Indigenous Conservation Council

Indigenous Conservation Council, a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Alexandria, Virginia, operates as a recipient of federal grants supporting tribal stewardship, watershed restoration, and ecosystem market access for indigenous and historically marginalized forest landowners. The organization does not hold federal contracts as a prime or subcontractor; all federal funding flows through the grant channel, where ICC acts as a prime recipient (33% of recent awards) and as a sub-recipient under larger conservation initiatives (67%).

ICC's federal footprint is nascent and concentrated in conservation and environmental restoration. The organization holds one prime federal grant: a $1,999,637 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service under the Inflation Reduction Act Landscape Scale Restoration program (CFDA 10.731), awarded December 20, 2024, running through December 19, 2029. The grant funds a five-year initiative titled "Empowering Tribal Stewardship and Capacity Building for Ecosystem Market Participation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed," with explicit objectives to increase climate change adaptation and forest health, facilitate market access for underserved and historically marginalized landowners in emerging environmental markets such as carbon offset and ecosystem services programs, and support non-industrial private forest landowners in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed region. ICC also appears as a sub-recipient under two larger grants: a Chesapeake Bay Trust initiative titled "Movement Capacity: Supporting Indigenous-Led Conservation in the Chesapeake Bay" (awarded October 16, 2025) and a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation award focused on establishing a Chesapeake Bay watershed conservation council led by federally recognized indigenous tribes, protecting cultural resources, and rebuilding fish and wildlife habitats (awarded December 13, 2024). Customer agencies include the Department of Agriculture Forest Service Region 8-Southern Region, the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5, and the Environmental Protection Agency Region 3. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $2.2 million, with activity beginning in late 2024 and one sub-award extending into October 2025.