VIRGINIA’S NATURAL RESOURCE AGENCIES UNDER STRESS

EXPANDING ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY

TRIBAL LEADERSHIP TO MEET VIRGINIA’S CLIMATE CHALLENGES

PROTECTING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES

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For more than 15,000 years, Tribal Nations in the Chesapeake watershed have maintained relationships with the same lands and waters Virginia seeks to protect today.¹ Through cultural burning, restoration, seed keeping, aquaculture, and other practices, Indigenous Peoples increased species diversity, enhanced fisheries biomass, improved water quality, and built ecological resilience.² The ecological richness of the Chesapeake region reflects centuries of Indigenous stewardship.³ Today, Indigenous Guardians programs, led by Tribal Nations, have returned $3 in conservation benefits for every $1 invested, with additional benefits including workforce development, dam removal, invasive species detection, and improved community health.⁴

Virginia is home to eleven state-recognized Tribal Nations, seven of which hold federal recognition. Federally recognized Tribal Nations maintain a government-to-government relationship with the United States rooted in the Federal Trust Responsibility.⁵ This relationship carries obligations distinct from those extended to other stakeholders and establishes a foundation of Tribal engagement that state agencies can build upon.

Since 1930, Virginia has seen more than 14 inches of sea level rise, the highest rate on the Atlantic Coast, accelerating the sinking of communities like Hampton Roads and threatening Tribal homelands, including the Pamunkey Reservation, one of the oldest Tribal reservations in the United States.^6,7 Coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion, and increased flooding threaten communities that have lived in relationship with these waters for generations.

Projections warn of increased warming, precipitation, and tidal flooding statewide.⁸ Because Tribal Nations are on the front lines of these threats, they have led climate resiliency planning with state and federal agencies and nonprofit partners.⁹ The Commonwealth has a vested interest in formally engaging Indigenous knowledge and directly funding Tribal work.

Virginia has made progress toward formalizing its relationship with Tribal Nations on environmental matters. In 2024, Va. Code § 2.2-401.01 took effect, establishing a Tribal Consultation Ombudsman and requiring the Virginia Departments of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Virginia Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Virginia Historic Resources (DHR), and Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) to build formal consultation processes with federally recognized Tribal Nations.¹⁰ 

Tribal Nations have authored climate resiliency plans that engage federal agencies and conservation organizations. For example, the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe has rematriated 853 acres of shoreline along the Mattaponi River in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and DEQ to restore that land and water.¹¹11 Tribal stewardship efforts are not integrated into the Commonwealth’s conservation data, representing a gap in how Virginia measures progress toward its goals.

The 2025 revision of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement formally recognizes the importance of Indigenous Knowledge and the need for meaningful Tribal engagement.¹² This recognition has not yet been reflected in the Chesapeake Bay Program’s implementation or governance structure.¹³ In December 2025, the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership Executive Council unanimously approved a change directing development of recommendations on how Tribal Nations should be included as governmental participants in Bay restoration, including exploration of signatory status for the Indigenous Conservation Council (ICC).¹⁴ Virginia’s support for Tribal Nations’ leadership in this process is essential to progress on restoration goals.

Virginia’s conservation programs should prioritize funding and outreach to Tribal Nations, removing barriers such as match requirements, to support and fund tribally-led initiatives through state funding.¹⁵ Providing direct funding to Tribal Nations for restoration and resilience initiatives reflects Tribal Nations’ governmental status while advancing the Commonwealth’s environmental goals.¹⁶

Virginia’s consultation law established an important foundation for state-Tribal relations, but significant decisions affecting Tribal interests continue to fall outside its current scope.¹⁷ Expanding that framework to ensure meaningful engagement whenever state actions may affect Tribal lands, waters, cultural resources, citizens, or governmental interests would better reflect Tribal Nations’ status as sovereign governments. 

Beyond minimum consultation requirements, the Commonwealth can encourage counties, project developers, and other stakeholders to engage Tribal Nations.¹⁸ Meaningful engagement means sharing project information at the earliest planning stages, allowing sufficient time to review and respond, incorporating input into project design, maintaining open communication through implementation and monitoring, and providing adequate funding to support Tribal Nations’ capacity, including designating Tribal liaison staff.¹⁹ Early coordination can improve project planning, reduce conflicts and delays, and shed light on potential impacts before they become more difficult or costly. 

Virginia’s existing environmental funding programs present an opportunity to support Tribal-led stewardship and co-stewardship. States including Washington, California, and those in the Great Lakes have established Tribal-specific allocations that enable Tribal Nations to implement environmental priorities that benefit all residents.²⁰ Direct Tribal allocations, rather than competitive grants, reflect the governmental status of Tribal Nations, producing stronger conservation investments and building the agency capacity needed to advance the Commonwealth’s conservation and climate resilience goals. 

Virginia can play an important role in demonstrating what government-to-government relations look like, including how state funding programs are directed to support Tribal Nations as governmental partners in climate resilience. As Virginia marks America’s 250th anniversary, formal agreements between the Commonwealth’s executive leadership and Tribal Nations can signal that Virginia is serious about honoring Tribal sovereignty, not just acknowledging it.

