Thanks to the 800-plus registrants for the April 21 Romaine Calm & Carrot On! Activating Your Local Community Food & Resource Exchange webinar, we made a lot of new connections and generated some great ideas. People from at least 15 states and five other countries joined the conversation about helping our local communities, according to event hosts Nick Papadopoulos of CropMobster and Gabe Youtsey, UC ANR chief innovation officer.

The next step is to focus with smaller groups of dedicated individuals to organize and achieve results. The first CropMobster Cafe will be on Friday, May 8, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Participation in the cafe is free, but limited to the first 25 people to register who participated in the webinar and are signed up with CropMobster. In the small group session, Papadopoulos will highlight more practical how-to's, tips and best practices for sharing resources, trading food and supplies and building stronger local communities through mutual aid.

If you missed the Romaine Calm & Carrot On! webinar, you can view the

• PowerPoint Presentation PDF
• Recording 
• Highlights

Register for CropMobster Cafe at https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=30080.

“For bigger picture questions and regional leaders looking to activate your own community exchange campaign, we'd love to explore partnering,” said Youtsey. 

Contact Gabe Youtsey at (530) 750-1314 and gdyoutsey@ucanr.edu or Nick Papadopoulos at (707) 332-9209 and nick@cropmobster.com.

At http://ucanr.edu/COVID19communityresources, helpful links are compiled, including the Cal Ag Tour page to help consumers purchase directly from local farms and ranches.

While United States leaders continue to grapple with the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, many Californians have concerns about basic needs and safety connected with the illness and subsequent shelter-in-place guidelines. By its nature, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources can offer expertise to help them cope with this challenging situation.

People are wondering about food, water, exercise, educating their children and adjusting to a new lifestyle – topics covered by our nutrition, family and consumer sciences programs. In addition, UC ANR's expertise in agricultural science is invaluable for farmers who are essential businesses growing food for people in the United States and abroad. Natural resources programs are able to offer guidance for using outdoor facilities under the circumstances.

To make these practical resources easy to find, UC ANR leadership and Strategic Communications aggregated relevant information in one place on our website, http://ucanr.edu/COVID19communityresources. The webpage includes sections on “agriculture,” “food, water and nutrition,” “youth development,” “exploring your environment,” “gardening," and "health and wellness."

Fact sheets, like this food safety handout by Erin DiCaprio, can be printed and shared.

Please share this resource with your clientele, friends and family. If you have ANR resources that should be added to these pages, please email them to jewarnert@ucanr.edu.

UC ANR has a second website with COVID-19 information specifically for employees, found at http://ucanr.edu/COVID19. That site contains sections on:

• CDC guidelines and recommendations
• Telecommuting and remote work
• Travel
• Wellness and mental health resources
• Guidance for ANR locations and programs
• Program-specific guidance
• Additional resources

The University of California Office of the President invites comments on a proposed Presidential Policy on Native American Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation. The proposed policy substantively revises the existing Policy and Procedures on Curation and Repatriation of Human Remains and Cultural Items (“Current Policy”). The policy pertains to the treatment and repatriation of Native American and Native Hawaiian human remains and cultural items under the University's stewardship and the University's compliance with the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (“NAGPRA”), its accompanying regulations, and the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (“CalNAGPRA”). 

California AB 2836 (enacted in 2018 and now incorporated into CalNAGPRA) requires the University to revise its Current Policy. In collaboration with the Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation Policy Advisory Workgroup (“Workgroup”)[1] established by Provost Michael Brown, UC developed Version 1 of this revised policy (“Policy Version 1”), which underwent systemwide review in August 2019. Policy Version 1 was also distributed to stakeholders across California for comment, including California Native American tribes on the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) contact list and the NAHC itself. With the Workgroup, UC drafted a second version of this revised policy (“Policy Version 2”) in response to the feedback from the Academic Senate, Native American tribes, and the NAHC. UC then engaged in further consultation with California Native American tribes by inviting them to attend four public work sessions on UC campuses (UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Davis) in January and February 2020. In addition, UC representatives met with tribes one-on-one as requested to hear individual concerns. UC deliberated with the Workgroup to discuss concerns raised during the public work sessions, the one-on-one meetings, and letters sent by tribes and the NAHC. In conjunction with the Workgroup, UC drafted “Policy Version 3,” which is now being considered for systemwide review. Please visit http://ucal.us/nagpra for more details.

