Tribal Fish & Wildlife Capacity Building
Tribal Fish and Wildlife programs are diverse in their departments, number of staff, funding and natural resource priorities. Despite their diversity, Tribes share common barriers which includes limited funding and staff.
In 2025, NAFWS piloted the Tribal Certified Technician Program that focuses on continued education for the boots-on-the-ground Tribal technicians.
CERTIFIED TRIBAL TECHNICIAN PROGRAM
NAFWS’ vision for the Certified Tribal Technician Program is to offer professional certification training for Tribal staff with the equivalency as a Fisheries Technician or an Invasive Species Technician to assist building Tribal capacity for Tribes.
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To achieve this, we will:
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Promote Tribal programs and assist in the building of Tribal capacity by offering professional training opportunities.
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Provide training skills that expand or enhance knowledge for professional fish and wildlife/natural resources staff.
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Focus on concepts related to Fishery and/or Invasive Species Management to build Tribal capacities to implement in comprehensive Fish and Wildlife/Natural Resources Management Programs.
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The goal of the training program is to increase awareness, knowledge, and implementation of best management practices related to fisheries and invasive species management, and monitoring by Tribal professionals and field staff.
Through engagement with NAFWS membership and Tribes, the realization of limitation in program capacity, specifically, staff and training building, creates a burden for fish, wildlife, natural resources, and environmental programs to recruit and retain qualified staff that results in the cyclic rotation of hiring, training, and recruiting. Often, Tribal personnel are hired and trained, but due to funding loss or competitive hiring, they are lost and the investment for the program is lapsed, only to shift into the same rotation again. It has been identified that staff technicians are often retained due to their “tie” to Tribal communities as they are often Tribal citizens that have entered the field of conservation work as youth workers or internships.
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Technician Certifications are a NAFWS members-only program designed to assist Tribes in the building of tribal capacity in Natural Resources, Environmental, or Wildlife Programs. Individuals must maintain membership with NAFWS for certification to remain valid. Applicants must be currently employed with a federally recognized Tribe at the time of certification and must be supported by nomination or resolution from said Tribe. Completion of certification training standard requirement must be done within 18 months from application selection and must have the validation from the NAFWS Executive Director upon completion of the certification requirements.
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For Invasive Species Technician Curriculum:
Mitzi Reed, Invasive Species Coordinator, MReed@nafws.org
For Fisheries Technician Curriculum:
Sean Cross, Fish & Wildlife Biologist, Scross@nafws.org
