The transfers marked another example of Indigenous people reclaiming stewardship over the land and animals that their ancestors managed for thousands of years.
The storm-related death toll in the area rose to 39. Meanwhile, a nearly week-long driving ban has been lifted as temperatures rise and all major state highways in western New York have also reopened.
The frigid Christmas storm has killed at least 24 people across the country, trapping some residents inside homes with snow drifts, and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for parts of western New York ahead of a dangerous storm that had the potential to dump several feet of snow in western New York.
The new initiative is a broader effort by the Justice Department that it plans to launch across all 94 United States attorneys' offices over the next year.
The federal criminal complaint details other threatening calls allegedly made by the suspect over the past year to businesses in California, Maryland, Connecticut and Washington state, officials say.
The Tops Friendly Markets grocery store opened on Jefferson Avenue on the East Side of Buffalo in 2003. The newly remodled store will reopen to the public on July 15.
The school district in Buffalo, N.Y., announced Wednesday it would keep all school doors locked during the school day, and bar all unannounced visits to its buildings, including by students' parents.
