Jason Baldes, Eastern Shoshone

Jason is an enrolled member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe from the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming. He is a co-founder of two grassroots, non-profit organizations in his community on the Reservation. The Young Warriors Society was established to work with the youth of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes by emphasizing cultural and traditional values of the tribes to combat socio-economic, political and environmental issues facing the tribes. The second organization, Wind River Alliance, was formed by various community members, Tribal as well as non-tribal, to work on the rehabilitation of the Big Wind River and is dedicated to the health and protection of the Wind River watershed. For the past five years, Jason has been coordinating youth leadership camps on the reservation to raise awareness and interest for the various fields of Biology, Ecology and the Environmental Sciences. He has assisted other tribes in youth camps on other reservations in the Missouri River Watershed and is a coordinator for the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society’s Summer Youth Practicum in Evergreen Colorado. Jason has been actively involved in protection of natural areas as well as cultural and sacred sites important to the Wind River tribes in the Red Desert of Wyoming. Jason is on the Steering Committee of the newly established Indigenous Waters Network, established to account for the ever-increasing issues concerning tribes and First-Nations peoples and their water resources. Currently Jason is attending Montana State University pursuing a degree in Environmental Biology.

Alexis Bonogofsky, Associate Coordinator of NWF’s Tribal Lands Conservation Program

Alexis Bonogofsky is the Associate Coordinator of NWF’s Tribal Lands Conservation Program. Bonogofsky earned her M.A. from the University of Denver in International Development with a concentration in Environmental Policy. Bonogofsky conducts education outreach to Native American tribes throughout the West that encourages tribal educators to draw from both western and indigenous knowledge of science to encourage students to take leadership roles in the protection and management of indigenous resources.

Tom Boucher, President & CEO, Native Energy [Abstract]

Mr. Boucher has 30 years of energy industry experience, including electric utility planning and management, renewable energy project development, utility regulation, and retail energy business creation and operations in the new restructured energy markets.

He initiated and co-founded NativeEnergy in 2000, which offers simple and effective wholesale and retail renewable energy-based services that provide carbon dioxide offsets and green power options; and provides related evaluation, design and development consulting.

Previously, Mr. Boucher was a founder and senior officer responsible for business plan development, national energy supply and retail product development for Green Mountain Energy Company.

Jennifer Cleland [Abstract]

Jennifer Cleland graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in Environmental Science in 2004. Her studies focused on ecology and conservation. The variety of restoration work in the southwest drew her attention after graduating, and she currently works for the Colorado River Indian Tribes as the Ecological Coordinator at the ‘Ahakhav Tribal Preserve in Parker, AZ. Her work at the preserve focuses on riparian restoration, habitat restoration, habitat management for Threatened and Endangered Species, and research and monitoring.

Dr. Robert W. Corell, Chair, Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, Senior Fellow in the Atmospheric Policy Program of the American Meteorological Society

Dr. Robert W. Corell, Chair, Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, is a Senior Fellow in the Atmospheric Policy Program of the American Meteorological Society. He currently serves as the chair of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. He was a Senior Research Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He served as Assistant Director for Geosciences at the National Science Foundation where he had oversight for the Atmospheric, Earth, and Ocean Sciences program and served as the Chair of the National Science and Technology Council's committee that has oversight of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Corell is engaged in research concerned with the sciences of global change and with the interface between science and public policy. He is Chair of the steering committee for the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, an international assessment of the impacts of climate variability, change, and UV increases. Corell is an oceanographer and engineer, with Ph.D., M.S. and B.S. degrees from the Case Institute of Technology and MIT.

Fred Dubray, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Fred Dubray is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Mr. DuBray is former Executive Director and co-founder of Pte Hca Ka, Inc., which is a Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Corporation created to restore and manage the tribal buffalo herd. It is also currently the largest and fastest growing tribal buffalo operation in the United States. He is founder and former President of the Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC). He has also served as Chairman of the ITBC Executive Committee. Mr. DuBray is known for his work in buffalo restoration, and has been featured in several national media formats. He has been featured in several news publications including People Magazine, National Geographic, and Newsweek. Mr. Dubray also appeared on the NBC Today Show, a CBS News Special, and a PBS documentary entitled, “American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation.” In 1995, Mr. DuBray was awarded the “Newsweek American Achievement Award.”

