Trekking through tribal lands as the #PenobscotNation plans to reacquire 30,000 acres
[Many] see the land return as an opportunity to reconsider what conservation looks like. Studies have found that #Indigenous-managed lands have #biodiversity levels equal to or greater than protected lands, and conservationists have become increasingly interested in what is known as #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge.
Story by Nate Hathaway
3/17/2024
"The Trust for Public Land [#TPL] is working with the Penobscot Nation to return 30,000 acres near #MountKatahdin to the tribe, which would solidify #Wabanaki #sovereignty over land their ancestors have stewarded for generations.
"The parcel would create a contiguous stretch of conserved land from existing Penobscot Nation holdings near the East Branch of the #PenobscotRiver all the way to #Jackman and #MooseheadLake, combining to form 1.2 million acres.
"The land — which is being called #Wasehtek, a Penobscot word that corresponds to the #EastBranch of the Penobscot River — was owned by Conservation Resources, a #timber investment management organization. In December 2022, the Trust for Public Land announced it had purchased the property for approximately $29 million.
"The land is currently accessed by a limited network of logging roads, which vary in quality. With over 53 miles of rivers and streams, and a diverse population of game species, the land offers substantial fishing and hunting opportunities.
"This move in northern #Maine fits into a nationwide effort to return ancestral lands to #Native tribes. The federal Land Buy-Back Program for #TribalNations, a decade-long initiative that concluded in December [2023], restored nearly 3 million acres to tribal ownership and paid over $1.69 billion to individuals."
#LandBack #Stewardship #TraditionalKnowledge #TraditionalOwners #WabanakiConfederacy