The Big Sur Land Trust returned an 84-acre land full of rich wetlands and natural resources in Northern California to a Native American tribe.
The nonprofit group transferred the property near Highway 68 in Monterey to the Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation (OCEN) after purchasing the land for $2.75 million in 2024.
The 84-acre property – known as the Hiss Parcel – was acquired as part of a conservation and restoration effort with the goal of returning the area back to its ancestral owners, OCEN.
“The tribe is really interested in being able to celebrate their culture here and to provide a gathering space for their people,” the Vice President of Conservation for the Big Sur Land Trust told KSBW 8.
“This is the first time that our tribe actually acquired some land for us to have for ourselves to do something, you know, here in Monterey, where our tribe is located,” she continued.
As a non-federally recognized tribe, OCEN did not have any designated reservation land. However, the OCEN people lived in Monterey County for thousands of years, before the arrival of Spanish colonizers.
Located on the south side of Highway 68 across the Monterey Regional Airport, the land serves as a vital corridor between protected areas such as Fort Ord National Monument and Jacks Peak County Park, while safeguarding parts of the Canyon Del Rey watershed.
“The conservation values of this acquisition are substantial. By preventing potential development, we are protecting important habitats that are part of a valuable wildlife corridor. Deer, coyote, and black bears have been spotted on the land,” the CEO of Big Sur Land Trust said in a press release back in 2024.
This comes after California approved the transfer of a popular 136-acre coastal land to three Indigenous tribes in July.
The coastline, which includes Blues Beach and surrounding bluffs in Mendocino County, was returned to Kai Poma–a non-profit entity managed by three local tribes.
Three local tribes are the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians.
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