Tribal Environmental Protection Agency
William Matsubu, Ph.D.
Environmental Director
Ava Iorizzo
Environmental Coordinator
Alexandra Toyofuku
Climate Specialist
Michael Shackelford
Land Conservation Specialist
Grace Poitras
Garden Manager
Karley Rojas
Native Plant Specialist
The Environmental Programs Department was created in 1998 with the mission to preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources of both the Blue Lake Rancheria and Tribal ancestral area.
Our Mission
Blue Lake Rancheria’s Tribal Environmental Protection Agency (TEPA) strives to serve the Tribal community for generations to come through several program areas focused on ecological stewardship and sustainability. We participate in several long-term planning activities to structure and prioritize our work: a US EPA Tribal Environmental Plan, Tribal MultiHazard Mitigation Plan, Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment & Management Plan, and Climate Adaptation Plan. We welcome input on your environmental concerns, and encourage you to follow the Tribe’s social media pages for announcements about our work.
Community Outreach
Air Quality
Watershed Health
BLR TEPA seeks to protect and enhance the Mad River watershed through routine baseline data collection, watershed education, riparian planting and stream restoration projects, co-management of fisheries, and outreach to the greater community.
Solid Waste Management
Climate Adaptation Planning
Food Sovereignty
Tribal EPA is dedicated to enhancing Tribal food sovereignty in our region. At our Daluviwi’ Community Garden we grow fresh food that is distributed to elders and other community members. In an effort to reduce the Tribe’s overall carbon emissions, garden staff also operate a composting program through a USDA Community Composting and Food Waste Reduction grant. This program composts pre-consumer food scraps from the Tribe’s two commercial kitchens, from the Tribe’s Powers Creek Brewery, and from Honeycomb Coffee, a local coffee shop in the town of Blue Lake. When mature, this compost is used in the garden to build soil health and increase crop yields.
Additional Food Sovereignty Resources:
Tribal Historic Preservation Office
The Blue Lake Rancheria’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) works to protect and manage Tribal Cultural Resources in ancestral Wiyot territory. The THPO is consulted by federal, state, and local government staff, as well as private businesses, to ensure that these cultural resources are kept safe and treated respectfully. The THPO also periodically confers with other THPOs to identify, address, and successfully manage important Native American cultural resources in California and across the country.
