If you are not already familiar with the handy-dandy GAP Calendar on our Region 10 Tribal Programs website, here’s a quick reminder that you can find the major deadlines for the GAP grant here. Up next: Annual Federal Financial Reports (SF-425s) are due December 30 for grantees operating on the federal fiscal year. We are happy to accept them now. 😊

The National Association of Wetland Managers (NAWM) will host its annual coordination meetingApril 27-30, 2026, in Shepherdstown, WV. Applications are now being accepted for the Jon A. Kusler Student Scholarship Award, which funds all expenses for one or more U.S.-based students to attend the meeting. Any student with a declared major in wetland (or other aquatic resource) science, science policy, law, or a related field in either the undergraduate or graduate level is eligible to apply. Students must submit:

• Letter of recommendation from a faculty advisor.
• One-page letter answering the following questions: (1) What is your declared major? (2) Why did you choose your declared major? (3) What do you plan to do with your degree? (4) How will attending NAWM’s annual STFC Meeting help you advance your career? 
• Apply by Dec. 5

If you wish to register for the meeting, early bird rates end on December 31. 

Register

EPA has updated guidance and streamlined processes for investigating and cleaning up lead in residential soil at contaminated sites and emphasizing early collaboration with state and local partners communities. The updated guidance establishes: 

• Regional screening level of 200 parts per million for lead in residential soil.
• Regional removal management level of 600 parts per million for lead in residential soil.
• Target children’s blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter to determine preliminary remediation goals.

EPA will be implementing process improvements to accelerate the reduction of lead exposure in communities and provide more tools to keep families and children safe.

The Federal Government is shut down again, placing Indian Country in jeopardy as trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations go unpaid. Even with advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service, most other Tribal programs will be severely impacted, including wrap-around health care services provided through federal awards outside of IHS that save Native lives.

Indian Country needs your stories to help bring the shutdown data and numbers to life. Tribal programs represent more than faceless bureaucrats carrying out programs handed down by Washington. Congress has been shown the data for years, and we know that bringing the data to life makes a difference.

Click here to fill out the survey.  

Click here for government shutdown resources.

Hosted by the North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA), the International Invasive Species and Climate Change Conference will feature sessions on management success, understanding and managing pathways, early career research, and more. The conference is free and will be held virtually.

• Register

Hosted by the Northwest Environmental Business Council, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and Washington Department of Ecology, the Northwest Environmental Business Council Conference provides insights and practical strategies to tackle pressing environmental and business challenges. Areas of learning include regulations, permitting & reporting, emerging technologies, policy & regulatory updates, the business side of sustainability, contaminated property cleanup, hot topic conversations, and management issues. The conference will be held in person in Portland, OR.

• Register

In this August 27 webinar, the University of Washington’s Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center reviews current knowledge and practice around climate-driven extreme heat events and their impacts on Northwest species and ecosystems. This synthesis is the result of a workshop that convened natural resource managers and scientists from Northwest Tribes, universities, non-profit and private sectors, and federal and state governments.

• Watch the recording

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can, if used responsibly, lead to better communications, greater efficiency, and more effective strategies. Hosted by the Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC), this webinar focuses on 

• Practical ways to experiment and implement AI tools to support daily public health communications.
• Risks associated with using AI in public health communications, including inaccurate information, overreliance, controlling for mental health risks, and community perception of your team’s use of AI.
• Current best practices to ensure AI-assisted communications remain aligned with your organization’s values and goals.
  
  • Watch the webinar

EPA’s factsheet, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Protect Your Family and Yourself, discusses what carbon monoxide is, sources of carbon monoxide inside homes, symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure, and the actions you can take to prevent exposure. EPA’s infographic, Carbon Monoxide Alarms: Protect Your Family and Yourself, demonstrates where to properly place carbon monoxide alarms inside your home and emphasizes maintenance of the alarm and following manufacturer instructions along with any local building codes. Share these resources with your community.

New to GAP? We’ve got you covered. Review EPA Region 10’s New Staff Toolkit to get a clear understanding of the job ahead.

And if you ever had trouble finding GAP resources, we took care of that, too. Go to the Region 10 Tribal Programs homepage and scan down to the blue bar. Click on the link to Learn about GAP to find administrative resources and other information for GAP grantees in Region 10.

