<
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/redwood-national-park-land-returned-yurok-tribe/>
'Rosie Clayburn is a descendant of the Yurok Tribe, which had its territory —
called 'O Rew in the Yurok language — ripped from them nearly two centuries
ago.
"As the natural world became completely decimated, so did the Yurok people,"
she said.
That decimation started when miners rushed in for gold, killing and displacing
tens of thousands of Native Americans in California and ravaging the redwood
trees for lumber.
"Everything was extracted that was marketable," Clayburn said. "We've always
had this really intricate relationship with the landscape. We've hunted, we've
fished, we've gathered. And those are all management tools. Everything that we
do has been in balance with the natural world."
Now, generations later, 125 acres bordering Redwood National and State Parks
will be handed back to the Yuroks.
The nonprofit Save the Redwoods League purchased the land in 2013 from an old
timber mill, with the original goal of giving it to the National Park Service.
"As we continued conversations about the transfer of this land to the National
Park Service, we began to realize that perhaps a better alternative would be to
transfer the land back to the Yurok Tribe," said Save the Redwoods League's
Paul Ringgold. "No one knows this land better. They've been stewarding this
land since time [immemorial]"
Ringgold said that stewardship includes controlled burns to clear dead
vegetation — a native practice once outlawed, but now recognized as essential
in preventing catastrophic wildfires.
"Indigenous populations have been using fire as a management tool," he said.
"We'd like to see that kind of practice return."
Redwoods serve as some of the largest stores of carbon on the planet. A single
tree can capture up to 250 tons in its lifetime, the equivalent of removing
nearly 200 cars from the road for an entire year.
But between logging and fires, 95% of California's redwoods have been
destroyed. Over the past decade, the Yurok have been helping restore the land.'
Via Frederick Wilson II.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
