranching working session. I guess, John, you have –- Angela Peter: Sorry, I’m late. Mark Wadsworth: For the record, Angela Peter is here. John Lowery: Good morning, everyone. Just looking at the agenda -- this is John Lowery, by the way, for the record. So as of right now, the NRCS presentation of EQIP and engineering standards, that is not happening as far as EQIP and engineering standards because the guy who was supposed to come is unable to come. Also, we did have a pretty good discussion yesterday around this, so there is a possibility that the state con for Nevada may come in to speak. We sort of discussed it yesterday. But if not, we might just strike this period and just keeping 3 on. Other than that, I think we are good to go as far as any other changes that might be made. Mary Thompson: Mr. Chairman. Mark Wadsworth: Yes, Mary. Mary Thompson: I would like to submit that we add the report from BIA representative. In future agendas and today, maybe substitute a written report in her absence. Mark Wadsworth: Okay. Any discussion? John Lowery: Mr. Chairman, this is John again. What I had envisioned today would be to provide her an update during the BIA facilitation report as part of the subcommittee, but now moving forward to have a report in the agenda or in the binder at least. Mary Thompson: Thank you. And also Mr. Chairman, where on the agenda would we entertain recommendations? Would that be in the subcommittee updates and just doing the recommendations from there? Mark Wadsworth: I believe it will be during the working session. Mary Thompson: The working session? Mark Wadsworth: Yes. Mary Thompson: Thank you. Mark Wadsworth: Yes, Gilbert. 4 Gilbert Harrison: Good morning, Mark and members. Gilbert Harrison here. I wanted to express my concern about the absentees of the councilmembers. I think last time we had a problem with that, and somehow we need to encourage our members to be here for all the meetings because we have a lot of important stuff that we need to talk about and move on. Thank you. Mark Wadsworth: Yes, Jerry McPeak. Jerry McPeak: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is Jerry McPeak. Mr. Chairman and those who have to keep with the rules and regulations, I don’t have to, that was a problem before and we discussed actually if there are two absences or we discussed absences and them just being, you know, I think if it’s their own health reasons or death in immediate families. Beyond that, if this is not that important in your life, then bail off and let someone [indiscernible] is important. Is there anything that –- and I’m not sure we would want to. I'm telling you I would, but is it possible for us to give any kind of attendance regulations that -- Leslie Wheelock: This is Leslie. We looked into this before and I'm not sure what the outcome was. I think that we had concluded - well, I know we concluded - before to send in 5 notices to those folks, asking them to pay attention and to attend the meetings. And if they weren’t interested, to make way for somebody else. But John, do you recall? John Lowery: Yes. Once a person hits three meetings, misses three meetings, then there is a process for removing them from the council. As of right now with this new council, John Berrey has been here. I haven’t seen him since yesterday evening. Ed of course is on the IAC board so he's been in and out. Tawney has health issues in her family, had a death in her family, just FYI. Mark Wadsworth: Yes, Chris. Chris Beyerhelm: Chris Beyerhelm, USDA. I guess I’d like to extend the conversation we’re having a little bit to the subcommittees too. I have actually been on some of these calls that the USDA people are the only ones on the calls. And I don’t know if that’s not the one I’m scheduling with your agendas or what the case may be, but I feel a little uncomfortable when it’s just USDA people making these recommendations. So I guess I’ll just throw that out there. Jerry McPeak: We see each other all the time. This is Jerry McPeak. I'm sorry. 6 Mark Wadsworth: Yeah, if we could just be more cognizant on those subcommittee meetings. I know the three that I sat on, pretty much there’d be one or two of us. Jerry McPeak: John, originally we had two missed years. If they missed three, that they were a year-and-a-half which meant they could serve basically all the way through the two to screw up a place for someone in that length of time. So that is three total. And now that we’re having four a year now or we’re having three a year now meetings? John Lowery: This year, we're working to have four. Jerry McPeak: That will happen a little quicker. But I'm like Gilbert, I just hate -- it befuddles me. If you just want the title, you have a problem. Where did you get the three? Is that in -- John Lowery: Yes, it's in the FACA rules. I will dig it up and send it out so it will be all clear. Jerry McPeak: I believe you. I just think it’s a little bit lax when you don’t meet -- you met every day. You met once a month. When we meet twice a year or three to four times a year, that’s been pretty lax. Mark Wadsworth: Derrick Lente. Derrick Lente: Point of clarification. Derrick Lente, Sandia Pueblo. Point of clarification for John. When you said 7 if they missed a meeting, is it if they come here and they show up for a little bit and they leave, is that counted as them being here for a session? John Lowery: I'm not sure. We need to dig. Yeah, I need to dig into that and I'll find out exactly what is present and what is not. Derrick Lente: I'm glad Gilbert brought it up and I'm glad that there's a concern here because that certainly is a concern of mine. When I applied for being on this council, I thought it was a great responsibility and it’s something that I wanted to do because I love agriculture, and I love farming and ranching, and I love my people. I'm here not because I'm getting paid big bucks or because it’s fun. I'm here because I think we can make a difference.