Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission tribes sign agreement forming a USDA conservation district

Member tribes of the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission have created a conservation district with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, covering tribes across the Yukon, Kuskokwim and Bering Sea regions. Tribal representatives signed the Mutual Agreement on Oct. 1 at the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage, completing the document.

The new Bering Sea Interior Tribal Conservation District partners those tribes with the department's Natural Resources Conservation Service to set local conservation priorities and keep natural resources sustainable for subsistence, according to the USDA announcement. The agreement sets a framework for technical, financial and educational resources.

Frank Katchatag, chairman of both the commission and the new district, said tribes hope their traditional ecological knowledge can guide natural resource conservation. He called the district the start of a collaboration with the federal government "toward protecting our way of life for our children and grandchildren."

Alan McBee, the agency's Alaska state conservationist, called the districts a priority and "a critical step to establish local conservation priorities."

The request reached USDA in 2025. The Office of the Secretary of Agriculture reviewed the agreement, and NRCS Chief Colton L. Buckley signed for the department on May 27.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's 2023 America the Beautiful Challenge earlier awarded the Holy Cross Tribe $1.207 million to develop the district concept, according to the foundation's grant record.

The announcement does not list the participating tribes or say how many signed. The 2023 grant record described the commission as having 38 tribes. The commission's website now lists 44 member tribes.

NRCS lists 25 Tribal Conservation Districts in Alaska. This is one of three dated this year, along with the Native Village of Goodnews Bay and Salamatof districts, according to the agency's guide to forming them. The oldest, Tyonek, dates to 2005.