¹ Secretary of the Commonwealth. (2026). Virginia Indians. https://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/virginia-indians/uiz-Ramón, M. (2026). Content analysis of Virginia State Budgets FY11-FY26 [Data set]. Virginia Department of Planning and Budget. https://budget.lis.virginia.gov/

² Jorgensen, M. (2025, September 30). Experts, not obstacles: Indigenous conservation excellence and the trap of conservation at any cost [Policy Brief]. Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. https://ash.harvard.edu/resources/experts-not-obstacles-indigenous-conservation-excellence-and-the-trap-of-conservation-at-any-cost/

³ Ehrenreich, M. A. (2025, March 27). Why the Chesapeake Bay Needs Indigenous Knowledge. Indigenous Chesapeake Council. https://www.indigenous-chesapeake.net/post/why-indige

⁴ Pearlman, C. (2024, May 4). Where there are guardians, there are benefits. Indigenous Leadership Initiative. https://www.ilinationhood.ca/publications/wherethereareguardianstherearebenefits

⁵ NARF. (2025, November 19). About Tribal Nations, Tribal Citizens, and the United States. Native American Rights Fund. https://narf.org/about-tribal-nations-united-states-treaties/

⁶ CBF. (2026, April 22). Sea level rise. Chesapeake Bay Foundation. https://www.cbf.org/issues/sea-level-rise/

⁷ National Trust for Historic Preservation. (2025). Pamunkey Indian Reservation: National Trust for Historic Preservation. Saving Places. https://savingplaces.org/places/pamunkey

⁸ Ruess, P.J., Kinter, J., Ferreira, C.M., Ortiz, L.E., Ellis, A.W., Ermagun, A., Ezer, T., Fox, A. Klinger, B., Maggioni, V., Peterson, T., Allen, M., Burls, N.J., Cash, B., Clower, T.L, Costadone, L., Dollan, I.J., GonzálezDueñas, C., Henneman, R.F., Homan, J.D., Larson, M., Lindquist, H., Mitcham, M.B., Mitchell, M., de Lima, A.d.S, Tong, D., Ugliano, A., Whitehead, J. (2025). First Virginia Climate Assessment. Virginia Climate Center George Mason University. https:// doi.org/10.13021/MARS/15226

⁹ MIN Environmental Department. (n.d.). MIN Environmental Department. Monican Indian Nation. Retrieved June 10, 2026, from https://www.monacannation.gov/environmental.html

¹⁰ Liaison to Virginia Indian tribes, Va. Code § 2.2-401.01 (2024). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title2.2/chapter4/section2.2-401.01/

¹¹ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management. (2023, October). Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe’s Return To the River. NOAA Office for Coastal Management. https://coast.noaa.gov/states/stories/ancestral-lands.html

¹² Chesapeake Bay Program, Chesapeake Progress. (2025) Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Chesapeake Bay Program. https://www.chesapeakebay.net/files/documents/CBWA-2025-IV-Final-Facing.pdf

¹³ Wiederkehr, L., Tupponce, C. (2026). Returning to Indigenous knowledge: coastal preservation success stories in Tribal-federal-state partnerships. Sea Grant Law & Policy Journal, 14:2, 180.

¹⁴ Chesapeake Bay Program. (2025). Chesapeake Executive Council Charge to the Principals’ Staff Committee: Tribes as a Formal and Enduring Partner in the Chesapeake Bay Program. (Charge). https://www.chesapeakebay.net/files/documents/EC-Background_Tribal-Partnership-EC-Charge.pdf

¹⁵ Environmental Defense Fund. (2026). Rejoining RGGI is a Huge Win for Virginia Climate and Communities. Environmental Defense Fund. https://www.edf.org/media/rejoining-rggi-huge-win-virginia-climate-and-communities

¹⁶ Halter, C. (2022). Climate Commitment Act. Washington Department of Ecology. https://ecology.wa.gov/air-climate/climate-commitment-act

¹⁷ Policies for consultation with federally recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth, Va. Code § 10.1-2205.1 (2024). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title10.1/chapter22/section10.1-2205-1/

¹⁸ California Indian Legal Services (2025) 2025-2026 California Legislative Session Bill Analysis. CILS. https://www.calindian.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AB-52-Native-American-resources-PUBLIC-4-24-2025.pdf

¹⁹ Swanson, G. (2025, June 27). Government-to-Government Consultation in Michigan: Best Practices and Implementation [Report to the Commonwealth]. Indigenous Conservation Council of the Chesapeake Bay. https://www.indigenous-chesapeake.net/post/looking-ahead-strengthening-tribal-sovereignty-in-the-chesapeake

²⁰ Wiederkehr, L., Tupponce, C. (2026). Returning to Indigenous knowledge: coastal preservation success stories in Tribal-federal-state partnerships. Sea Grant Law & Policy Journal, 14:2, 180.