Below is a list of the significant changes present in Policy Version 3 from the current policy.                  

• Creates a list of principles that emphasize the repatriation of Native American and Native Hawaiian human remains as a fundamental objective and value of the University.
• Reconstitutes the Systemwide Committee and Campus Committees, if necessary, to include equal Native American representation.
• Shifts final approvals of repatriation to the campus from UCOP to reduce delays in repatriation; the Systemwide Committee and UCOP will provide an oversight role and hear appeals of campus decisions.
• Provides a detailed description of the Repatriation process via a Flowchart and Flowchart Narrative.
• Provides a detailed description of the Consultation process all campuses must use when engaging with Native American tribes.
• Requires campuses with NAGPRA/CalNAGPRA-eligible Cultural Items to appoint a Repatriation Coordinator to work with and assist Native American tribes to facilitate Repatriation.
• Incorporates a process for disposition of Culturally Unidentifiable Human Remains and Cultural Items to either federally recognized tribes or non-federally recognized tribes (including California Indian Tribes) via NAGPRA (43 C.F.R. §10.11) and/or CalNAGPRA (Ca H&SC §§8010-30). 
• Requires campuses create repatriation implementation plans including the following elements: invitations for consultation and proactive reevaluations of all previous determinations of culturally unidentifiable human remains or associated funerary objects; outreach to culturally affiliated tribes; outreach to controlling agencies to prompt and encourage their repatriation efforts; budgets; and timelines.
• Prohibits research, instruction, destructive analysis, and other manipulation without tribal approval requirements.
• Provides a more robust mechanism for tribes to appeal campus determinations.
• Provides a means for tribes to submit complaints about the consultation process or access.
• Provides direction for whistleblowers that would like to report noncompliance with this Policy.

[1] The Workgroup is comprised of four members nominated by the Academic Senate and four members nominated by the Native American Advisory Council, a body established by President Janet Napolitano to advise on a broad range of issues pertaining to Native Americans and Native Hawaiians at the University. 

The proposed policy is posted at https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Administration/Business_Operations/Controller/Administrative_Policies_-_Business_Contracts/Policy_and_administrative_handbooks/ANR_Administrative_Handbook/Recent_Updates/

If you have any questions or if you wish to comment, please contact Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu, no later than June 24, 2020. Please indicate “Native American Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation” in the subject line.

The University of California Office of the President invites comments on a proposed Presidential Policy, UC Seismic Safety Policy, UC-CR-17-0324. The policy is proposed to be revised and includes the following key issues:

• Policy implementation procedures are moved from the Policy and published to the UCOP website within the UC Facilities Manual. The UC Facilities Manual is a repository for information and procedures related to UC Capital Programs practices.
• Technical seismic engineering standards are updated to reflect current California Building Code and industry standards, and where applicable, specification of technical seismic engineering standards are moved from the Policy to the UC Facilities Manual.

Policy requirements are clarified, and sections of the policy text are re-organized into a more logical sequence for clarity.

The proposed policy is posted at https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Administration/Business_Operations/Controller/Administrative_Policies_-_Business_Contracts/Policy_and_administrative_handbooks/ANR_Administrative_Handbook/Recent_Updates/

If you have any questions or if you wish to comment, please contact Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu, no later than July 20, 2020. Please indicate “UC Seismic Safety Policy” in the subject line.

Rachel Lloyd
Project Policy Analyst