AMLT’s Newsletter!

AMLT releases a electronic newsletter that is distributed through email and placed on our website.  These newsletters include opening statements from our Executive Director, highlights of recent projects and initiatives of AMLT, and reflections from Native Stewards in the field.  If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please fill out the form here, or send an email to info@amlt.org asking to be added to the mailing list. 

January 2026 Newsletter

Juristac is Protected!

By Ed Ketchum, Chairman Amah Mutsun Tribal Band

Dear AMLT Community,

After decades of hard work by our people and supportive partners, I am honored to share the news of an important milestone for our Tribe and for the sacred landscape of Juristac. Today, our partners at Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced the purchase and permanent protection of 2,284 acres of Sargent Ranch, bringing their total ownership to more than 6,100 conserved acres of the Juristac Tribal Cultural Landscape and ending the threat of a sand and gravel mine. 

For the Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups. Its protection brings hope for a brighter tomorrow when the Tribe can return to its sacred grounds and restore its traditions.

For years, this sacred place faced the threat of a massive open‑pit sand and gravel mine that would have destroyed hundreds of acres of cultural sites, threatened the lives of plants and animals alike, and irreparably damaged the spiritual and cultural integrity of the land. The Tribe made clear that such harm could never be undone, and it would have decimated one of the last remaining undisturbed areas in Mutsun territory. Today, that threat no longer exists.

We have many partners to thank for making this a reality. Firstly, we want to honor the Protect Juristac Tribal campaign team and all Tribal members who participated, the Green Foothills advocacy group, and all the allied organizations of the Protect Juristac coalition which worked tirelessly to eliminate the threat. Tribal members were joined by thousands of supporters, including other Tribal governments, community organizations, city and county governments, universities, environmental and faith-based groups, along with 29,000 petition signers who came together to safeguard this hallowed place. Through this collective work, we were able to successfully stop the mining proposal and now we can reunite with our homeland after hundreds of years.

We are especially grateful for the commitment POST made to secure this land. Over the past two years, POST has invested countless hours negotiating the sale and has invested significantly to acquire the Sargent Ranch property, ensuring that Juristac will not be subjected to further destruction. We thank them for their continued willingness to honor the cultural and spiritual significance of Juristac and to work with the Tribe in a respectful, collaborative way. Their partnership reflects a shared understanding that these sacred sites and the critically important wildlife habitat linkage at Juristac must be preserved for future generations.

For now, we celebrate and offer prayers of gratitude to Creator and the ancestors who guided and aided us on our path to healing and restoration and making this dream now a reality. 

Ho!

Ed Ketchum
Chairman, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band
Board Member, Amah Mutsun Land Trust

CLICK for a video of aerial view of Juristac/Sargent Ranch by Stephen Lam of the San Francisco Chronicle

Press Releases and News Articles re: Protection of Juristac & Acquisition of Property

Press Releases

Recent Press Coverage

A Note From AMLT Executive Director, Noelle Chambers

Dear Friends and Supporters, 

Today we join the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and the Protect Juristac campaign in celebrating the acquisition of Juristac by our partners at POST. It’s a momentous occasion for all who have contributed to this success! 

This purchase and protection of this sacred space stands alongside the recent acquisition of “tooromakma hinse nii,” the cultural access easement at Nyland, and an acquisition opportunity at Chitactac as a defining moment for the Amah Mutsun Land Trust. After ten years of steady, determined work, AMLT is witnessing the emergence of a cultural landscape that reflects our long‑held vision: returning the Mutsun people to their ancestral lands. These lands strengthen our ability to restore Indigenous stewardship practices and expand youth and community engagement. The news today represents a historic step forward in healing and restoration for the Tribal community and beyond.

As we enter this new chapter guided by the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, AMLT is preparing to meet the scale of what lies ahead. Our strategic framework calls for building deeper stewardship capacity, expanding cultural programming, and strengthening the organizational foundation needed to care for these homelands in perpetuity. The protection of Juristac accelerates that work and clarifies the path forward. 

Looking to the future, the Tribe will work through AMLT to engage with POST towards providing Tribal access and bringing Indigenous stewardship to Juristac. We recognize this will take a significant investment in time and strengthened capacity and welcome you, our dedicated community, to walk alongside us on this path through your support and encouragement.

For today, we celebrate and ready ourselves for this worthy undertaking!

Noelle Chambers
Executive Director, Amah Mutsun Land Trust