An Explainer of the Betabel Lawsuit and AMLT's Sacred Lands Defense Efforts

By Athena Hernandez, AMLT General Counsel and Tribal Member

As part of its Sacred Lands Defense efforts to protect cultural sites and resources that may be impacted by development, AMLT participates in AB 52 consultation on proposed development projects existing in the ancestral territory of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band (AMTB). The Betabel lawsuit originated from an AB 52 consultation on the Betabel Commercial Project, a proposed roadside attraction along HWY 101 on lands that are sacred to the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. AMLT had formally requested AB 52 consultation on the Betabel Commercial Project and as part of the consultation process, we requested that an ethnographic study and integrated cultural resources survey be conducted. The results of these studies identified many significant cultural resources that would be seriously impacted by the planned development at the project site. However, when it was finally drafted, San Benito County's Final Environmental Impact Report had many serious deficiencies that failed to consider the negative impact to cultural resources, despite the well-documented survey results.

As a result, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band – along with Protect San Benito County and Center for Biological Diversity – sued the developer and the county in 2022. The trial court granted a motion in favor of the respondents because it found AMTB filed the lawsuit too late, but AMTB appealed the trial court's decision in the Court of Appeal and AMLT prevailed. The Court of Appeal remanded the case back to the trial court and the case will now go forward and be heard on the merits. That is where the lawsuit is today.

The protection of our cultural and sacred sites is the top priority of our land trust. We are determined to ensure that all laws that pertain to cultural resource protection are fully complied with by both the county and developers.