The Bishop Paiute Tribe, a federally recognized Native nation whose ancestral lands include what is now Mammoth Lakes, is now a co-steward of UC Nature’s Valentine Camp reserve. The eastern California site is the first UC Nature reserve to enter into a co-stewardship agreement with a Tribal partner.
“The MOU represents an important milestone for the University of California, as the first formal co-stewardship agreement between the UC and a native nation. We are excited to be able to share in the stewardship of this amazing 155-acre landscape with our Paiute partners,” says Carol Blanchette, director of Valentine Camp reserve.
“We hope this agreement is the first of many between UC Nature and California Tribes who wish to reclaim cultural access to and co-stewardship of their traditional lands,” says Steve Monfort, Executive Director of UC Nature.
The agreement follows legislation passed in 2024 encouraging California Trustee agencies, including UC Nature, to engage in co-stewardship initiatives with tribal partners. According to Assembly Bill 1284, the state’s policy on Native American Ancestral Lands “is to partner with tribes to, among other things, facilitate co-management and support tribal self-determination and self-governance.”
The Memorandum of Understanding for the purpose of fostering collaboration in co-stewardship, education, land management, workforce training, and fire resilience within the Eastern Sierra region was signed in June 2026 by the Bishop Paiute Tribe and UC Santa Barbara, which manages the reserve. Chancellor Dennis Assanis signed on behalf of UC Santa Barbara, and Chairwoman Emma Williams signed on behalf of the Bishop Paiute Tribe.
The co-stewardship agreement is the culmination of several years of meetings among the Tribe and research teams from UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, and the reserve. The meetings were initiated as part of a National Science Foundation-funded project to collaborate on wildfire prevention and mitigation procedures and policies for use by Tribal, non-Tribal, public and private stakeholders. The co-stewardship agreement was conceived of as an opportunity to model a co-stewardship agreement in wildfire resilience between an Indigenous group and a non-Indigenous organization.
In addition to improving wildfire resilience at the reserve, the agreement will foster cultural education opportunities, research initiatives, and outdoor science education programs for Tribal youth. Both parties seek to facilitate outreach and engagement between rural and Tribal communities and the University. Cultural, educational, and stewardship activities associated with the agreement are scheduled to begin this fall.
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