TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-The Cherokee Nation, working alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the first tribal nation to designate an area of land to protect an endangered species of beetle.
Principal Chief Bill John Baker signed an executive order designating a portion of the tribe's 800-acre park on Sallisaw Creek in Sequoyah County as an American Burying Beetle Conservation and Mitigation Area for the next 10 years.
"Cherokees have long understood that we must protect our natural resources for the cultural, spiritual and economic value they bring to the Cherokee Nation," Chief Baker said....
