The Traditional Harvest Project represents a unique partnership between the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (UMUT), Montezuma Land Conservancy (MLC) and Trees, Water and People (TWP) focused on improving Tribal access to culturally significant plants on and off Tribal lands. With the land base of the the Núchíú (Ute People) of the UMUT reduced to 600,000 acres of Reservation lands, traditional access for cultural harvest has been greatly impacted resulting in the overharvest of Tribal lands. Many plants collected for traditional use are becoming scarce and hard for the Tribal community to find or access. The reason behind this is two-fold: habitat degradation has reduced the capacity of native plant communities to naturally regenerate traditionally harvested species, and harvesting the same plants year after year from the same areas has led to local overharvest. On UMUT lands, landscape degradation is exacerbated by climate change and changes in river hydrology due to upstream water diversions. Now it is more important than ever to restore habitat, increase access, engage youth and share the stories and knowledge of elders to strengthen cultural connection. Join us to learn more about the development of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Traditional Harvest Plan, TWP’s work in Tribal lands restoration and storytelling, MLC’s role in supporting access to privately conserved lands alongside landowner partners and strategies for authentic community engagement and relationship building. This project exists at the nexus of Indigenous knowledge, innovative private lands conservation strategy and intergenerational knowledge sharing across cultures.