Latest news with #WesternRiversConservancy
Euronews
2 days ago
- General
- Euronews
Yurok tribe reclaims land in California's largest land-back project
The Yurok Tribe has regained nearly 189 square kilometres of ancestral forestland along the Klamath River in northern California, more than doubling their land holdings and marking the largest land-back conservation deal in state history. The tribe plans to restore the landscape through traditional stewardship methods such as controlled burns, prairie restoration, invasive species removal and tree planting, efforts that will also create jobs for the tribe's 5,000 members. "We're thrilled to announce that we've transferred the final phase of land to the Yurok tribe and completed creation of the Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary and the Yurok tribal community forest," said Josh Kling, conservation director at Western Rivers Conservancy. He added, "This is the single largest land-back project of lands going back to a tribe in the entire state of California. 47,000 acres is now under the ownership and stewardship of the Yurok tribe." The return of these lands is part of the broader Land Back movement, which seeks to restore Indigenous ownership and stewardship of traditional territories. Over the past decade, around 12,000 square kilometres of land has been returned to tribes across 15 states through federal programmes aided by conservation organisations. For the Yurok, 90% of whose territory was seized during the Gold Rush era, reclaiming this land holds deep significance. "Re-acquiring landscapes like this allows us to heal, to work towards healing a wound that was inflicted not only on the lands but our hearts when these lands were taken away from us," said Tiana Williams-Clausen, director of the Yurok Tribe's wildlife department. She emphasised Blue Creek's importance, calling it "one of the best and clearest and healthiest of tributaries that go into the Klamath River, which is the heart of Yurok Country," but noted it has faced destructive management for years. Studies increasingly show that forests stewarded by Indigenous peoples are healthier, more biodiverse and more resilient, highlighting the critical role of traditional ecological knowledge in combating climate change. Beth Rose Middleton Manning, a Native American Studies professor at UC Davis, said "Indigenous people's perspective - living in relation with the lands, waterways and wildlife - is becoming widely recognised and is a stark contrast to Western views." Despite this landmark land-back project, however, Yurok Tribe members know it's going to take decades of work for these lands and waterways to heal. New Zealand's parliament suspended three lawmakers on Thursday who performed a Māori haka in protest against a controversial proposed law that critics said would reverse indigenous rights. Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke received a seven-day ban and the leaders of her political party, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, were barred for 21 days. Their political party, Te Pāti Māori, also known as the Māori Party, is a left-wing political group in New Zealand advocating for minority Māori rights. A parliamentary privilege committee recommended that the trio be suspended for acting in "a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House." Three days had been the longest ban for a lawmaker from New Zealand's Parliament prior to this, meaning the three-week suspension of Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi sets a new record. The three politicians performed a haka in Parliament in opposition of the widely unpopular Treaty Principles Bill which they said would be damaging to the rights of indigenous peoples. The bill has since been defeated. It sought to legally define the principles of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which is the pact signed between Māori leaders and the British Crown during New Zealand's colonisation. More than 40,000 people protested outside parliament during the bill's first reading last year. The protest provoked months of debate among lawmakers about what the consequences of the Te Pāti Māori politicians' actions should be and whether New Zealand's Parliament welcomed or valued Māori culture, or felt threatened by it.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
'It's incredible': Seized ancestral homelands handed back to Yurok Tribe in California
