Tribes can begin entering into agreements with the National Park Service to allow their members to pick plants on protected land under a new federal rule.
The rule announced in June by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell went into effect Thursday.
Under the rule, tribes must have a culturally significant tie to the land that makes up a national park in order for its members to harvest foliage that grows there. And Native Americans or Alaskan Natives must use the plants for traditional reasons, such as using a root for medicinal purposes, or branches or bark to make a basket.
There are 58 national parks in the U.S., with some covering vast expanses within proximity to some of the nation's largest Indian reservations.
