""Our tribal members are really excited," said Serrell Smokey, chairman of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. "Being able to regain the land is part of a healing process for our people. It's important to say that we have something.""
"Northern Sierra Partnership, an environmental group based in San Francisco, has helped the tribe purchase 10,274 acres north of Lake Tahoe from the city of Santa Clara for $6 million. The land, which is home to herds of pronghorn antelope, mountain lions, wolves, mule deer and groves of aspen trees, was originally planned for geothermal development when Santa Clara city leaders bought it nearly 50 years ago. But that never panned out."
"Historically known as Loyalton Ranch, the vast, sweeping landscape extends across parts of Sierra and Lassen counties about 35 miles north of Lake Tahoe, in a sparsely populated area between Highway 395 and Highway 49. The sale is one of the largest examples of a growing trend in California in which environmental groups and state agencies are helping tribes acquire ancestral lands, often centuries after they were forcibly removed."
The Washoe people were displaced from the Lake Tahoe region during the 1850s Gold Rush as farming, logging and mining took over traditional territory. Northern Sierra Partnership assisted the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California in purchasing 10,274 acres north of Lake Tahoe from the city of Santa Clara for $6 million. The property, historically known as Loyalton Ranch and spanning Sierra and Lassen counties roughly 35 miles north of Lake Tahoe between Highways 395 and 49, supports pronghorn, mountain lions, wolves, mule deer and aspen groves. Santa Clara bought the land about 50 years ago for geothermal plans that never materialized. The state Wildlife Conservation Board contributed $5.5 million from Proposition 117.
Read at The Mercury News
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