Roughly 73 square miles of ancestral homelands have been returned to the Yurok Tribe in California. The move is what is known as a "land-back" deal - where homelands are returned to indigenous people through ownership or co-stewardship. The land-back conservation project along the Klamath River, a partnership between the Yurok Tribe and the Western Rivers Conservancy, is being called the largest in state history. The Yurok Tribe had 90% of its territory taken during the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s, suffering massacres and disease from settlers. For more than a century, the land was then owned and managed by timber companies - severing the tribe's access to its homelands. However, over 73 square miles of land along Blue Creek stream and the eastern side of the lower Klamath River in northern California will now be permanently managed by the Yurok Tribe for fish, wildlife and forest health within the newly-created Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary and Yurok Tribal Community Forest. Western Rivers Conservancy and the Yurok Tribe established a long-term partnership in 2009 to buy 47,097 acres along the lower Klamath and Blue Creek from Green Diamond Resource Company. It has cost the partnership $56million (£41m). The deal to hand back the land comes amid mounting recognition that indigenous people's traditional knowledge is critical to addressing climate change. Studies found the healthiest, most biodiverse and resilient forests are on protected native lands where indigenous people remained stewards. The tribe's plans include reintroducing fire as a forest management tool, clearing lands for prairie restoration, removing invasive species and planting trees while providing work for some of the tribe's more than 5,000 members and helping restore salmon and wildlife. The area is home to many creatures, including northern spotted owls, elk, deer and mountain lions. Galen Schuler, a vice president at Green Diamond Resource Company, the previous land owner, said the forests were sustainably managed by the firm when it managed them. Over the last decade, nearly 4,700 square miles (12,173 square kilometers) were returned to tribes in 15 states through a federal program. Barry McCovey Jr, whose ancestors were members of the Yurok Tribe, was involved in the effort to get the land returned to the tribe and said: "Snorkelling Blue Creek ... I felt the significance of that place to myself and to our people, and I knew then that we had to do whatever we could to try and get that back." Mr McCovey Jr, who is director of the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department, would have to sneak through metal gates and hide from security guards in order to fish in the Blue Creek stream connected to the Klamath River. He said: "To go from when I was a kid and 20 years ago even, from being afraid to go out there to having it be back in tribal hands … is incredible." The tribe aims to restore the historic prairies, but members know it's going to take decades of work for the lands and waterways to heal. "And maybe all that's not going to be done in my lifetime," said Mr McCovey Jr. "But that's fine, because I'm not doing this for myself."
2 days ago
- General
California's Yurok Tribe gets back ancestral lands that were taken over 120 years ago
ON THE KLAMATH RIVER, Calif. -- As a youngster, Barry McCovey Jr. would sneak through metal gates and hide from security guards just to catch a steelhead trout in Blue Creek amid northwestern California redwoods. Since time immemorial, his ancestors from the Yurok Tribe had fished, hunted and gathered in this watershed flanked by coastal forests. But for more than 100 years, these lands were owned and managed by timber companies, severing the tribe's access to its homelands. When McCovey started working as a fisheries technician, the company would let him go there to do his job. 'Snorkeling Blue Creek ... I felt the significance of that place to myself and to our people, and I knew then that we had to do whatever we could to try and get that back,' McCovey said. After a 23-year effort and $56 million, that became reality. Roughly 73 square miles (189 square kilometers) of homelands have been returned to the Yurok, more than doubling the tribe's land holdings, according to a deal announced Thursday. Completion of the land-back conservation deal along the lower Klamath River — a partnership with Western Rivers Conservancy and other environmental groups — is being called the largest in California history. The Yurok Tribe had 90% of its territory taken during the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s, suffering massacres and disease from settlers. 'To go from when I was a kid and 20 years ago even, from being afraid to go out there to having it be back in tribal hands … is incredible,' said McCovey, director of the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part of a series of on how tribes and Indigenous communities are coping with and combating climate change. ___ Land Back is a global movement seeking the return of homelands to Indigenous people through ownership or co-stewardship. In the last decade, nearly 4,700 square miles (12,173 square kilometers) were returned to tribes in 15 states through a federal program. Organizations are aiding similar efforts. There's mounting recognition that Indigenous people's traditional knowledge is critical to addressing climate change. Studies found the healthiest, most biodiverse and resilient forests are on protected native lands where Indigenous people remained stewards. Beth Rose Middleton Manning, a University of California, Davis professor of Native American Studies, said Indigenous people's perspective — living in relation with the lands, waterways and wildlife — is becoming widely recognized, and is a stark contrast to Western views. 