In a historic move, the nonprofit Trust for Public Land has announced the return of 31,000 acres of land in Maine to the Penobscot tribe, marking the largest return of its kind to an Indigenous group in U.S. history. This unprecedented land transfer comes without any easements or restrictions, allowing the Penobscot people to manage the land according to their cultural practices and values.

The land, purchased by the Trust for Public Land from a timber investor, will be placed under the stewardship of the Penobscot Nation. This shift represents a pivotal moment in environmental conservation, where Indigenous sovereignty and stewardship are recognized as vital to protecting the environment. The return of the land to the Penobscot tribe is seen as a key step toward integrating Indigenous-led conservation efforts into mainstream environmental practices, potentially setting a new standard for land returns across the country.

For the Penobscot, the forested land holds deep cultural and ecological significance. As a riverine tribe, their reservation sits on an island in the Penobscot River, a central feature of their heritage. The tribe’s creation story is intertwined with the land, recounting the tale of Gluskabe, a folk hero who shot an arrow into an ash tree, from which sprang the Wabanaki people, a confederation that includes the Penobscot. Today, the tribe continues to use the bark of the brown ash tree to make baskets, a practice tied to their identity and way of life.

This land return aligns with a broader shift in conservation thinking, which has traditionally emphasized protecting wilderness in a way that often excluded Indigenous practices. Increasingly, however, environmental organizations are recognizing that Indigenous land management practices are not only compatible with conservation but often enhance biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Research has shown that lands managed by Indigenous communities around the world tend to have greater biodiversity than those under traditional conservation models. A 2019 study found that Indigenous-managed lands in countries like Brazil, Canada, and Australia maintain a richer diversity of species compared to protected areas. A 2020 report also highlighted that Indigenous-managed lands account for 36% of the world’s intact forests, which have experienced a lower rate of deforestation compared to the global average since 2000.

The Penobscot land, home to a diverse array of species including moose, bears, wood turtles, and endangered Atlantic salmon, presents a unique opportunity for conservation. With 53 miles of streams that serve as vital spawning grounds for alewife and Atlantic salmon, the land offers substantial ecological value. By returning this land to the Penobscot, conservationists hope to see the tribe’s traditional knowledge and practices help protect these habitats while supporting climate resilience through sustainable forest management.

This historic land transfer signals a potential shift in the future of land returns in the United States, one where the goals of Indigenous sovereignty and environmental conservation are interwoven. As tribes across the U.S. continue to seek greater control over their ancestral lands, the Penobscot’s stewardship of this land could serve as a model for future land transfers, with implications for biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and the strengthening of Indigenous rights.

By embracing Indigenous leadership in land management, this move represents not just a return of land, but a fundamental rethinking of how land can be managed for the benefit of both the environment and the communities that have lived in harmony with it for centuries.