Department Overview

The Rincon Environmental Department promotes, develops and executes environmental strategies and programs consistent with the culture, vision and priorities of the Rincon Tribal Government and Membership. The Rincon Environmental Department is also responsible for managing, protecting, enhancing, restoring, and conserving the Tribe’s natural resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

The Rincon Environmental Department manages all environmental protection programs on the Reservation, including the development of regulatory, non-regulatory, community education and outreach programs, and is responsible for the development and the enforcement of tribal environmental ordinances, enhancing tribal sovereignty. The Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians has received Treatment as a State (TAS) status from U.S. EPA for the development of water quality standards and EPA Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification programs.

The Department hosts or participates in annual community events such as Clean Up Day and Intertribal Earth Day, and prepares community informational leaflets and brochures on various environmental topics. Current environmental programs focus on water quality, solid waste disposal, non-point source pollution prevention, climate resilience, natural resource surveys and endangered species management. The Environmental Department is committed to seeking out additional funding opportunities to support the environmental policies of the Tribe.

Environmental Department Programs

• Water Quality
• Solid Waste Management
• Air Quality
• Endangered Species and Habitat Protection
• Oak Trees and Invasive Species
• Education & Outreach
• Rincon C.A.R.E.S
• Climate Adaptation & Sustainability

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The Rincon Virtual Earth Day event is educational and interactive, and available to Tribal members as well as other members of the public through the link above. A total of 12 short 3-5 minute films about Rincon-relevant environmental topics told from a cultural perspective were created for this event. Narrators of the film clips include Tribal Council members, Rincon Elders, and Rincon Youth, as well as other topic experts. The films are intended to create awareness about culturally and environmentally relevant topics on the Rincon Reservation; however, Rincon shares many of the same concerns that Rincon’s neighboring tribes and other communities do, so these short films can be useful and relevant to all website visitors. Flyers and brochures on each topic are available for download and a short 3 question quiz on the topic is available after viewing each short film.

The Rincon Virtual Earth Day concept arose during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as a means of being able to convey environmental messages in a socially distanced and responsible way when crowded group in-person activities could not take place due health and safety concerns.

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