'Management of a forest to grow conifers for sale is very different from thinking about the ecosystem and the different plants and animals and people as part of it and how we all play a role," she said. The Yurok people will now manage these lands and waterways. The tribe's plans include reintroducing fire as a forest management tool, clearing lands for prairie restoration, removing invasive species and planting trees while providing work for some of the tribe's more than 5,000 members and helping restore salmon and wildlife. One fall morning in heavy fog, a motorboat roared down the turbid Klamath toward Blue Creek — the crown jewel of these lands — past towering redwoods, and cottonwoods, willows, alders. Suddenly, gray gave way to blue sky, where an osprey and bald eagle soared. Along a bank, a black bear scrambled over rocks. The place is home to imperiled marbled murrelets, northern spotted owls and Humboldt martens, as well as elk, deer and mountain lions. The Klamath River basin supports fish — steelhead, coho and Chinook salmon — that live in both fresh and saltwater. The Klamath was once the West Coast's third largest salmon-producing river and the life force of Indigenous people. But the state's salmon stock has plummeted so dramatically — in part from dams and diversions — that fishing was banned for the third consecutive year. 'We can't have commercial fishing because populations are so low,' said Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department. 'Our people would use the revenue to feed their families; now there's less than one salmon per Yurok Tribe member." Experts say restoring Blue Creek complements the successful, decades-long fight by tribes to remove the Klamath dams — the largest dam removal in U.S. history. This watershed is a cold-water lifeline in the lower Klamath for spawning salmon and steelhead that stop to cool down before swimming upstream. That's key amid climate-infused droughts and warming waters. 'For the major river to have its most critical and cold-water tributary … just doing its job is critical to the entire ecosystem,' said Sue Doroff, co-founder and former president of Western Rivers Conservancy. For more than 100 years, these lands were owned and managed for industrial timber. Patchworks of 15 to 20 acres (6 to 8 hectares) at a time of redwoods and Douglas firs have been clear cut to produce and sell logs domestically, according to Galen Schuler, a vice president at Green Diamond Resource Company, the previous landowner. Schuler said the forests have been sustainably managed, with no more than 2% cut annually, and that old growth is spared. He said they are 'maybe on the third round' of clear cutting since the 1850s. But clear cutting creates sediment that winds up in streams, making them shallower, more prone to warming and worsening water quality, according to Josh Kling, conservation director for the conservancy. Sediment, including from roads, can also smother salmon eggs and kill small fish. Culverts, common on Western logging roads, have also been an issue here. Most "were undersized relative to what a fish needs for passage,' Kling said. Land management decisions for commercial timber have also created some dense forests of small trees, making them wildfire prone and water thirsty, according to Williams-Claussen. 'I know a lot of people would look at the forested hillsides around here and be like, 'It's beautiful, it's forested.' But see that old growth on the hill, like way up there?' asked Sarah Beesley, fisheries biologist for the Yurok Tribe, sitting on a rock in Blue Creek. 'There's like one or two of those." Fire bans, invasive plants and encroachment of unmanaged native species have contributed to loss of prairies, historically home to abundant elk and deer herds and where the Yurok gathered plants for cultural and medicinal uses. Western Rivers Conservancy bought and conveyed land to the tribe in phases. The $56 million for the conservation deal came from private capital, low interest loans, tax credits, public grants and carbon credit sales that will continue to support restoration. The tribe aims to restore historic prairies by removing invasive species and encroaching native vegetation. The prairies are important food sources for elk and the mardon skipper butterfly, said Kling from the conservancy. Trees removed from prairies will be used as logjams for creeks to create habitat for frogs, fish and turtles. The tribe will reintroduce fire to aid in prairie restoration and reestablish forest diversity and mature forests to help imperiled species bounce back. Members know its going to take decades of work for these lands and waterways to heal. 'And maybe all that's not going to be done in my lifetime,' said McCovey, the fisheries director. 'But that's fine, because I'm not doing doing this for myself.'
