​The Polk Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in Oregon is partnering with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (CTGR) to protect ancestral lands and implement forest management practices with a $1.7 million grant awarded through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). These efforts aim to enhance and restore Oregon white oak habitat and associated wildlife species on private lands in Polk County. The plan also includes acquiring three permanently conserved tribal ancestral lands through the Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Fund and teaching private landowners how they incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and partner with CTGR in maintaining oak habitat on their land. To learn more about this program and how you can get involved, visit https://www.polkswcd.com/rcpp.html 

This video series features enrolled CTGR Tribal member and Cultural Policy Analysist Greg Archuleta, CTGR Native Plant Nursery Manager Jeremy Ojua and CTGR Restoration Ecologist Lindsay McClary, who is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of the Chippewa Indians. The series begins by defining TEK and its importance to landscape restoration, and describing the cultural significance of many native plant species. The second part of this series explains how landowners can incorporate the principles of TEK into their own land management strategies; features some of the plants available for purchase directly from the Grand Ronde Native Plant Nursery; and highlights one landowner’s story of how she is managing her cattle ranch to protect Oregon white oak and other native plants important to the Tribes.

​The videos were produced in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Polk Soil & Water Conservation District, and Luckiamute Watershed Council, with additional funding support from the Willamette Habitat Restoration Fund and Benton Soil & Water Conservation District. A big thank you also goes to videographer Grahame Bywater for his excellent work in filming, editing and producing these videos.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Core Concepts of TEK

​This is the first of a two-part video series focusing on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and how it can be incorporated into the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). This video begins by defining TEK and its importance to landscape restoration, and describing the ecological and cultural significance of many native plant species. 

Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Practical Applications of TEK

This is Part 2 of a two-part video series focusing on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and how it can be incorporated into the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). This video explains how landowners can incorporate the principles of TEK into their own land management strategies; features some of the plants available for purchase directly from the Grand Ronde Native Plant Nursery; and highlights one Polk County landowner’s story of how she is managing her cattle ranch to protect Oregon white oak and other native plants important to the Tribes.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge video series partners and funders:

**Project Funded through USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).