California goal of 7.5 million acres under tribal stewardship

What happened

In March 2026 the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) launched the state's first Tribal Stewardship Policy. It sets a statewide goal of expanding tribal stewardship over at least 7.5 million acres of lands and coastal waters. A state wildfire task force page that republishes the agency's announcement says the policy sets standards for CNRA departments, conservancies, commissions and boards, and works through tribal access, collaboration and ancestral land return.

The Los Angeles Times, reporting on March 17, 2026, says the figure is roughly 7 percent of the state's land and waters. It also matches, the paper says, the amount of land the federal government promised for tribal reservations after California joined the union in 1850, in treaties Congress ultimately rejected. The agency did not set a date for reaching the goal, the Times reports, and some estimates put the acreage in those treaties nearer 8.5 million.

The policy outlines three types of agreement: access agreements, collaborative agreements in which land owners work with tribes to care for land, and land return agreements in which owners transfer land to tribes. The Times says the agency estimates more than 1.7 million acres are already under tribal stewardship, including more than 100,000 acres through state land return programs.

Indigenous advocates quoted by the Times praised the step but said much more work lies ahead. Morning Star Gali of Indigenous Justice said repair would take decades without sustained commitment to land return.

Good to know. This is a goal, not a completed return. "Stewardship" includes access and shared management as well as ownership.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error