France 24
2 days ago
- General
- France 24
🌟The Bright Side: California's Yurok tribe reclaims ancestral homelands in major landback deal
As a youngster, Barry McCovey Jr. would sneak through metal gates and hide from security guards just to catch a steelhead trout in Blue Creek amid northwestern California redwoods. Since time immemorial, his ancestors from the Yurok Tribe had fished, hunted and gathered in this watershed flanked by coastal forests. But for more than 100 years, these lands were owned and managed by timber companies, severing the tribe's access to its homelands. When McCovey started working as a fisheries technician, the company would let him go there to do his job. 'Snorkeling Blue Creek ... I felt the significance of that place to myself and to our people, and I knew then that we had to do whatever we could to try and get that back,' McCovey said. After a 23-year effort and $56 million, that became reality. Roughly 189km 2 of homelands have been returned to the Yurok, more than doubling the tribe's land holdings, according to a deal announced Thursday. Completion of the land-back conservation deal along the lower Klamath River – a partnership with Western Rivers Conservancy and other environmental groups – is being called the largest in California history. The Yurok Tribe had 90% of its territory taken during the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s, suffering massacres and disease from settlers. 'To go from when I was a kid and 20 years ago even, from being afraid to go out there to having it be back in tribal hands … is incredible,' said McCovey, director of the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department. Land Back is a global movement seeking the return of homelands to Indigenous people through ownership or co-stewardship. In the last decade, nearly 12,173km 2 were returned to tribes in 15 states through a federal programme. Organisations are aiding similar efforts. There's mounting recognition that Indigenous people's traditional knowledge is critical to addressing climate change. Studies found the healthiest, most biodiverse and resilient forests are on protected native lands where Indigenous people remained stewards. Beth Rose Middleton Manning, a University of California, Davis professor of Native American Studies, said Indigenous people's perspective – living in relation with the lands, waterways and wildlife– is becoming widely recognised, and is a stark contrast to Western views. 'Management of a forest to grow conifers for sale is very different from thinking about the ecosystem and the different plants and animals and people as part of it and how we all play a role," she said. The Yurok people will now manage these lands and waterways. The tribe's plans include reintroducing fire as a forest management tool, clearing lands for prairie restoration, removing invasive species and planting trees while providing work for some of the tribe's more than 5,000 members and helping restore salmon and wildlife. One fall morning in heavy fog, a motorboat roared down the turbid Klamath toward Blue Creek – the crown jewel of these lands – past towering redwoods, and cottonwoods, willows, alders. Suddenly, gray gave way to blue sky, where an osprey and bald eagle soared. Along a bank, a black bear scrambled over rocks. The place is home to imperiled marbled murrelets, northern spotted owls and Humboldt martens, as well as elk, deer and mountain lions. The Klamath River basin supports fish – steelhead, coho and Chinook salmon – that live in both fresh and saltwater. The Klamath was once the West Coast's third largest salmon-producing river and the life force of Indigenous people. But the state's salmon stock has plummeted so dramatically – in part from dams and diversions – that fishing was banned for the third consecutive year. 'We can't have commercial fishing because populations are so low,' said Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department. 'Our people would use the revenue to feed their families; now there's less than one salmon per Yurok Tribe member." Experts say restoring Blue Creek complements the successful, decades-long fight by tribes to remove the Klamath dams – the largest dam removal in US history. This watershed is a cold-water lifeline in the lower Klamath for spawning salmon and steelhead that stop to cool down before swimming upstream. That's key amid climate-infused droughts and warming waters. 'For the major river to have its most critical and cold-water tributary … just doing its job is critical to the entire ecosystem,' said Sue Doroff, co-founder and former president of Western Rivers Conservancy. For more than 100 years, these lands were owned and managed for industrial timber. Patchworks of 6.07ha to 8.09ha at a time of redwoods and Douglas firs have been clear cut to produce and sell logs domestically, according to Galen Schuler, a vice president at Green Diamond Resource Company, the previous land owner. Schuler said the forests have been sustainably managed, with no more than 2 percent cut annually, and that old growth is spared. He said they are 'maybe on the third round' of clear cutting since the 1850s. But clear cutting creates sediment that winds up in streams, making them shallower, more prone to warming and worsening water quality, according to Josh Kling, conservation director for the conservancy. Sediment, including from roads, can also smother salmon eggs and kill small fish. Culverts, common on Western logging roads, have also been an issue here. Most "were undersized relative to what a fish needs for passage,' Kling said. Land management decisions for commercial timber have also created some dense forests of small trees, making them wildfire prone and water thirsty, according to Williams-Claussen. 