Upper Mattaponi Tribe Receives Funding to Reclaim Ancestral Lands

The Upper Mattaponi Tribe of Virginia is reclaiming 866 acres of ancestral Tribal lands along the Tribal Nation’s namesake river, the Mattaponi, within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The Tribal Nation is assisted by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program (CZM), and funds to acquire the lands are being awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through the Infrastructure Law’s Climate Ready Costs initiative. This is the Tribal Nation’s first opportunity to acquire ancestral lands for conservation, which will allow them to pursue future activities to enhance culturally significant fish, wildlife, and plants through habitat restoration. The conservation benefits will extend to Tribal citizens and others who enjoy the region’s coast.