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Wind River Development Fund details $36 million EDA award and projects to boost reservation economy
Summary
Erica Yarber, chief operating officer of the Wind River Development Fund, told the Fremont County Board of Commissioners that the organization has received a $36 million award from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to fund eight projects on the Wind River Indian Reservation, including a buffalo center, a cultural incubation program, new tribal fish-and-game facilities and workforce training tied to ecotourism.
Erica Yarber, chief operating officer of the Wind River Development Fund, told the Fremont County Board of Commissioners that the organization and its partners have been awarded $36 million by the U.S. Economic Development Administration to support eight projects on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
The package Yarber and Paul Huberty, the fund's executive director, described to commissioners includes a roughly $9.75 million buffalo center, a cultural center and incubation program ("almost $10 million," Yarber said), a $6.5 million fish-and-game/ecotourism building, planning for tribal land-sovereignty issues, food-sovereignty investments, health and workforce investments and an outdoor-recreation program. Yarber said the Wind River group originally requested $47 million from EDA and learned last August that the awarded amount would be $36 million.
Why it matters: the presenters said the program is meant to pair economic development with cultural preservation on the Wind River Indian Reservation and to create jobs and higher wages over a five-year grant period. Yarber called their approach a "Native Sovereignty Model," saying the projects aim to "strengthen our culture" while also creating economic opportunity.
The eight funded projects described by Yarber and Huberty include:
- A tribal buffalo center on private land managed by Jason Valdez, described as about 15,000 square feet to house artifacts and serve as a center for education and ecotourism. Yarber and Huberty said the center will include an outdoor pavilion and outdoor education elements.
- A cultural center incubation project to staff and sustain the museum and related programs; Yarber described this as a near-$10 million construction and operating effort that will support a curator and technical staff.
- A new tribal fish-and-game facility across from the Hot Springs, described as a $6.5 million administrative, museum and equipment storage site for Art Lisonbee and tribal wardens.
- A land-sovereignty planning effort to help tribes and partners navigate Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) processes and reservation land status that can create barriers to development.
- A $4.2 million food-sovereignty investment to support production, a 30-acre demonstration farm and expanded distribution across the reservation; presenters said a new food pantry is part of that work.
- A $3 million tribal health investment aimed at chronic disease prevention and workforce supports.
- A $5 million-plus workforce development program with Central Wyoming College to offer six certifications on the reservation (including certified nursing assistant and basic EMT), paired with wraparound services such as GED support, childcare and transportation vouchers.
- An outdoor-recreation program, described as roughly $10.5 million in total, to upgrade trailheads, lake access (boat ramps, restrooms), cabins and other visitor amenities on several sites and to revitalize community recreation facilities.
Presenters said the award is largely reimbursement-based; the fund must spend first and seek federal reimbursement. Yarber told commissioners the group has raised roughly $4 million in donor cash to help cash-flow projects during the five-year grant period. The fund also said it won a separate $4 million award from the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Office, and Huberty said the group was one of about 60 EDA awardees out of roughly 565 applications nationally.
On workforce and emergency response: Yarber and Huberty emphasized the training programs include a basic EMT certification because the reservation currently lacks ambulance services. A county commissioner asked whether the grant could support an ambulance service or ambulance barn; Yarber said the workforce development funding covers training and that local partners, including landowners, have discussed donating land for an ambulance barn and helipad near the Hot Springs site. Yarber also urged early engagement with the Wyoming Department of Health on curriculum and licensing for EMT training.
Governance and accountability: Yarber said the grant includes a governance and capacity-building component to add staff and financial controls for the multi-partner award; when asked about the allocation to that governance piece, a county commissioner cited an amount of approximately $5.4 million. Yarber said the applicant (the Wind River Development Fund) will manage audits, reporting and partner capacity building, and that the EDA award requires detailed budget compliance and federal oversight.
No formal county action was taken when the fund presented; the session was a briefing and discussion. Yarber and Huberty invited commissioners and county staff to visit the project sites and said they would return with updates.
Ending: Fund leaders said their priority is to create sustainable enterprises that benefit reservation residents first while also capturing tourist spending that now largely bypasses reservation businesses. Yarber closed by noting the dual aims of culture and jobs: "If we can balance those things, strengthen our culture ... while at the same time creating equal economic opportunity, then we would see that as a big success."