'I know a lot of people would look at the forested hillsides around here and be like, 'It's beautiful, it's forested.' But see that old growth on the hill, like way up there?' asked Sarah Beesley, fisheries biologist for the Yurok Tribe, sitting on a rock in Blue Creek. 'There's like one or two of those." Fire bans, invasive plants and encroachment of unmanaged native species have contributed to loss of prairies, historically home to abundant elk and deer herds and where the Yurok gathered plants for cultural and medicinal uses. Western Rivers Conservancy bought and conveyed land to the tribe in phases. The $56 million for the conservation deal came from private capital, low interest loans, tax credits, public grants and carbon credit sales that will continue to support restoration. The tribe aims to restore historic prairies by removing invasive species and encroaching native vegetation. The prairies are important food sources for elk and the mardon skipper butterfly, said Kling from the conservancy. Trees removed from prairies will be used as logjams for creeks to create habitat for frogs, fish and turtles. The tribe will reintroduce fire to aid in prairie restoration and re-establish forest diversity and mature forests to help imperiled species bounce back. Members know its going to take decades of work for these lands and waterways to heal. 'And maybe all that's not going to be done in my lifetime,' said McCovey, the fisheries director. 'But that's fine, because I'm not doing doing this for myself.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Largest Ever Land Back-Conservation Deal in Calif. Now Complete: Western Rivers Conservancy Conveys Final Acreage to Yurok Tribe in a 47,000-Acre Effort Critical to the Salmon, Wildlife and Forests of the Klamath River
Totaling 73 square miles, Blue Creek project marks milestone for Klamath River and Tribal sovereignty, more than doubling Tribe's land holdings Blue Creek flows into the Klamath River. Photo: Peter Marbach/Western Rivers Conservancy KLAMATH, Calif., June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC), the Yurok Tribe, the California Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) and the California State Coastal Conservancy (CSCC) announce completion of the largest single 'land back' deal in California history, marking a milestone achievement for conservation and Tribal sovereignty. The 73 square miles of land along the eastern side of the lower Klamath River are now owned and managed by the Yurok Tribe as the Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary and Yurok Tribal Community Forest. (See map below.) Establishing Tribal ownership safeguards the long-term health of this critical ecosystem and culturally significant sites along the Klamath, which is home to one of the most important fall Chinook salmon runs on the West Coast. The conveyance of these lands to the Tribe has more than doubled the Tribe's land holdings; both California state agencies provided crucial funding to enable this transfer of ownership. 'On behalf of the Yurok people, I want to sincerely thank Western Rivers Conservancy for their longtime partnership and commitment to return a major part of our homeland. The impact of this project is enormous,' said Joseph L. James, the chairman of the Yurok Tribe. 'In working together for over two decades establishing the Community Forest and Salmon Sanctuary, we are forging a sustainable future for the fish, forests and our people that honors both ecological integrity and our cultural heritage.' The 47,097 acres of ancestral lands, located in the lower Klamath River watershed, play a crucial role in improving the health of Blue Creek, which carries great spiritual significance for the Yurok Tribe and is a crucial cold-water lifeline to the fish of the Klamath River. The forests, river lands and prairies they contain provide habitat for numerous imperiled species, including coho and Chinook salmon, marbled murrelet, northern spotted owl and Humboldt marten. Blue Creek serves as a vital cold-water refuge for salmon, steelhead and other fish in an era of climate change. Nelson Mathews, president of Western Rivers Conservancy, emphasized the broader environmental benefits of this achievement: 'This project exemplifies the power of partnership, showcasing how conservation efforts and the land back movement can come together to benefit the rivers, fish, wildlife and people of an entire landscape. After more than 20 years of close collaboration with the Yurok Tribe, we have together achieved this magnificent conservation success while ensuring these lands and waters are in the hands of those most deeply committed to their future health and sustainable use. Blue Creek and its watershed are critical to the health of the entire Klamath fishery. 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.'About the Blue Creek ProjectToday's announcement marks the completion of Western Rivers Conservancy's 23-year effort to convey 47,097 acres of critical lands along the Klamath River and encompassing the lower Blue Creek watershed, including their confluence, to the Yurok Tribe. From 2009 through 2017, WRC acquired or facilitated transfer of the lands from Green Diamond Resource Company in multiple phases; conveyance of the lands from WRC to the Yurok has happened in multiple phases as well. The conveyance of the final 14,968 acres from WRC to the Yurok Tribe closed on May 30, 2025. The historic 47,097-acre land transfer, at a purchase price of $56 million, encompasses the entire lower half of the Blue Creek watershed, 25 miles of the eastern bank of the Klamath River and dozens of miles of smaller salmon-bearing tributary streams, including Blue Creek, Bear Creek, Pecwan Creek and Ke'Pel Creek. The lands were owned and managed as commercial timberland by Green Diamond and its predecessor Simpson Logging