California to return 40 acres in Inyo County — including historic hatchery — to Paiute people

Roberto Reyes - LA Times

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be returning more than 40 acres of Inyo County land to the Indigenous Paiute people in early in 2024, including a decades-old fish hatchery located along historic Route 395.

The transfer of the entire Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery property will be the department’s first-ever land return to a California tribe, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.

Newsom, who prompted the land transfer by supporting an effort to address local tribe issues, the Tribal Based Nature Solutions Program, described the move as “another milestone in partnership” with the state’s Indigenous peoples as both groups try to “heal from the past.”