Over 17,000 acres of land, elk, returned to local native tribe

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Over 17,000 acres of onshore successful the Sierra Nevada foothills and Central Valley were returned to the Tule River Tribe, Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday.

The caller 17,030 acres of onshore volition beryllium located successful the Yowlumne Hills, adjacent the Tule River Indian Reservation.

“This onshore instrumentality demonstrates the precise essence of tribal onshore restoration, which expands entree to indispensable nutrient and medicinal resources," said Tule River Tribal Council Chairman Leister “Shine” R. Nieto Jr. "It besides supports the ongoing preservation of taste sites, deepens biology stewardship, and restores wildlife reintroduction efforts. "

To enactment the reclamation, the Governor besides announced the reintroduction of elk, which erstwhile roamed the hills, supporting the natives earlier they excessively were driven out.

"Absent for decades, the tule elk volition assistance reconstruct ineffable homelands, renew entree to accepted foods and medicines, and fortify Cultural continuity for aboriginal generations," the governor's bureau said.

The governor's bureau says the elk volition besides assistance reconstruct the land’s ecological community, which has seen a resurgence of grey wolves.

The ancestral onshore instrumentality is the largest to day successful the Sierra Nevada foothills and Central Valley portion and advances the state’s extremity to conserve 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030.