Terrance Fulp, Area Manager of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Boulder Canyon Operations Office [Abstract]

Terrance (Terry) Fulp, is the Area Manager of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Boulder Canyon Operations Office. Fulp, a 17-year Reclamation employee, oversees programs associated with operation of the Region’s water and power facilities on the last 688 miles of the Colorado River. He currently serves as program manager of an effort to develop additional river management strategies that address how Reclamation, the seven Colorado River Basin States, and stakeholders would manage Lakes Powell and Mead during times of low reservoir conditions, thereby minimizing the effects of long-term drought on the Southwest. Fulp was the co-principal investigator for the Department of the Interior’s Watershed and River Systems Management Research Program, which developed a decision support system for watershed management. He also was instrumental in developing RiverWare, a sophisticated river operations modeling framework that is used by several water management agencies to plan the operations of river basin facilities under a variety of conditions. Fulp holds a Ph.D. in Mathematical and Computer Sciences from the Colorado School of Mines, a M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado, a M.S. in Geophysics from Stanford University, and a B.S. in Earth Sciences from the University of Tulsa.

Robert Gomez, Environmental Director, Taos Pueblo

Robert Gomez is the Director of the Taos Pueblo Environmental Office (TPEO). He has more than 11 years experience in the environmental field, the last 5 years as Director of TPEO. He attended New Mexico State University, and was hired at Taos Pueblo as a student intern under an EPA/University Community Partnership grant. He has a broad background in water quality assessment. He developed the water quality monitoring programs under Clean Water Act Section 106 grants for the Pueblo of Taos and for the Pueblo of Picuris in New Mexico.

In 2005, Robert joined the Board of Trustees of River Network, a national non-profit river conservation organization, based in Portland, Oregon. He is an active participant in the national River Rally, and has reviewed ‘Listening to Watersheds’ publication, aimed specifically at tribes developing water quality assessment programs. He also is on the steering committee of the Indigenous Waters Network, a new national native grassroots water resources advocacy group. He also served on the Geographic Information Technology program advisory board at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI). In 2006, Robert organized a ‘Clean Water Act training for Tribal Leaders’ held in Taos New Mexico, in which thirteen tribes sent leaders or environmental staff. Other trainings Robert has sponsored for New Mexico tribes include River Watch Network adaptation of EPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocol II, and geomorphic characterization techniques. Robert is an enrolled tribal member of the Pueblo of Taos, and enjoys the unspoiled natural resources of the Taos Indian reservation, particularly the cold, clear waters of the Rio Lucero, its abundant wild trout and their willingness to chase an Elk Hair Caddis.

Robert Gough, Intertribal Council on Utility Policy

Bob Gough is an attorney with graduate degrees in sociology and cultural ecology, with over 30 years experience and two fellowships on tribal cultural and natural resource issues.

The first director and now a consultant to the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Utility Commission, Gough participated in WAPA negotiations for tribal allocations of federal hydroelectric power. He is the secretary of the Intertribal Council On Utility Policy, an organization composed of federally recognized Indian tribes in the Northern Great Plains providing a forum on rights and resources for utility services on tribal lands, and co-chaired the national assessment’s Native Peoples/Native Homelands Climate Change Workshop.

Gough contracts with the DOE -Wind Powering America program’s Wind Powering Native America Initiative, and co-directs the NativeWind.org and EnergyIndependenceDay.org campaigns supporting partnerships between ICLEI-Cities for Climate Protection and the Intertribal COUP tribes interested in building sustainable homeland economies based upon renewable energy.

Louie Hena, Tesuque Pueblo [Abstract]

Louie Hena is a permaculture design consultant, river guide on the Rio Grande and Rio Chama rivers in New Mexico, and educator on traditional land management systems. A native of Tesuque Pueblo, he has been involved in permaculture all his life: respect, caring, and sharing - the ethics of permaculture - is the way of life for his community.

