The removal or disturbance of plants or plant parts is illegal in Yosemite National Park, unless approved by the superintendent. But seven tribes traditionally associated with Yosemite Valley are hoping to change that.

The tribes included in a request to gather plants in Yosemite are Bishop Paiute Tribe, Bridgeport Indian Colony, Mono Lake Kootzaduka’a Tribe of California and Nevada, North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California, Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation, and the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians. The tribes say being blocked from freely gathering plants on their ancestral lands has broken cultural ties by eliminating the ability to pass down knowledge from one generation to the next.

The formal request from Bridgeport Indian Colony is pursuant to 36 CFR 2.6, Gathering of Plants or Plant Parts by Federally Recognized Indian Tribes (the NPS rule). The rule requires that the activities outlined in any agreement are evaluated through an environmental assessment to analyze the anticipated impacts of traditional gathering activities on park resources.

The National Park Service is inviting public input with a comment period that runs from Jan. 13 to Feb. 12, 2025. For more information visit here.