Site Maintenance

In accordance with the Settlement Agreement reached in September 2021 between the Board of Trustees of the California State University (CSU), the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation-Belardes, and the California Cultural Resources Preservation Alliance, Inc., the University has established a voluntary Restrictive Covenant over a 10.05-acre Restricted Parcel in the northeast portion of the California State University, Long Beach campus, in recognition of its historic, cultural, and religious significance to the Native American community. The Restricted Parcel is part of a larger district known as the Puvungna Indian Villages Sites, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  

Also, in accordance with the Settlement Agreement, the CSU continues to honor its obligation to pursue the establishment of a perpetual Conservation Easement over the Restricted Parcel in consultation with multiple tribes, including but not limited to the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation-Belardes.  

As stipulated in the Settlement Agreement and memorialized in a September 2021 Notice of Exemption filed with the state for the Settlement Agreement, Declaration of Restrictive Covenant, and Conservation Easement, permitted activities on the Restricted Parcel include necessary landscape maintenance and shaping of soils stored on the site in and prior to 2019 to stabilize and blend them into the existing landscape. These actions are necessary to prevent stormwater issues, ensure public safety, and minimize further disruption to the site.  

The proposed methods for carrying out these actions were defined in a treatment plan prepared in close consultation with, and reflecting extensive input from, the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation-Belardes and other tribes in 2021 and 2022. The treatment plan, together with tribal feedback received during consultation, were submitted to the State Historic Preservation Officer at the California Office of Historic Preservation in February 2022. The SHPO concurred with the majority of tribes consulted and the University’s determination that the treatment plan would not result in any adverse effects on the Puvungna Indian Villages Sites Historic District. 

The implementation of the treatment plan for the Restricted Parcel, in accordance with the Settlement Agreement, concluded in February 2024 under the supervision of Native American monitors and archaeologists.

The University continues efforts to identify a long-term conservation easement manager and remains committed to the perpetual protection of Puvungna.