A historic deal was announced on Wednesday: the Washoe Tribe, pushed off land it members had lived on for thousands of years during the Gold Rush by settlers, miners and loggers in the 1850s, reclaimed some of their ancestral territory near Lake Tahoe.
The tribe spent $6 million to buy Loyalton Ranch, a scenic 10,274-acre property 35 miles north of Lake Tahoe in Sierra and Lassen counties, from the city of Santa Clara for $6 million. City leaders had purchased the property, which is home to herds of pronghorn antelope, mountain lions, wolves, mule deer and groves of aspen trees, in 1977 with plans for geothermal development for Santa Clara’s municipal utility. But that never panned out.
Now the tribe, which had owned only a few small parcels of its traditional homelands, said it plans to keep the land undeveloped, using it for ceremonies, wildlife conservation, and cultural events, such as teaching young tribal members about native plants and the Washoe language.
The deal was funded with $5.5 million from the state Wildlife Conservation Board, with help from two environmental groups, the Feather River Land Trust and the Northern Sierra Partnership, based in San Francisco.
“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.”
The ranch is located in one of the most remote parts of California.
“It’s a huge property,” said Lucy Blake, president of the Northern Sierra Partnership. “On the east side, there are large sagebrush flats that climb up into conifer forests and aspen groves. It has a lot of springs. It’s very rich in wildlife. When we’re out there, we’ve seen herds of pronghorn antelope and golden eagles. It’s very vast and beautiful. A classic Western landscape.”