656 Acres Returned to Agua Caliente Tribe in Upper Palm Canyon

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has officially received 656 acres of ancestral land in upper Palm Canyon, returned through a partnership with Friends of the Desert Mountains, the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy, and the State of California.

The parcel sits in a rugged stretch of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains and contains critical habitat for Peninsular Ranges Desert Bighorn sheep, along with natural resources that help replenish the aquifer that supplies drinking water across the Coachella Valley.

"The return of these 656 acres in upper Palm Canyon is the restoration of responsibility," said Tribal Chairman Reid D. Milanovich. "Since time immemorial, our people have stewarded these mountains and waterways. Conservation is strongest when guided by Tribal leadership rooted in generations of ancestral stewardship."

The Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy board directed staff to move forward with the transfer back in November 2025, and the land is now formally back in tribal hands.  It's part of a series of transfers from 2023 and 2024, with the tribe now reclaiming more than 1,200 acres of its ancestral territory. The Conservancy, which has put over 100,000 acres into conservation since 1991, says Tribal ownership is central to meeting long-term conservation goals.