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PG&E to Divest Lands Important to California Tribes

In December 2003, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a bankruptcy settlement agreement for the Pacific Gas and Electric company (PG&E). As part of the settlement, PG&E agreed to "protect and enhance" more than 140,000 acres located in watersheds throughout the state, divesting selected lands to conservation groups.

Tribal Interests Ignored
A non-profit organization, the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council (Stewardship Council), was created to organize and carry out the terms of the settlement agreement. Although many Indian tribes throughout Northern and Central California have cultural and ancestral ties to the lands being considered for divestiture, the settlement agreement did not provide for tribal input on the use and care of these lands.

Lands owned by PG&E that are in proximity to hydroelectric projects are under the supervision of the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission (FERC), and PG&E is required by federal law to negotiate with tribes to ensure that tribes have a voice in what happens with these lands and how tribal interests in them can best be preserved. However, land outside of the hydroelectric perimeter is not subject to these negotiations - thereby disabling tribes from protecting and making use of culturally and spiritually important sites that may exist within these areas.

Advocating for Tribal Input
CILS first became involved with this issue in 2004, when a tribal client in Northern California raised concerns about what protections, if any, would guard their interests in lands passed to conservation groups by PG&E. At the urging of CILS and others concerned about Indian interests, in 2004 the Stewardship Council agreed that a representative of California Indian interests should hold a seat on the Council. Larry Myers, Executive Secretary of the Native American Heritage Commission now fills this seat on the Board of the Stewardship Council. CILS is working with the Stewardship Council and Mr. Myers to ensure that tribes have a say in what conservation groups and PG&E can do with divested lands that are important to California tribes.

The Affected Lands
Currently, the Stewardship Council is surveying the lands that PG&E holds to determine which lands will be divested. The 140,000 acres involved in the settlement agreement are spread over twenty-two counties and numerous watersheds that are home to a large number of California tribes, including watersheds of the Feather River (Plumas and Lassen County), the Bear River and Yuba River (Nevada and Placer Counties), the San Joaquin River (Madera and Fresno), the Middle Sierra (El Dorado, Amador, Alpine, and Calaveras), Pit River (Shasta), Whitmore (Shasta and Tehama), Butte Creek and Feather River (Buttes), Eel River (Lake, Mendocino, Glenn, and Colusa), the American River (Placer and El Dorado), Stanislaus River (Calaveras and Tuolumne), and the Kings River (Fresno). By 2007, the Stewardship Council expects to complete its survey and determine which lands should be divested.

Tribes Must Act to Protect Lands
CILS' tribal clients are concerned about the forest and river health, and cultural resources that exist within current PG&E land holdings. Tribal members continue to practice basketmaking and many rely on the rivers for their basic subsistence. In addition, some of these lands may include burial and prayer sites within their boundaries. For the protection of tribal cultural resources and livelihoods, now is the time for tribes to demand a stronger consultation process.

Moreover, CILS believes and advocates for the position that tribes should be granted the opportunity to receive lands from PG&E as conservation easements, thereby enabling tribes with cultural and ancestral ties to the lands to care for them much like a conservation organization would. With tribal input and support, this process offers California tribes and other Indian groups the opportunity to participate in a potentially historic return of at least some Indian lands.