Penobscot Nation Regains 11,297 Acres in First Phase of Wáhsehtəkʷ Land Return
Trust for Public Land and the Penobscot Nation completed the Sept. 16 transfer of 11,297 ancestral acres along the East Branch of the Penobscot River, the first phase of a planned return of more than 30,000 acres near Katahdin.
Just News Desk, Correspondent||4 min read
MILLINOCKET, Maine - The Penobscot Nation has regained 11,297 acres of ancestral homeland along the East Branch of the Penobscot River, completing on 16 September 2026 the first phase of a partnership with Trust for Public Land to return more than 30,000 acres near Katahdin, the mountain sacred to the Penobscot people.
The partners announced the conveyance on 17 September in a joint release. The property, known as Wáhsehtəkʷ (pronounced wah-SAH-teg), sits in the heart of Penobscot territory just south of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Trust for Public Land stepped in as temporary owner after a timber company put the larger 31,367-acre parcel up for sale on a short timeline; the organizations began fundraising together in fall 2023 toward a $32.5 million goal and have raised $20.7 million so far.
Autumn forest landscape photographed for the Wáhsehtəkʷ effort. Photo: Chris Bennett / Trust for Public Land. Source page: https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2026-09-17/11-000-acres-of-ancestral-homeland-returned-to-the-penobscot-nation
Phase one alone is roughly the size of Portland, Maine. According to Trust for Public Land, it holds 15 miles of cold-water streams, 865 acres of ponds and wetlands, and habitat for Atlantic salmon, brook trout, and moose. The transfer restores Penobscot authority to care for those lands and waters for the first time in more than 200 years, the organizations said.
"The return of these lands to the Penobscot Nation is a historic step in restoring our relationship with our homelands. These lands have always been part of who we are. Their return gives us the opportunity to care for them for our people and for future generations," Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis said in the joint announcement. "We are grateful to the many partners who helped make this first phase possible, and we look forward to continuing this work until the remaining phases are returned."
River and woodland along the Wáhsehtəkʷ landscape near the East Branch of the Penobscot River. Photo: Chris Bennett / Trust for Public Land. Source page: https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2026-09-17/11-000-acres-of-ancestral-homeland-returned-to-the-penobscot-nation
Penobscot Nation Natural Resources Director Chuck Loring Jr. told Tribal Business News that stewardship work is already under way, including baseline water-quality monitoring and trail cameras to assess wildlife and habitat. The parcel includes Redstone Mountain, Trout Pond, and Trout Brook. The Nation holds the newly transferred acres as fee land and hopes eventually to place them in federal trust, Loring said. Plans discussed with Maine Public include habitat restoration along waterways, tick and bat monitoring, hunting and harvesting access for tribal members, and, over a longer horizon, a southern access route toward the national monument from the Millinocket area.
"Returning Wáhsehtəkʷ to Penobscot Nation honors the deep and enduring connection between the Penobscot people and their homelands," Trust for Public Land President and CEO Carrie Besnette Hauser said. "Restoring Penobscot ownership and stewardship strengthens the vital connections among people, land, water, and culture that support health, community cohesion and resilience, and economic vitality."
Wooded terrain within the Wáhsehtəkʷ project area returned in phase one. Photo: Chris Bennett / Trust for Public Land. Source page: https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2026-09-17/11-000-acres-of-ancestral-homeland-returned-to-the-penobscot-nation
The project is part of Tributary Land Returns, a collaboration among Maine’s four federally recognized Wabanaki tribes and seven conservation organizations aiming to return more than 50,000 acres across 11 projects, affirmed by the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship. With this transfer, Penobscot Nation stewards about 140,000 acres in total. The four Wabanaki Nations together still hold only about one percent of their ancestral lands in what is now Maine, the partners noted.
"This first phase land return of the Wáhsehtəkʷ project represents a remarkable achievement for both TPL and the Penobscot Nation," said Darren Ranco, executive director of the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship. "The return of lands to Penobscot care in the heart of our territory begins to heal old wounds to both our territory and people."
Forest canopy and understory on Wáhsehtəkʷ lands featured on Trust for Public Land’s project page. Photo: Trust for Public Land. Photographer not named on the project page. Source page: https://www.tpl.org/our-work/wahsehtekw
Fundraising continues for the remaining roughly 20,000 acres. Once finished, the partners say the full return would rank among the largest between a U.S.-based nonprofit and a Tribal nation in recent history, while also opening a path for southern access to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument for nearby communities. Supporters listed in the announcement include federal, foundation, and private donors ranging from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Community Resilience Program to individual gifts.
The measured story here is institutional and unfinished by design: a closed first deed, verified acreage, named stewards already on the ground, and an explicit remaining fundraising gap before the rest of Wáhsehtəkʷ comes home.
Sources
- environment
- conservation
- indigenous
- maine
- land-return
- penobscot