Hena helped organize the Traditional Native American Farmer Association and the New Mexico Acequia Association in the Indigenous Food and Seed Sovereignty Alliance and the Seed Sovereignty Declaration to protect native seeds, crops, heritage fruits, animals, fish, and wild plants from genetic engineering. He is co-founder of the Traditional Native American Farmers Association’s two-week accredited Permaculture Design course, which attracts participants from U.S., Canadian, Mexican, and Central and South American indigenous nations. He developed tribal environmental programs in three communities, and was a representative for the New Mexico tribes on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Regional and National Tribal Operations Committee. He is the co-author of “A Tradition of Farming: Northern Rio Grande Pueblo Lessons of Land Stewardship and Sustainable Agriculture” and “Living On The Edge.”

In collaboration with Los Rios River Runners, Inc., New Mexico's oldest rafting company, he has developed the Native Cultures Feast and Float, an educational tourism experience unique in the U.S. Visit www.losriosriverrunners.com/native cultures.html to reenergize yourself!

Wahleah Johns, Black Mesa Water Coalition, Dine-Navajo

Wahleah Johns is a Dine-Navajo living on the Navajo Reservation in Forest Lake, Arizona. Co-founder of Black Mesa Water Coalition, she works to protect the local groundwater supply, the sole source of the area’s drinking water, which is currently being depleted for mining purposes. Along with other young students, Wahleah is educating the local community and lobbying at the federal, state and tribal levels on behalf of maintaining balance with nature and building self-sustaining indigenous communities.

Charlee Lockwood, Y'upik Eskimo, Alaska Youth for Environmental Action

Charlee Lockwood grew up on the coastal community of St. Michael in northwest Alaska. She attends Mount Edgecumbe School, a statewide boarding school with a student population representing over ninety villages and cities in Alaska. Charlee became involved with AYEA during her sophomore year of high school, and at first admitted to not really knowing much about global warming's impacts on communities. After hearing from her peers about flooding villages, receding glaciers, and altered hunting seasons, however, she decided to take a stand. In 2006 she quickly became a leader on AYEA's global warming campaign, being personally responsible for the signatures collected from fifty villages.

Nancy Maynard, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist in NASA’s Cryospheric Sciences Branch [Abstract]

Nancy Maynard, Ph.D., is a senior research scientist in NASA’s Cryospheric Sciences Branch with an interest in the use of remote sensing to observe changes (environment, climate, land use/cover) in the Arctic and their impacts on populations and human health. Prior to her current position, she worked in the GSFC Environment and Health Program where she was responsible for creating and managing a NASA interdisciplinary environment and health initiative, the purpose of which was to enable the use of NASA’s remotely-sensed Earth science data important to public health issues such as infectious and vector-borne diseases, air and water quality, pollutant/pathogen transport via the atmosphere, oceans, ice, etc. In addition, she created a NASA LCLUC pilot project, ReindeerMapper, which brought together scientists and reindeer herders from the US, Russia, and Norway to create a system for integrating remote sensing, ground-based, and indigenous data and knowledge in the Russian Arctic. She has also worked on remote sensing of ice edge biota, management of large interdisciplinary science programs, and science policy.

Aaron Miles, Natural Resource Manager, Nez Perce Tribe

Aaron Miles, Sr., is the Natural Resource Manager for the Nez Perce Tribe and has served in this position for seven years. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Resource Management at the University of Idaho in 1995.

As the Natural Resource Manager, Aaron’s responsibilities include Gray Wolf Recovery in Idaho, timber and agriculture management, protection of water and cultural resources, and providing environmental management recommendations to the Department of Energy for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation on behalf of the Nez Perce Tribe.

