Yosemite-Area Tribes Petition for Permission to Gather Wild Plants in the Park

Yosemite-area tribes are seeking approval from the National Park Service to collect wild plants in the park for cultural and traditional purposes. This effort aims to strengthen tribal traditions while preserving the park's resources. Public input is encouraged during the comment period from January 13 to February 12, 2025.

Jan 20, 2025 - 06:48
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Yosemite-Area Tribes Petition for Permission to Gather Wild Plants in the Park
Tribal members steward black oak groves by creating burn piles out of dead and down wood, planting saplings and collecting acorn near El Capitan / NPS

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public input on an Environmental Assessment (EA) as part of a planning effort to potentially permit tribal members with traditional ties to Yosemite National Park to gather plants and plant parts for cultural and traditional uses. The comment period is open from January 13 to February 12, 2025. During this time, you are encouraged to share your views on what the NPS should consider in its assessment, including the potential benefits and challenges of allowing tribal communities to engage in traditional plant gathering and stewardship.

In August 2022, the Bridgeport Indian Colony submitted a plant gathering request on behalf of the seven tribes historically connected to Yosemite National Park. This project seeks to establish a plant gathering agreement that enables tribes to legally, sustainably, and respectfully collect native plants, while also preserving and strengthening their cultural traditions and protecting the park’s resources.

Yosemite National Park collaborates closely with the seven tribes traditionally associated with the park, all of which will be involved in this planning effort. These tribes include the Bishop Paiute Tribe, Bridgeport Indian Colony, Mono Lake Kootzaduka’a Tribe of California and Nevada, North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California, Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation (also known as the American Indian Council of Mariposa County), and the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians.

Currently, the removal or disturbance of plants or plant parts is prohibited in Yosemite, unless authorized by the Superintendent. However, these tribes have long gathered plants in the Yosemite area, even before the establishment of the national park. They believe that being restricted from collecting plants on their ancestral lands has disrupted their cultural continuity by hindering the transmission of traditional knowledge from one generation to the next.

In 2016, the National Park Service introduced regulations allowing individual parks to collaborate with federally recognized tribes to create agreements for plant collection. Prior to such agreements, the NPS must assess the potential impacts of traditional tribal gathering practices.

As part of this process, Yosemite is developing an Environmental Assessment to evaluate the potential impacts of plant collection by tribal communities.

The park invites public input during the scoping period. Please share your thoughts on what the NPS should consider in its analysis, focusing on both the potential benefits and challenges of allowing tribal members to gather and care for plants for traditional purposes.

Submit your comments online. The comment period closes on February 12, 2025.

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