The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs has submitted a plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approval to administer hemp production on its lands. If approved, the plan could help create jobs in the hemp business to fill employment gaps caused by the recent closure of tribal run entities.

Warm Springs is one of 11 tribes listed on the USDA website to have a hemp plan under review. Oregon is also listed as one of several states that also has an application under review.

The number of hemp farms has soared since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which clarified the regulatory framework for businesses working in the hemp industry. Hemp oil is now making its way into all manner of everyday products, from dog food and beverages to creams promising arthritis relief.

The industrial hemp market is expected to grow from $4.6 billion in 2019 to $26.6 billion by 2025, according to a report published in June by MarketsandMarkets, a market research and consulting firm.

A hemp farm would add badly needed jobs in Warm Springs, which was hard hit by the closure of the Kah-Nee-Ta resort a year ago, ending the jobs of around 150 workers. That followed the 2016 closure of the reservation-owned timber mill, where 85 jobs were lost.

Warm Springs Ventures — the economic development arm for the tribe — declined to comment for this story on the specifics of the plan submitted to the USDA.

The reservation has been mulling some form of cannabis business since it became legal in Oregon in 2015.

In 2015 tribal members approved a plan to develop a 100% owned, operated and regulated cannabis cultivation project on the reservation. The referendum passed with 86% approval. The tribe held a groundbreaking ceremony for a marijuana facility in April 2016.

“It was a good turnout and overwhelmingly the voters supported the development of a cannabis business. The plan was to have a farm and a few stores. Then nothing happened,” said Dustin Seyler, small business program manager for the Community Action Team, an organization that helps tribal members develop small businesses and build financial independence.

Seyler said tribal leaders became skittish due to rules that still made cannabis illegal at the federal level, even though it had been made legal by the state of Oregon. But the legalization of hemp at the federal level last year has eased concerns.

Other tribes that have submitted plans to the USDA for review include the Flandreau Santee Sioux (South Dakota), Fort Belknap Reservation (Montana), the La Jolla Band of Luisenon Indians (California), Navajo Nation, Oglala Sioux (South Dakota), Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, Pueblo of Picuris (New Mexico), Santa Rosa Cahuilla (California), Santee (Nebraska) and the Yurok Tribe (California).

Applications to the USDA to administer hemp production have also been submitted by 11 states, including Oregon.

“The ODA is submitting a plan so that we have regulatory authority over hemp in Oregon,” said Sunny Summers, cannabis policy coordinator for the Oregon Department of Agriculture. “This will be a delegated authority like we have for pesticides and food safety from our federal partners.”

Hemp in Oregon is mainly grown for cannabidiol, or CBD oil, which is said to have numerous health and wellness benefits. But hemp can also be processed into various commercial items, including textiles, clothing, insulation, biofuel, animal feed and paper.

To remain a legal product, industrial hemp can contain no more than 0.3% of THC, the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis.

The Farm Bill comes with added benefits for hemp farmers, including crop insurance and loans from the Farm Service Agency, which operates under the USDA. Conservation programs to help farmers improve water quality and reduce soil erosion will also be available from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Seyler believes Warm Springs residents largely support hemp and he hopes to see the business fast-tracked to keep up with local producers, but the wheels of bureaucracy at the reservation have churned slowly.

“It’s been frustrating for those who think it can be a good boost for the economy,” Seyler said. “When you look at what you can do with it, there are many possibilities.”