Company for nearly 100 years. These lands are the ancestral homelands of the Yurok Tribe, who have lived along the Klamath River and depended on its salmon since time immemorial. This collaboration between a nonprofit conservation organization and a Native American Tribe reflects the growing intersectional movement between land back and environmental stewardship in the United States. To pay for the project, WRC pieced together an innovative funding strategy that brought together $56 million in private capital, low interest loans, tax credits and carbon credit sales. Of that, only $8 million was through direct public grants. The private funding included traditional sources, such as gifts from private foundations, corporations and philanthropic individuals, as well as nontraditional sources like the sale of carbon credits, which will continue to support the project, and capital generated through the New Markets Tax Credit program of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In addition to raising the funds to purchase the land, WRC will also transfer $3.3 million generated through the sale of carbon credits to the Yurok Tribe to be used for future stewardship of the property. When project costs are included, the full value of the Blue Creek conveyance is over $70 million. A New Salmon Sanctuary and Tribal Community ForestConveyance of the final lands from WRC to the Yurok Tribe completes the Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary, a 14,790-acre cold-water refuge surrounded by forest lands that will now be managed for forest complexity and old-growth health for the benefit of the Klamath River's fish and wildlife. The entirety of Blue Creek is now permanently protected, from its headwaters and upper reaches in the Siskiyou Wilderness to its confluence with the Klamath River. Located 16 miles upstream from the mouth of the Klamath, Blue Creek provides the first cold-water refuge in the river for migrating salmon and steelhead, allowing summer and fall-run fish to lower their body temperatures enough to survive their long journey to upstream spawning grounds. Blue Creek is thus an essential component of the overall health of the Klamath River and the entirety of its salmon runs, especially as the removal of all the Klamath dams has reopened vast spawning habitat in the upper river. The other 32,307 acres of redwood and mixed conifer forest outside the Salmon Sanctuary now constitute the Yurok Tribal Community Forest. Already more than a decade in the making, the forest is being allowed to recover from nearly a century of industrial logging that left both the forest and the streams in need of extensive restoration. The Tribe's sustainable forestry practices are focused on putting the Yurok Community Forest on a path to become more diverse and mature by increasing the time between harvests. The Community Forest provides jobs for Tribal members in forestry and restoration, helping build the future for the Yurok people. It also helps mitigate the effects of climate change. Recent research has demonstrated that redwood forests can store more carbon per acre than any other type of forest and that second-growth (previously logged) redwood forests have the greatest potential to accumulate carbon even faster than old-growth trees. From 2013 until present, WRC worked in a formal co-management agreement with the Yurok Tribe to conduct the necessary planning and implementation for forest restoration and management, aquatic restoration, logging road removal and preparations for the final conveyance of land. This agreement served to build capacity and expertise for both WRC and the Yurok, as they collaborated to meet grant requirements, finalize the management plan and initiate on-the-ground restoration projects and chart the future of both the Salmon Sanctuary and the Community Forest. Western Rivers Conservancy and the Yurok Tribe's Shared Vision for Blue CreekWRC and the Yurok Tribe's shared vision has been to create a sustainable and inclusive model of land management that prioritizes Blue Creek and the Klamath River and honors both ecological integrity and cultural heritage. The project's outcomes benefit both land conservation and cultural repatriation. 'Everyone has a vested interest in seeing the Klamath salmon runs survive and thrive,' said WRC President Emerita and co-founder Sue Doroff, who launched the Blue Creek project and oversaw it until her retirement in June 2024. 'Millions of dollars and immeasurable human energy are being invested in the Klamath River right now. There are two things that are key to the success of this massive effort to save this river and its salmon: Blue Creek and the Yurok people. I am honored beyond words to have worked together with the Yurok to ensure the Klamath and its fish and wildlife will have a salmon sanctuary and cold water refuge where they need it most.' The Klamath River is in prolonged recovery from more than a century of logging, dams, gold mining and other human activities. In August 2024, the last three of four dams were removed from the upper Klamath River. Initiated by Klamath Basin tribes, the removal of these dams reopened more than 400 miles of salmon habitat in the upper river for the first time in over a century. 