Op-ed: Lawmakers Should Pause On Tribal Park
- Columnist warns lawmakers to consider long-term consequences before granting a state park to a tribe. - The piece questions whether granting one tribe a state park sets precedent for others, raising equity concerns. - The op-ed urges debate on policy implications and fairness amid growing tribal land claims (mercurynews.com).
California lawmakers are weighing a bill to give Tolowa Dunes State Park — about 4,301 acres in Del Norte County — to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation at no cost. (calmatters.org) Assembly Bill 2356, introduced by Assemblymember James Ramos, would require the Department of General Services to transfer the state’s interest in three parcels within the park to the tribe. The bill also would exempt the land from property taxes. (calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org) (legiscan.com) Dan Walters, in a CalMatters column published April 18, said lawmakers should slow down and debate what a full park transfer would mean for future claims by other tribes. He framed the question as a statewide policy choice, not just a local land dispute. (calmatters.org) (eastbaytimes.com) The proposal lands as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has expanded programs for ancestral land return and tribal co-management. In April 2024, the state announced more than $100 million for 33 tribal land projects, including land return, restoration and wildfire resilience work. (gov.ca.gov) California has also backed direct returns of state-controlled land to tribes. In June 2024, Newsom announced support for returning more than 2,800 acres to the Shasta Indian Nation, and in December 2023 the state said it would transfer more than 40 acres of the Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery to the Fort Independence Indian Community. (gov.ca.gov 1) (gov.ca.gov 2) State Parks has also built a parallel track of agreements that stop short of ownership transfer. Its tribal program says tribes can pursue memorandums of understanding with park districts in their traditional territories, and the agency has described multiple co-stewardship deals, including with the Yurok Tribe and the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County. (parks.ca.gov 1) (parks.ca.gov 2) (parks.ca.gov 3) One recent model involved ‘O Rew, a 125-acre property near Redwood National and State Parks. In March 2024, the Yurok Tribe, Save the Redwoods League, the National Park Service and California State Parks signed an agreement describing a path to transfer the site to the tribe while keeping public access and shared management in view. (parks.ca.gov) (yuroktribe.org) Supporters of the Tolowa Dunes bill argue the park sits on ancestral land and that return would fit California’s stated effort to address historic harms against Native communities. Opponents, as Walters wrote, are pressing lawmakers to decide whether a state park should be treated differently from other surplus or underused state lands. (calmatters.org) (gov.ca.gov) The immediate question is narrower than the state’s broader land-back agenda: whether Sacramento wants co-management, selective land returns, or outright transfer of a park held for public recreation. AB 2356 puts that choice in front of lawmakers now. (legiscan.com) (calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org)
