In a decision hailed by some as a victory for tribal rights and ecological preservation, the Ninth Circuit last Thursday upheld voiding 40-year lease extensions for geothermal energy production on 26 plots of California land deemed sacred by Native Americans.
The rugged, volcanic landscape of the Medicine Lake Highlands in Siskiyou County has served as a revered site for ancient customs and rituals by Native American groups, including the Pit River Tribe, for the last 10,000 years.
That means the bureau will not be able to renew leases for those 26 plots of land unless they undertake a required environmental review and consult with the tribal governments, because the area was designated as a cultural district in 1999 by the National Register of Historic Places.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management first leased the land for geothermal energy exploration in 1982. Houston-based Calpine Energy Corporation inherited those leases in an area where three national forests – Modoc, Klamath and Shasta-Trinity – meet at the northern tip of the state.