New National Survey: Broad Support for Tribal Stewardship, Conservation Funding, and Land Return

Trust for Public Land highlights Indigenous-led conservation nationwide, including a first major milestone in the effort to return nearly 30,000 acres to the Penobscot Nation and protection of nearly 200,000 acres with more than 70 Tribal nations

San Francisco, CA, Oct. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

New national polling released today by Trust for Public Land [TPL], in partnership with YouGov, finds broad public support for Tribal leadership in caring for lands and natural resources, as well as for expanding the funding and opportunities available to Tribal nations. 

The national polling undertaken by YouGov found: 

• 77 percent agree that Native American Tribes have an important role in stewarding natural resources on their homelands to protect the long-term health of the land. 

• 58 percent support voluntary efforts by willing government or private landowners to return homelands to Native American Tribes. 

• 61 percent support increasing federal conservation funding for Tribal nations, including allowing Tribes to apply directly for existing programs. 

“These findings show that Americans inherently understand and appreciate the important role Tribal nations and Indigenous communities play in caring for healthy lands and waters,” said Ken Lucero, Senior Director for Tribal and Indigenous Communities at Trust for Public Land. “Additional resources, co-stewardship agreements, and land return are all important – and publicly supported – steps to reconnect Indigenous communities with the places that hold their prayers, stories, languages, and traditions, and ensuring those connections continue for future generations.” 

The polling comes at a moment of significant forward movement in Tribal-led conservation and homeland restoration. Across the country, TPL is working alongside Tribal nations and Indigenous communities to return homelands, protect culturally and ecologically important places, and help Tribes advance conservation priorities defined by their own communities. 

Wáhsehtəkʷ Reaches First Major Milestone in Maine 

In September, the Penobscot Nation and TPL completed the first transfer of more than 11,000 acres of the Wáhsehtəkʷ land -- an important milestone in the effort to return nearly 30,000 acres along the East Branch of the Penobscot River to the Nation. 

Wáhsehtəkʷ is central to Penobscot culture, history, and identity. Returning the land will support the Nation’s long-term stewardship priorities and reconnect Penobscot people with places that have sustained their community for generations. 

Penobscot Nation and TPL began the partnership in fall 2023 to raise $32.5 million to return the lands and to create new access to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, which is managed by the National Park Service. Together, the partners have raised $25.9 million. Fundraising continues to complete the remaining phases of the project.  

“The Wáhsehtəkʷ effort is at a pivotal moment,” said Betsy Cook, Associate Vice President, Maine State Director. “The first phase represents tremendous progress, but the work is not finished. Completing this effort will return an important landscape to the Penobscot Nation and help ensure that future generations can connect to their homelands.” 

Once complete, the Penobscot Nation and TPL partnership will represent one of the largest land returns ever between a U.S.-based nonprofit and a Tribal nation. The Wáhsehtəkʷ land borders Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument to the south and could enable new southern access to the national monument. To learn more, please visit here.

Indigenous-led Conservation Is Advancing Nationwide with TPL’s Support 

Wáhsehtəkʷ is part of a broader body of work led by Tribal nations and Indigenous communities and supported by TPL which has protected nearly 200,000 acres back into tribal ownership. Current and recent projects include: 

• Cochise Stronghold, Arizona: Earlier this month, TPL with the Fort Sill Chiricahua Warm Springs Apache Tribe recently returned 55 acres in the Dragoon Mountains to Tribal ownership, marking the organization’s first Tribal land return in Arizona.  

• Pomo Community Forest, California: In 2025, TPL partnered with the Potter Valley Tribe to establish the 48-acre Pomo Community Forest in Mendocino County, returning the Tribe’s homelands to Tribal ownership while creating opportunities for cultural activities, youth education, traditional gathering, and public recreation.   

• Canyon Creek, Oregon: TPL is working with the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians to protect and return nearly 6,000 acres within the Tribe’s homelands in Oregon.  

• Yurok Tribal Community Forest, California: In 2021, TPL helped return 2,424 acres to the Yurok Tribe in Northern California, supporting Tribal stewardship, forest restoration, and community priorities. 

• Patawomeck Indian Tribe, Virginia: In 2025, TPL helped the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia secure 870 acres of their own homeland along the Rappahannock River, the Tribe’s first opportunity to own and steward a piece of its homeland. 

• Santa Fe Indian School, New Mexico: In 2025, TPL partnered with Santa Fe Indian School and the Bureau of Indian Education to open the first schoolyard through TPL’s Tribal Community Schoolyards program, creating outdoor classrooms, native gardens, gathering spaces, and play areas rooted in Pueblo culture and traditional ecological knowledge. 

• Endazhi-Nitaawiging Charter School, Minnesota: In 2026, TPL partnered with the Red Lake community to create its first Tribal Community Schoolyard in Minnesota, transforming the school grounds into a space for Ojibwe cultural learning, wellness, recreation, and community gathering. The schoolyard includes native plants, walking trails, outdoor learning spaces, and Ojibwe-language signage. 

Together, these projects show that Tribal and Indigenous homeland restoration can take many forms and occur on many scales. Each project begins with the priorities of the Tribal nation or Indigenous community and reflects the cultural, ecological, and community significance of the place. 

New Federal Opportunities Are Opening Doors for Indigenous-led Conservation 

The strong public support for Tribal conservation funding comes as new federal opportunities give federally recognized Tribes, Native Hawaiian community organizations, Alaska Native communities or organizations, and Urban Indian Organizations additional tools to advance projects of their choosing.  

The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program, established by Congress in 2014, was improved by the bipartisan EXPLORE Act of 2024 to allow federally recognized Tribes and Alaskan and Native Hawaiian communities and organizations to apply directly for funding. In 2026, the National Park Service is making up to $125 million available for projects that acquire land or water for outdoor recreation, create new parks, or improve existing outdoor spaces. 

“Through ORLP, Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities have another tool to acquire lands and turn their conservation and outdoor recreation priorities into action. Combined with the strong public support we’re seeing for Tribal homeland restoration, this is a moment of real opportunity,” said Lucero. 

TPL is working with the National Park Service to provide technical assistance to Tribal nations and other eligible Indigenous communities and organizations interested in pursuing an opportunity through the competitive grant program. Learn more about TPL and ORLP here.

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Polling Methodology: The National Survey on Outdoor Public Spaces is a web-based survey administered by YouGov and sponsored by Trust for Public Land. YouGov interviewed 4,346 respondents from their opt-in panel representative of U.S. adults between March 16 - March 24, 2026. The sample was then weighted to represent 4,000 Americans by gender, age, race/ethnicity, education to match nationally representative targets based on the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year sample. The sample was further post-stratified on 2024 presidential vote and a four-way stratification of gender, age, race, and education. The estimated credibility interval (analogous to margin of error) for the full sample is +/-1.87%. The Harris voter subsample has a credibility interval of +/-2.7% and the Trump voter subsample has a credibility interval of +/-3.1%. The full survey and methodologies are available upon request. 

About Trust for Public Land

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $112 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.

Contact Info

Rebecca Bullis
rebecca.bullis@tpl.org
+1 908-329-0321