Publication
Tribal sovereignty in land use decision making: Evaluating cultural resource law in California
2025
Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space
Sorgen, J., Nelson, P., LaRosa, S., Butsic, V., Gaughen, S., Starkey, A.M., McCavour, M., Geary, R., Sowerwine, J.

Our study underscores the need to support Tribal sovereignty in land use decision making by strengthening and enforcing protections for Tribal Cultural Resources. Through qualitative analysis of California AB 52, we found that local level consultation holds promise for strengthening cultural resource protections, even as laws are inconsistently applied across different jurisdictions.