'The dams were the single biggest impediment to salmon production on the Klamath because they had such a negative influence on the river ecosystem. Through dam removal, protection and restoration of critical tributaries like Blue Creek and proper water management, we will restore the fish runs that sustained us and this entire region,' said Barry McCovey, director of the Yurok Fisheries Department, which employs nearly 100 scientists and technicians. Western Rivers Conservancy – A Leader in Land BackFor more than 30 years, WRC has taken the lead in marrying conservation and tribal land-return outcomes, working with tribal nations to permanently protect rivers and the lands that sustain them. WRC and its many tribal partners, who are the original stewards of riverlands across the West, make natural conservation partners given that tribal nations often possess the resources, foresight, expertise and commitment to restore and conserve these vital places in perpetuity. Most recently, WRC conveyed 327 acres of the Little Sur River and surrounding ancestral redwood forest to the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County along California's central coast. A complete list and history of WRC's Tribal Nations partnerships are available here. Project FundingState funding and support for the Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary and Yurok Tribal Community Forest was provided by the California Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB), California State Coastal Conservancy (CSCC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program. 'Returning these lands to the Yurok Tribe is an unprecedented step forward for the Klamath River, and it comes at a critical moment following the removal of the Klamath River dams. Returning ancestral lands to Native American tribes is an essential step in restoring ecological balance and health,' said Jennifer Norris, executive director of the California Wildlife Conservation Board. 'WCB is proud to be part of this truly historic achievement, both for the Yurok people and as part of the broader effort to guarantee the long-term survival of the Klamath's salmon and the wildlife of Northern California.' 'Thanks to this incredible group of partners, the Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary and Yurok Tribal Community Forest have become one of California's great conservation successes—one that will nurture tribal resilience for the Yurok people, improve conditions for the Klamath River's salmon and wildlife and carry forward the Coastal Conservancy's mission of improving climate resilience on the California Coast,' said Amy Hutzel, executive officer of the California State Coastal Conservancy. Additional support came from Compton Foundation, Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund, George F. Jewett Foundation, The Kendeda Fund, Giles W. and Elise G. Mead Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation/Acres for America and Walmart Stores, Inc., Natural Resources Conservation Service, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Land-Sea Connection program of Resources Legacy Fund made possible by the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Inc., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Weeden Foundation and The Wyss Foundation. Please visit the Klamath River/Blue Creek project web page for additional information on this historic achievement, including a complete list of project funders and funding details. Note to media: Hi-res images and b-roll are available here. *** The Yurok TribeWith more than 6,400 enrolled members, the Yurok Tribe is currently the largest Tribe in California. Yurok ancestral territory comprises 7.5 percent of the California coastline, extending from the Little River in Humboldt County to Damnation Creek in Del Norte County. The eastern boundary is the Klamath River's confluence with the Trinity River. The Tribe's more than 500 employees provide numerous services to the local community. The Tribe's major initiatives include holistic forest management, fisheries protection, restoration and management, Klamath dam removal, condor reintroduction, natural resources conservation, cultural preservation, sustainable economic development and land acquisition. More information at Western Rivers ConservancyWestern Rivers Conservancy's motto is 'Sometimes to save a river, you have to buy it.' WRC purchases land along the West's finest rivers and streams to conserve habitat for fish and wildlife, protect key sources of cold water and create public access for all to enjoy. To ensure the lands it acquires are protected in perpetuity, WRC transfers them to long-term stewards such as federal, state and regional agencies and Tribal Nations. WRC has created sanctuaries for fish and wildlife and secured recreational access along 250 rivers and streams around the West. It has protected more than 440 river miles and over 225,000 acres of land in nine western states. Its approach to river conservation is effective, tangible and permanent. More information at Wildlife Conservation BoardThe Wildlife Conservation Board protects, restores and enhances California's spectacular natural resources for wildlife and for the public's use and enjoyment in partnership with conservation groups, government agencies and the people of California. Originally created within the California Department of Natural Resources and later placed with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, WCB is a separate and independent Board with authority and funding to carry out an acquisition and development program for wildlife conservation. More information at California State Coastal ConservancyThe Coastal Conservancy is a non-regulatory state agency that works with others along the California coast, in coastal watersheds, and in the San Francisco Bay Area to protect and restore coastal resources, to help people get to and enjoy the coast, and to enhance climate resilience. Our vision is of a beautiful, restored, and accessible coast for current and future Californians. More information at Media Contacts: Yurok Tribe - Matt Mais, (707) 954-0976, mmais@ Western Rivers Conservancy - Andie Davis, (415) 766-8355, WesternRivers@ Wildlife Conservation Board - Mark Topping, (916) 539-4673, Coastal Conservancy - Taylor Samuelson, (510) 286-4182, Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
