A view of the land-into-trust site. Photo from Kashia Pomo Environmental Assessment

The Kashia Band of Pomo Indians in California plans to use land adjacent to its reservation for a sustainable timber harvest, not for growing marijuana, Chairman Reno Franklin said.

Tribal members gave up their per capita payments in order to acquire the 480-acre site for $1.35 million. The goal is to preserve the land and maintain it for future generations.

"We take any drug use really seriously and don’t want to perpetuate it into the community,” Franklin told The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. "We will not be entertaining, or considering in any way, marijuana cultivation on that land."

A land-into-trust application has been submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. A tribal attorney believes it could be approved sometime this year because the site is contiguous to the 42-acre reservation.

The comment period on an environmental assessment for the application was due to close on March 27. But it appears that the BIA has granted an extension because Sonoma County is still working on its response.

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Sonoma County seeks assurances from Pomo regarding timber harvesting (The Santa Rosa Press Democrat 4/20)