Partnering with tribes is a core commitment of the California Natural Resources Agency in conserving 30% of California’s lands and coastal 2030, expanding Nature-Based Solutions as a climate change solution, and creating safe and equitable access to the outdoors. The Agency’s new Tribal Stewardship Strategy and Toolkit will provide policies and resources to advance shared goals of tribes and the State of California for improved tribal access and co-management of public places and natural resources and returning ancestral lands to tribal ownership.
Many of the departments under the California Natural Resources Agency are leading the way for the State in advancing tribal access, co-management, and ancestral land return. This Strategy will highlight many of these projects to serve as an example of policy in action. To name a few:
- The California Department of Parks and Recreation has entered into 12 different memorandums of understanding opening up 897,085 acres of State Parks land to tribes for ceremonies, gathering, and use.
- The Sierra Nevada Conservancy has awarded $4,431,798 to support the return of 2,488 acres of land to three California Native American tribes.
- The California Conservation Corps awarded $10 million to fund five tribes in the establishment of tribal youth corps programs.
- The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection awarded $19,000,000 to 13 tribes to support their wildfire resilience and forestry management priorities.
The California Natural Resources Agency launched California’s first ever $100 million Tribal Nature-Based Solutions grant program. This funding supported California Native American tribes’ nature-based solutions priorities, with a primary focus on ancestral land return. As part of this grant program, the State Coastal Conservancy, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Ocean Protection Council all contributed funding to extend the reach of the Tribal Nature-Based Solutions Program.
During 2024, CNRA sought early tribal consultations and hosted two tribal roundtable discussion on the development of the Tribal Stewardship Strategy and Toolkit. CNRA plans to have a draft Tribal Stewardship Strategy for tribal consultation and public comment in 2025. Updated information will be posted on this website.
In the meantime, if you have suggestions for the Tribal Stewardship Strategy and Toolkit, please email us at tribalaffairs@resources.ca.gov .
