DoomsdaysCW<p>Trekking through tribal lands as the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PenobscotNation</span></a> plans to reacquire 30,000 acres</p><p>[Many] see the land return as an opportunity to reconsider what conservation looks like. Studies have found that <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Indigenous" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Indigenous</span></a>-managed lands have <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/biodiversity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>biodiversity</span></a> levels equal to or greater than protected lands, and conservationists have become increasingly interested in what is known as <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge</span></a>. <br>Story by Nate Hathaway <br>3/17/2024</p><p>"The Trust for Public Land [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TPL" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TPL</span></a>] is working with the Penobscot Nation to return 30,000 acres near <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MountKatahdin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MountKatahdin</span></a> to the tribe, which would solidify <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wabanaki" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Wabanaki</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sovereignty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sovereignty</span></a> over land their ancestors have stewarded for generations.</p><p>"The parcel would create a contiguous stretch of conserved land from existing Penobscot Nation holdings near the East Branch of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PenobscotRiver</span></a> all the way to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Jackman" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Jackman</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MooseheadLake" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MooseheadLake</span></a>, combining to form 1.2 million acres.</p><p>"The land — which is being called <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wasehtek" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Wasehtek</span></a>, a Penobscot word that corresponds to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EastBranch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EastBranch</span></a> of the Penobscot River — was owned by Conservation Resources, a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/timber" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>timber</span></a> investment management organization. In December 2022, the Trust for Public Land announced it had purchased the property for approximately $29 million.</p><p>"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. </p><p>"This move in northern <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Maine</span></a> fits into a nationwide effort to return ancestral lands to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Native" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Native</span></a> tribes. The federal Land Buy-Back Program for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TribalNations" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TribalNations</span></a>, 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."</p><p>Read more: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trekking-through-tribal-lands-as-the-penobscot-nation-plans-to-reacquire-30000-acres/ar-BB1k2aqd" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">msn.com/en-us/news/us/trekking</span><span class="invisible">-through-tribal-lands-as-the-penobscot-nation-plans-to-reacquire-30000-acres/ar-BB1k2aqd</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LandBack" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LandBack</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Stewardship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Stewardship</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TraditionalKnowledge" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TraditionalKnowledge</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TraditionalOwners" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TraditionalOwners</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WabanakiConfederacy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WabanakiConfederacy</span></a></p>