Oklahoma Receives Recognition for Poster Presentations at Conference

Conference attendees discuss posters with presenters.


Oklahoma Tribal Resource Conservationist Melanie Oliver, discusses Osage grazing with conference attendee.

Conference participant listens as Art Muller talks about the Oklahoma Tribal Conservation Advisory Council.

For the second year in a row, the American Indian Alaska Native Employees Association (AIANEA) and the Asian Pacific Islander Organization (APIO) held a joint employee training conference. This year’s conference took place in Spokane, Washington, August 11-15, 2008.

Attendees were given the opportunity to share their NRCS success stories through poster presentations. Stories varied from partnership successes, to delivery of conservation programs to all populations, to the effectiveness of NRCS services and practices being implemented across the nation. There were a total of 27 poster presentations.

NRCS Oklahoma received recognition for presenting four posters. Carol Crouch, district conservationist and national AIAN civil rights committee member, presented two posters entitled, “NRCS Oklahoma: Working Effectively with American Indian Tribes Across Oklahoma”, and “Conservation on Tribal Lands…Through Strong Partnerships”. Ann Colyer, Tribal resource conservationist for the Choctaw Nation, presented “Choctaw Nation—Conservation & Outreach”. Melanie Oliver, Tribal resource conservationist and the Native American Program Manager for the Oklahoma civil rights committee presented a poster entitled “Osage Grazing Symposium”.

Mowana Koyiyumptewa, AIANEA youth member, received a $200 scholarship from the Oklahoma Tribal Conservation Advisory Council (OTCAC) for her poster presentation. The presentation featured the significance of corn within her Hopi culture.

Others displaying posters at the conference were the OTCAC, the NRCS national civil rights committee members, and the National Active and Retired Federal Employee (NARFE) Association.