USDA Official - James Gore - Visits Hoopa Valley
By Dave Sanden
Public Affairs Specialist, Red Bluff
James Gore, Special Assistant to the USDA Assistant Secretary for Departmental Management, visited the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation February 28 during a two-week tour of California. The visit included meetings with Klamath Trinity RCD (KTRCD) staff and Tribal Council members, a tour of farms and EQIP and AWEP project sites, and talks with landowners and NRCS staff.
Recently appointed, Gore is visiting several sites around the state to meet people, find out what the issues are, and how they’re being solved.
NRCS’ work with the Hoopa Valley Tribe is notable for its team approach and trust-building efforts. Staff from the Eureka office and the North West California RC&D have been developing a relationship with the Tribe for years, resulting in establishment of KTRCD in 2007 (the first tribal RCD in California) and an NRCS office in Hoopa in 2010. KTRCD joined NW CA RC&D as a member in 2008.
NRCS also helped the Tribe complete a soil survey that will help farmers better understand the properties of their soil. In 2009, the first EQIP contract was funded in Hoopa Valley, and the Hoopa Public Utility Department was awarded the first Tribal AWEP in the US. In 2010, NRCS assisted the Hoopa Forestry Department in submitting a CCPI proposal that was funded for $825,000. In 2011, NW CA RC&D adopted three new projects in Hoopa Valley.
Photo: Hoopa tour participants (from left): Juan Armand, KTRCD President; Kirsten Losse, Ag Engineer, Eureka SC; James Gore, Heidi Harris, Soil Conservation Technician, Hoopa LPO; Ed Burton, State Conservationist; Rhoby Cook, KTRCD District Coordinator; Jim Spear, Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations; Diana Sturrock Dellinger, District Conservationist, Eureka SC; Reina Rogers, American Indian Liaison; Bryon Hadwick, NW CA RC&D Coordinator; Jennifer Figueroa-Golder, Rangeland Management Specialist/Tribal Liaison, Eureka SC.
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