California's largest ‘land-back' deal returns 47,000 acres to tribe

San Francisco Chronicle​

a day ago

Blue Creek once stood as a hub in the Indigenous world. And it will again.
Spilling from the Siskiyou Mountains in California's far north, the tributary of the Klamath River inhabits a hardy landscape of elk and bear, redwood forest and even-to-this-day plentiful salmon. The Yurok people historically lived, gathered and worshiped there.
Last week, in what appears to be the largest 'land back' deal in state history, the Yurok Tribe completed acquisition of 47,000 acres around the Blue Creek watershed, finalizing the return of this vast ancestral stretch to Native American oversight. The property was conveyed in phases by Portland-based Western Rivers Conservancy.
The final transfer last week, about 15,000 acres, follows a two-decade push by the tribe and the conservation group to secure protection of the cherished land in the lower Klamath Basin. The campaign raised $56 million, from a variety of public and private sources, to purchase properties previously owned and heavily logged by the Green Diamond Resource Company.
'To have this land back, it's a beautiful day and a beautiful milestone in the lives of the Yurok people,' Joseph L. James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe, told the Chronicle. 'This is a place of beauty. It's a place of well-being. It's a place of balance. It's who we are.'
The Yurok is California's largest tribe. It counts more than 5,000 members who reside largely on or near the Yurok reservation, which is based in the community of Klamath (Del Norte County) near Redwood National and State Parks. The tribe operates a small casino, restaurant and hotel.
At one time, the Yurok people lived in villages across much of northwestern California. Unlike most Native Americans who were ousted by European settlers, the Yurok have always remained on a portion of their historical lands. With the 47,000-acre acquisition, which abuts their reservation and includes miles and miles of waterfront along both Blue Creek and the Klamath River, the tribe's holdings in modern times have doubled.
'The drainage is not just important to the natural resource, but it's a place of high prayer for us,' James said.
The tribal chairman, who grew up in a small community along the Klamath River just a 20-minute boat ride from Blue Creek, said he and other tribal members would float to the creek's sometimes turquoise waters to seek spiritual clarity and give thanks.
'I like to say, 'There's no such thing as a bad day traveling on the river,'' he said. 'It opens you up in a good way.'
The Yurok Tribe is already managing most of the recently acquired property as a 'community forest.' There, it does sustainable logging and forest restoration. After a century of industrial timber harvests on the land, tribal members are trying to create a healthier environment by removing old logging roads and nursing back redwoods, mixed conifer forests and native grasslands.

Most of the roughly 15,000 acres that was acquired last week will be managed as a protected 'salmon sanctuary.' Located at the lower reaches of Blue Creek, the area is a key cold-water refuge for anadromous fish starting their journeys up the Klamath River. The creek is about 16 miles upriver from the Pacific.
With last year's completion of a major dam-removal project on the Klamath River, nearly 200 miles upstream, Blue Creek has taken on heightened significance. Migrating salmon and steelhead will benefit from any extra rest and nourishment they might get at the creek to sustain them for the potentially longer trek to the newly un-dammed river habitat.
'Dam removal is inspiring and great and exceptionally important,' said Nelson Mathews, president of Western Rivers Conservancy. 'To get up past the dams, the fish need cold water. That's why this (protection of Blue Creek) is critical.'
Western Rivers Conservancy, alongside the Yurok Tribe, began discussing a potential land deal with Green Diamond Resource Company in the 2000s. Between 2009 and 2017, the organization bought pieces of the company's property, all of which were ultimately transferred to the tribe.
In addition to direct funding from the state and private donors, Western Rivers Conservancy raised money from carbon credits, in which companies pay to offset their pollution, and the federal New Markets Tax Credit program, in which corporations get tax breaks for making community investments.
'Our core mission is conservation: It's protecting the rivers and streams,' Matthews said. 'Tribes have been a natural partner for us. … The Yurok Tribe has the resources and the deep cultural connections that sustained this land for millennia, and now they can continue to do so.'