Karuk Tribe and California Natural Resources Agency Finalize Historic Agreement to Advance Tribal Sovereignty and Cultural Fire Practices

California is making a historic move to honor tribal sovereignty, passing a new cultural burning law and establishing the first-ever cultural burning agreement with the Karuk Tribe, which has lived on and stewarded its ancestral lands in Humboldt and Siskiyou counties since time immemorial.

Senate Bill 310 (SB 310) formally recognizes the sovereignty of federally recognized tribes to conduct cultural burns, restoring ancestral fire stewardship practices that have long been used to manage California’s landscapes. Lauren Schmitt reports…