Last fall a few pieces of paper were quietly filed with the Washington County Registry of Deeds. A long-negotiated land purchase initiated by The Nature Conservancy in Maine (TNC) resulted in the return of nearly 3,000 acres to the Passamaquoddy Tribe. With the help of the Forest Society of Maine (FSM), access opportunities for Wabanaki people were also negotiated on an adjacent conservation easement covering several thousand additional acres. This was all done at no cost to the Passamaquoddy Tribe. This simple clerical act deeply understates the end of a real estate process representing hard work, key commitments, and changes to “business as usual” made by the staff and leadership of conservation organizations.
Within this process, we can all glean some important lessons. Land return offers like this one—originating from the conservation community—do not necessarily begin as priority projects for Indigenous nations. They are more often opportunities that arise from the real estate market or relationships that conservation organizations have with land owners. Then through the connectivity of First Light organizations and the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship, a discussion begins. What is known about the parcel or opportunity? Where is it? Who owns it? How will it be paid for? What is possible there? Which Indigenous nation or partner might be the most appropriate new owner and caretaker? Is this place a priority? Is it important in this moment? Why now? Would acquiring these lands with federal funds, and their accompanying requirements, conflict with Indigenous sovereignty? Why did conservation groups offer this opportunity to Wabanaki people?
In this case, the opportunity arose from a conversation between the landowner and TNC in 2019, where the landowner identified a few parcels in eastern Maine they were willing to sell for conservation. This parcel was roughly midway between Sipayik and Motahkomikuk, and near an important Passamaquoddy village site. Instead of proceeding down the usual path of TNC or public agency acquisition, TNC reached out to leaders at the Passamaquoddy Tribe to begin exploring whether the Tribe might be interested in acquiring the parcels, with federal wetland conservation funds as a potential funding source.
Those Tribal representatives expressed strong interest in this project. But unlike conventional conservation transactions, Tribal leaders were not asked to provide official contracts or commitments, the type of documents that could be taken back to conservation board rooms or fundraising gatherings to generate buzz about the project and drum up funding support. Instead, the individuals involved from both the conservation organizations and the Passamaquoddy Tribe focused on developing their own relationships of trust and clear communication.
With confidence based on a positive initial reaction from Tribal leaders, the conservation organizations were able to take some risks. TNC indicated interest in the project and began a long negotiating process with the landowner. In consultation with Tribal representatives, TNC staff developed a plan whereby NAWCA funding would be used to acquire the lands and then title would be transferred immediately to the Passamaquoddy Tribe. In addition to transferring title, TNC would also convey a stewardship fund to the Tribe, covering any tax or administrative burden associated with accepting the land, and supporting future landcare activities.
Early in this process, the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship was created, and the Passamaquoddy Commissioners became the Tribe’s chosen leaders for continuing the conversation, while First Light’s new Tribal Land Recovery Manager became an important resource to the Tribe for assistance in the partnership. The process guiding the return became as important as the outcome.
Midway through the project, the landowner decided they needed to retain over half of the property originally discussed. Instead of transferring that portion of the land, the landowner proposed retaining it but selling an easement. This was a decided change and represented a potential challenge to the project’s continuation. Conservation staff talked through this major change with Tribal leaders, who, though disappointed, continued to see merit in moving forward. The Forest Society of Maine graciously accepted an invitation to join and support the project and accepted a role in long-term stewardship of the conservation easement.
This type of significant change to a project posed a risk to the emerging trust between Tribal leaders and conservation organization staff, but the need to navigate such difficult changes is an integral part of working together from the outset of a potential project, rather than presenting a project to a potential Tribal partner in completed form at its conclusion. Ultimately, this change in plans became an opportunity for productive dialogue and learning.
That dialogue continues. Even now, months after closing, the conservation organizations have, at the request of Tribal representatives, deferred the timing and type of public communication about the project to the Passamaquoddy people. This follows a model developed in the earlier land return at Kuwesuwi Monihq, of recognition that the story, like the land, is the Passamaquoddy people’s to care for and hold. As the conservation partners closest to this project, we share this story with the First Light community to illustrate the mindsets and practices we can cultivate in our conservation community to foster more successful land return projects.
