“When we call ourselves salmon people, that’s very literal in our purpose to take care of salmon. So that means the river and the forest, and all of these other things that create salmon habitat. So if the salmon aren’t here, I think that’s a very cosmological violence – like striping identity, striping purpose.” Scott … Read more
“Rivers carry more than just water – they also carry sediment which is very important to a river’s function and its ability to naturally regulate itself from diseases.” Friends of the Eel River’s Conservation Director Scott Greacen discusses the Yurok and Hoopa Tribes’ recent US district court win with the Yurok Tribe’s senior water policy … Read more
Under a purple pre-dawn sky, a small group of Northern Californian Indians ventured out onto the wet sand where the mighty Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean. They had come to honor and fight for the salmon that have sustained their ancient culture for generations. Parents with their children burned sacred sage in the chilly … Read more
Native American communities are bracing for a public health crisis this year in California’s misty, rugged northwestern corner. In the Pacific Ocean off the mouth of the Klamath River, record-low numbers of fall-run adult Chinook salmon are ready to make their annual migration up the river and its primary tributary, the Trinity River, to spawn. … Read more
For the first time in its history, the Karuk Tribe will be limiting ceremonial salmon harvests for tribal members because of the record low forecast for returning Chinook salmon on the Klamath River. Karuk Tribal Chairman Russell “Buster” Attebery said in a Monday statement that it was his “saddest day as chairman” to announce the … Read more
California tribes and fishermen stated Thursday they will be calling on Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a fisheries disaster because of the dismal forecast for this year’s salmon season. “There is a lot of tears and there’s a lot of questions about how am I going to feed my family?” Yurok Tribe General Counsel Amy … Read more
Both sport and commercial salmon fishing near the Klamath River could be completely closed this year as a result of what the Pacific Fishery Management Council is projecting to be the lowest return of spawning Chinook salmon on record. “The salmon runs this year will present a challenge for ocean fishermen and managers throughout the … Read more
The plan to remove four hydroelectric dams to improve fish passage and water quality on the Klamath River is proceeding on schedule for a 2020 demolition time, according to plan proponents. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will ultimately have to approve or deny the plan, and the change in administration in Washington, D.C., has led … Read more
The federal government can redirect water from a Northern California dam to prevent mass die-offs of salmon in drought years, water that otherwise would be shipped to Central Valley farmers, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had authority under a 1955 federal law to release Trinity River water from the … Read more
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation ramped up flows on the lower Klamath River on Friday morning in an attempt to reduce the risk of threatened fish from contracting a deadly parasite as had occurred in years past. The move came just over a day after a federal judge found that the bureau’s past dam operations … Read more