Scientists at Alaska Pacific University (APU) are studying how microplastics move through Alaska water, and developing the first in-state lab accredited to test water samples for microplastics. 

• Learn about it from Alaska Public Media.

Storytelling is an essential part of successful grant writing, and having strong data to support your community’s story will give you a significant boost in the competition. EPA recommends a number of mapping and analysis tools that can help you showcase local challenges, highlight community needs, and illustrate the impact of your project. Some of these tools include:

• UST Finder – An interactive map to help you identify and locate underground storage tanks and releases across the U.S. 
• Cleanups in My Community – Lets you see and share where cleanup and redevelopment projects are happening nationwide. 
• RE-Powering Mapper – Identifies renewable energy opportunities on contaminated lands, landfills, and mine sites. 
• EnviroAtlas – Gives access to a wide range of EPA environmental data for your community.

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Programs (ITEP) has developed the Online Resource Center Access (ORCA) tool, a searchable list of electronic resources for Tribal environmental programs. ORCA may include technical documents and reports, handbooks, videos, brochures, factsheets, and other types of resources. Tribes can help populate the database by sharing their environmental management and planning documents, such as Quality Assurance Plans, Standard Operating Procedures for operating air and water monitoring equipment, and examples of climate adaptation plans. 

• Contact Mansel Nelson at mansel.nelson@nau.edu to share your documents with the ORCA database.

The National Center for Disaster Preparedness, a part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), offers Tribal Nation trainings to address preparedness gaps. Courses are free to host and free for learners to attend. The Center is looking for Tribal Nation training hosts for:

• AWR-307-V: Identifying Community Preparedness Resources for Tribal Nations – This four-hour, live virtual, instructor-led course provides participants with basic information on community preparedness within the unique context of Tribal Nations, highlighting approaches to resilience across different communities. 
• PER-315: Using Community Engagement to Enhance Emergency Preparedness in Tribal Nations – This seven-hour, in-person course focuses on preparing community members in Tribal Nations for hazards to help enhance community resilience. 
• PER-317-V: Risk Communication Techniques within Tribal Nations – This four-hour, live virtual, instructor-led course explores the nuances of effective risk communication within Tribal Nations. 
• MGT-326: Developing Emergency Management Programs within Tribal Nations – This seven-hour, in-person course focuses on developing and improving emergency management programs within Tribal Nations. 
  
  • Learn more and apply.

Meet the Clean Air Superheroes! Join Mateo and his friends as they learn about radon indoors and become superheroes defeating it in their homes.  Follow along through fun, comic-book style illustrations and complete interactive activities. 
 

• Download the activity book for use in your community. 

Meet the Air Cleaning Allies as they help a family learn about and deal with sources of indoor particle pollution. Follow along in the story and complete a series of activities to learn about filtration and air cleaning with Merv the air filter, Aerie the air cleaner, and DJ the do-it-yourself air cleaner.

• Download the activity book for use in your community.

September 30 marks the end of the fiscal year. The following activities will help you keep your grant house in order as you prepare for FY26:

• Ensure that all progress reporting and deliverables are complete. 
• Ensure that all receipts are on file and drawdowns have been made. 
• The Annual SF-425 is not due until Dec. 30, but you can begin preparing it whenever your final drawdown is complete.
• If you are in the final year of your grant, talk with your Project Officer about preparing for closeout.

The annual State/Tribal/Federal Coordination Meeting hosted by the National Association of Wetland Managers (NAWM) will be an opportunity to gather as a wetland community of practice, build partnerships, and explore new opportunities for wetland protection and restoration.

• Register. Early bird registration ends Sept. 30.
• Call for Abstracts. Submit an abstract by Sept. 30.
• Apply for a student scholarship by Nov. 14.

Hosted by Sea Grant Alaska, the Mariculture Conference of Alaska will be held in person in Anchorage, AK. Engage with members of the mariculture industry, hear from experts and connect with farmers, processors, researchers, community leaders and other professionals. (AI says mariculture is the cultivation of marine organisms like fish, shellfish, and seaweed in controlled marine environments, such as open-ocean cages or tanks, to produce food and other products. I had to look that up. 😊) 

• Submit an abstract by Oct. 3.
• Register for the conference.