Twenty-nine Palms Band of Mission Indians and Joshua Tree National Park sign co-stewardship agreement

Officials with the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians and Joshua Tree National Park signed co-stewardship agreement at Spotlight 29 Casino on Tuesday.

The agreement follows a Joint Secretarial order published in September of last year supporting co-stewardship of National Park lands and waters through relationships with native communities.

Tribal Chairman of the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians says the agreement means a lot to the tribe, "It just shows that the tribe and Joshua Tree National Park can now take that step forward and create something together."

There are currently 80 co-stewardship agreements, but this is the first of its kind between Joshua Tree National Park and an associated Tribe.

Back in 2020, the Joshua Tree National Park and the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians signed a letter of collaboration highlighting the park's commitment to the share the land and resources.

This new agreement will allow for new amenities like a cultural center and a set of trails that connect the reservation to the national park's federal land.

Both the Tribal Chairman, Darrell Mike and Joshua Tree National Park's Superintendent, David A. Smith shared that both parties oversee the funds that make these projects possible. Some of those funds are made available through grants.

"Those federal dollars will be used to help plan a trail that will go from the reservation back into the park service area. We're going to do the labor on the park service side, probably the tribe is going to do labor on the reservation side. But that planning process was one that we could actually both apply for that grant," says Smith.

The agreement will also allow both the tribe and the National Park to make decisions regarding finances, management priorities, emergency services, communication and more.