Aaron has been a leader for the Nez Perce Tribe with respect to all natural resource issues including fish and wildlife, forest communities, agriculture, and water and cultural resources. Currently he is leading an effort to develop a plan for a $93M Settlement for the second largest water rights case involving an Indian Tribe called the Snake River Basin Adjudication, as well as working with the US Forest Service and other stakeholders to provide job opportunities on federal lands for tribal members through stewardship contracting; initiating a plan to develop fluent speakers in the Nez Perce Language; working with the Lewiston/Clarkston community to promote the Nez Perce Horse Culture while developing a new breed of horse for the Nez Perce People called Sik’um; also honoring one of Indian Country’s greatest cowboy’s, Jackson Sundown at the PRCA Xtreme Bulls Competition held in conjunction with the Lewiston Roundup; and developing a holistic, strategic plan for the tribal lands.

Aaron’s believes that his strength to build success and overcome struggles in life, come from the teachings and mentoring by his grandfather, the late David Miles, Sr.

Evon Peter, Chairman/Executive Director of Native Movement, Neetsaii Gwich'in Tribe

Evon Peter is the former Chief of the Neetsaii Gwich’in from Arctic Village in northeastern Alaska. He has served as the Co-Chair of the Gwich’in Council International and on the Executive Board of the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council. Evon is an advocate of Indigenous Peoples rights, youth, and a balanced world, active as a speaker, strategist, writer, and organizer. His experience includes work within the United Nations and Arctic Council forum representing Indigenous and environmental interests. Evon is featured in the 2005 full-length feature film “Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action,” that follows the work of four Indigenous people who are working on issues of Environmental Justice in North America.

Since being elected chair of the board of the National Wildlife Federation in April 2005, Jerome Ringo has been cited as “the most interesting environmental leader in the United States right now,” by The Nation, and among Ebony magazine’s most influential African-Americans in 2006.

“I’m proud that the National Wildlife Federation is meeting the big challenges head on,” Jerome says. “We’re building a movement to combat global warming that threatens the very survival of wildlife as we know it. We’re connecting kids and families with nature to restore America’s conservation ethic.”

Jerome and his wife Mary volunteered to assist evacuees from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, and then as residents of Lake Charles, Louisiana, became evacuees themselves when Hurricane Rita swept through the Gulf several weeks later.

Those experiences thrust Jerome forward as a national conservation spokesman on an array of issues including global warming’s influence in making hurricanes more intense, reforming national water policies and projects to put the public interest first, and restoring the degraded wetlands of coastal Louisiana and other habitats vital to wildlife.

His leadership on these and other issues, including keeping the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge free of oil development, led to Jerome’s being named president of the Apollo Alliance in December 2005. The Apollo Alliance is a coalition including business, labor, faith and conservation groups, farmers and others united in the effort to forge a new energy future that will both create jobs and reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil.

As an avid hunter and angler, Jerome is an ambassador to America for the wildlife and habitat concerns of the nation’s 40 million sportsmen and women.

Caleen Sisk-Franco, Spiritual Doctor and Tribal Leader, Winnemem Wintu Tribe

Caleen Sisk-Franco, Winnemem Wintu, is the great niece and successor of Florence Jones, Spiritual Doctor and Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. Married to Mark Franco, she is the mother of two children, Mike (21) and Marine (13). Caleen is deeply involved in maintaining the Winnemem Wintu culture and ceremonies and is the focal point for the Winnemem’s recognition efforts.

Caleen graduated from Shasta Union High, Redding, CA. in 1970, received her AA degree in 1972 from Shasta College, Redding; CA. received her BA from Chico State University, Chico, CA in 1975, and received her teaching credential, from CSU, Chico in 1976.

Caleen assumed partial responsibilities as the Spiritual and Tribal Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe in 1995 during the tribal leadership transition period, and assumed full leadership responsibilities in 2000. She was mentored and taught the traditional Winnemem ways by the late Florence Jones, the Winnemem Wintu Tribal and Spiritual leader for over 65 years. Caleen concentrates her time on managing the task of resolving the recognition issue for the Winnemem Wintu, and maintaining the cultural and religious traditions of the tribe.

Caleen is deeply rooted in her spirituality, her family and her devotion to her tribal people!

