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- By Chez Oxendine
- Real Estate
The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California acquired 10,274 acres in what tribal leaders say is a significant step toward healing historical displacement.
Tribal Chairman Serrell Smokey called the purchase of Loyalton Ranch, a sprawling property northeast of Lake Tahoe, “good medicine.” The tribe announced the completion of the transfer Wednesday, placing the land under the stewardship of the Waší·šiw Land Trust, a nonprofit established by the Washoe Council in 2025.
“Wá∙šiw people were first forcefully removed from these lands,” Smokey said during a news conference. “Secondly, individual allotments were stolen. Then we were told we could no longer use the land for resources, or ceremony. Since that time the land has been calling us back, and we are answering that call.”
The property, which will be renamed the WélmeltiɁ Preserve, was purchased through a $5.5 million grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board as well as a raft of private donations, totalling $6.9 million overall. The tribe raised $6 million to acquire the property and used the balance for costs including planning, assessments and the beginning of an endowment for long-term stewardship.
To complete the purchase, the Washoe Tribe partnered with the Northern Sierra Partnership and the Feather River Land Trust. The three organizations collaborated for four years to develop the project strategy, secure funding and finalize the acquisition.
The funding will cover the purchase of the ranch as well as planning, assessments, and the beginning of an endowment for long-term stewardship.
“This land purchase is good medicine for our people,” Smokey said. “This is a small start to healing from generations of historical trauma, and the benefits will go on for many generations to come.”
The acquisition represents the largest tribal land return ever completed in the Sierra Nevada and the third-largest in California.
The Washoe acquisition is the largest tribal land return in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. In October 2025, the Tule River Indian Tribe received 17,030 acres in the Sierra Nevada foothills and Central Valley region in what was described as the largest land return in that area.
Located roughly 20 miles north of Reno, the WélmeltiɁ Preserve spans the mountain range from Long Valley in the east to Sierra Valley in the west. The property is bordered primarily by public lands managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Its terrain transitions from sagebrush scrub and grasslands to conifer forests, aspen groves and mountain meadows, with pine and juniper woodlands, springs and perennial creeks.
Pronghorn, mule deer, mountain lion and gray wolves migrate through the landscape, moving between winter habitat in the east and summer habitat in the west. The land also supports culturally important plants, including pinyon pine, a traditional food source that has suffered extensive wildfire damage across Washoe homelands in recent years, according to the tribe. The tribe is growing 3,000 young pinyon trees for future planting, Smokey said.
Conservation groups have long identified the former Loyalton Ranch as a priority site for habitat connectivity and climate resilience, said Lucy Blake, Northern Sierra Partnership president.
“The landscape has suffered from some large wildfires and other issues, and I think the tribe is really looking forward to seeing it heal,” she said. “It just seemed like the ideal property to team up with the Washoe Tribe.”
Tribal leaders say the preserve will be managed for conservation, restoration and the revitalization of traditional cultural practices, with a focus on reconnecting youth to the land and the Washoe language.
Initial economic development will be “limited,” Smokey said, with an early focus on instead getting “people to live on the land.” Any economic activity would be small‑scale and aligned with community values, potentially supporting the struggling local economy around Loyalton.
“It won’t be a huge new community, but a presence,” Smokey said. “If there’s something we can contribute in the future that would be in line with our values as well as the community’s, then we’ll definitely look into those areas.”
The tribe plans to continue: the WélmeltiɁ Preserve is the first of several acquisitions the Waší·šiw Land Trust hopes to complete in the northern Washoe homelands,according to the tribe.
“The health of the land equals the health of the people,” Smokey said. “This is all going to really help with healing, and I hope that when we start our restoration projects, we can get the land back to a good, pristine forest range with natural plants, foods and medicines abundant again.”
