The Trust for Public Land

It will allow for infrastructure upgrades and give tribal members direct access to hunting, foraging, and other cultural uses.

According to a written statement, the parcel was purchased by the Trust for Public Land after the owner offered it to the Mi'kmaq Nation.

It's part of a grassroots effort to return more than 50,000 acres to Wabanaki communities.

Earlier this summer, the Mi'kmaq Nation acquired a 3,400-acre parcel in a land return.

So we're looking at how do we start to funnel funding into places that support this plan.

They're also lifting up a gap analysis in partnership with the Trust for Public Lands because one of the things we heard was we need more information about where recreational infrastructure exists and where there's access and where there's not.

And then for the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative, we're taking on the care and feeding of this plan, tracking how implementation is going, where are there challenges, where are we making progress so we can help to bring together this network over the next five to 10 years and help them track progress.

how we're doing, as well as implement some discrete projects as well.

Data sources from not just think tanks.

For example, Trust for Public Lands does a great data series on park rankings and who has the best park systems.

I know Big Bear MSP use that for a dashboard.

Minneapolis, I think this year they're still number two, number three on best parks in the country, but looking at how much parkland, how much activities, things like that.

Disposition that does not include the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is not a agreement that is going to last.

Because of OHA's unique constitutional and statutory role to the Public Land Trust, and every single military lease that is going to expire between 2028 and 2031 sits on lands that are part of the former kingdom, Crown Lands of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

A- and so knowing that and, and saying those words of, of, of OHA's role in these conversations, do you feel that there is, uh, there has been that opportunity to have a seat at the table? And, and has those conversations happened with the governor? Um, a- and what has been his response to some of the things that the Native Hawaiian community's asking for?

I think we're moving in the right direction.

On the day of the overthrow, those lands were confiscated illegally, and in 1895 they were combined into one land base.

That, those lands eventually were ceded to the United States at annexation, were held by the United States until 1959, and then returned to the new State of Hawaii through the Admissions Act, conditioned with five public trust purposes, one of them being the betterment of the conditions of Native Hawaiians.

The State of Hawaii's fiduciary responsibility to the Public Land Trust is to ensure that revenues from those lands, of which all military leases today sit on, benefit Native Hawaiians.

The answer for the State of Hawaii to meet that public trust purpose was the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in 1978 when the people of Hawaii, through a constitutional convention, created OHA.

Um, we recently did a project with the BLM, um, and a private landowner where we gained access to six miles of the Madison River for walk-in fly fishermen as well as hunters and birdwatchers.

We've done, uh, big projects like the Olive Ranch Easement, conservation easement with Trust for Public Lands.

We work with The Nature Conservancy, all of that to, uh, protect locally here in the Madison Valley.

The valley is, uh, over 55% protected by conservation easement, and much of that has been a result of 1% for the Planet giving.

And I think that, uh, to your, your earlier question about, um, our context within the Midwest, uh, so we also are looking to cities that have very well-known, amazing public park and open space systems.

So Minneapolis, where I actually went to grad school to study landscape architecture, they consistently are rated as one of the top ranked, uh, cities for parks and rec, um, by the Trust for Public Land.

And it's, it's such, it's so incredible how much investment the city has put in bike lanes and greenways and parks when considering how short their summer seasons are.

But they use it year-round des- despite the, the frigid winters.

Buffalo Rising also highlighted a proposal to establish a five-mile walking and bike path along Riverside and Black Ride and other recreational trails.

According to the Trust for Public Land, Black Rock and Riverside are primed for this sort of investment.

Both of these underserved neighborhoods would greatly benefit from the investment, which would result in the advancement of green infrastructure, stormwater improvements, tree plantings, flooding and air pollution remediation, and local wildlife benefits.

Over the course, the residents living in nearby proximity to the trail would also benefit in what that range from enhanced health benefits, increased property values, environmental stewardship, social engagement opportunities, etc.