Stephen C. Torbit, Ph.D., Director of NWF’s Rocky Mountain Natural Resource Center and the Tribal Lands Conservation Program

Stephen C. Torbit, Ph.D., is the Director of NWF’s Rocky Mountain Natural Resource Center and the Tribal Lands Conservation Program. Dr. Torbit earned his Ph.D. in wildlife ecology from Colorado State University and specialized in ungulate nutritional ecology. He has assisted with reintroduction of black-footed ferrets on the Ft. Belknap and Cheyenne River Sioux Reservations and with the management of wolves by the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho. He works with tribes throughout the U.S. on natural resource conservation.

Bradley Udall, Director of the Western Water Assessment (WWA) at the University of Colorado [Abstract]

Bradley Udall, is the Director of the Western Water Assessment (WWA) at the University of Colorado. The WWA is an interdisciplinary NOAA-funded project designed to assist water managers and other users of climate data. Recent projects using NOAA and CU scientists include a 400-year long streamflow reconstruction of the Colorado River based on tree-rings, El Nino-based climate forecasts, and information about the likely impacts of climate change on water supplies in the U.S. West. He has recently presented on the impacts of climate change on western U.S. water resources at the U.S Conference of Mayors, International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives North American Congress, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Western Coalition of Arid States, Western States Water Council, and Arizona Water Resources Research Center. He was a contributor to the National Integrated Drought Information system plan and is a reviewer of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4th Assessment Report. Brad has an engineering degree from Stanford and an MBA from Colorado State University.

Garrit Voggesser, Ph.D., Manager, NWF’s Tribal Lands Conservation Program

Garrit Voggesser, Ph.D., is the manager of NWF’s Tribal Lands Conservation Program. Dr. Voggesser received his Ph.D. in history, with a focus on American Indian and environmental history, from the University of Oklahoma. Voggesser works on a variety of ecosystem protection, wildlife, habitat, and water quantity and quality issues with tribes throughout the nation. He has also served as NWF’s Bison Team Associate Coordinator and held internships with NWF and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Myra Wilensky is NWF’s Global Warming Outreach Coordinator. Wilensky received her master’s degree in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver. She works on mobilizing sportsmen and other outdoor enthusiasts to support local, state and federal initiatives to combat global warming. She also worked for five years as a liaison to NWF’s affiliate organizations in Arizona, California and Nevada.

Terry Williams, Tulalip Tribe

Since 1982, Williams has served as a Fisheries and Natural Resources Commissioner for the Tulalip Tribes. In this role, he directs pre-season fisheries negotiations, governmental planning and cooperative habitat management. Since 1985, Williams has served on the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. He has also represented the Tulalip Tribes on the Pacific Fisheries Management Council since 1985 and served on the Pacific Salmon Commission since 1997.

Appointed by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Carol Browner, Williams served as the director of the EPA American Indian Environmental Office in Washington, D.C. from 1995 to 1996. This office addressed specific environmental issues of Indian tribes nationwide. From 2003 to 2004, Williams served as Chair of the Tribal Committee of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. This year, he was a participant in the EPA Tribal Trust Program that addressed cultural sustainability via restoration and protection of endangered species.

Williams has also worked on tribal issues at the international level. In 1997, the Secretary for Policy and International Affairs Office of the Department of the Interior appointed Williams to represent indigenous peoples on the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity.

Secretary for Policy and International Affairs Office of the Department of the Interior appointed Williams to represent indigenous peoples on the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity.

Verner Wilson, Y'upik Eskimo, Alaska Youth for Environmental Action

Wilson is a graduate of the Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA) program, now in his second year at Brown University. Wilson is from the community of Dillingham, home to the amazing Bristol Bay salmon fishery. He became involved with the program in his sophomore year of high school, attending the AYEA Civics and Conservation Summit. He joined because, in his own words, "It was a free trip to the capitol." Little did he know how the experience would change him. Verner soon became a spokesperson on salmon farming, subsistence, and oil/gas development issues affecting Alaska Natives through his high school years, and in 2005 wrote the famous "Letter to our Leaders" that became a statewide youth petition on global warming. Verner was recently selected to be a part of The Climate Project's first training team, in which he learned how to present Al Gore's power point on global warming. He is eager to spread the word about global warming's impact on the Alaska Native way of life and get thousands of people to act on this issue.