With Congress home for the holidays and hope of legislation to enact the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement coming before the Dec. 31 deadline evaporated, stakeholders will gather for a conference call Monday. But don’t expect another extension or a unified path forward. “No,” said Karuk Tribe Natural Resources Policy Advocate Craig Tucker. “Pretty much, the […]
Yurok Tribe
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Yurok Tribe Mourns the Death of Troy Fletcher
Troy Fletcher, the longtime executive director of the Yurok Tribe and one of the initial linchpins in the original Klamath Basin Restoration Agreements, died unexpectedly Friday after suffering a heart attack. He was 53. Fletcher was locally renowned for being a fierce advocate for the tribe and the Klamath River, but was also widely respected […]
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Conservancy Group Turns to Crowdsourcing for $5 Million Klamath Tributary Buy
The Western Rivers Conservancy has launched an ambitious crowdfunding campaign to purchase a 10,000-acre tract of of land that contains a significant Klamath River tributary. Blue Creek runs into the Klamath River 16 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, just inside Humboldt County’s border before the river flows into Del Norte County past the town […]
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Yurok Tribe no Longer Supports Klamath River Agreement
NOTE: This post was updated with comment from Huffman. The Yurok Tribe has announced it will withdraw its support of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, the massive, multi-agency restoration plan originally signed in 2010 that’s sat untouched by Congress for the last five years. The Karuk Tribe and Oregon Klamath Tribes will also withdraw at […]
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Let it Flow: Judge Denies Bid to Halt Water Release
UPDATE: North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman released a statement decrying the “preposterous” and repeated attempts of Southern California water districts to prevent water releases into the Trinity River. He also had some choice words for the “drumbeats of distortions from the districts’ PR machine.” See the full press release and statement below. PREVIOUSLY: The Yurok […]
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Connecting Freshmen to the Klamath
A small group of Humboldt State University’s largest-ever freshman class got a VIP-worthy introduction to the county last week through one of the North Coast’s most important resources: the Klamath River. More than 60 students cut their summer breaks short to head up to Arcata early this year as part of an experimental new program […]
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Yurok Tribe Swindled of $250K in Casino Push
The Yurok Tribe is alleging that it fell victim to a conman who bilked the tribe of $250,000 as it pushed to finance the opening of its new Redwood Hotel and Casino in 2014. In a letter last month to tribal members, Tribal Chair Thomas O’Rourke Sr. explained that, in an effort to fund staffing […]
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The Early Bird: LeValley home from prison ‘sabbatical’
About nine and a half months after surrendering to federal prison, embattled local biologist Ron LeValley recently announced his return home with a grinning selfie taken somewhere on the North Coast and a plea for help paying down the debts incurred from his “sabbatical.” Since LeValley’s incarceration for conspiring to embezzle almost $1 million from […]
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Feds Act to Avoid Fish Kill
In response to the recent discovery of a deadly parasite infecting salmon in the Klamath River, the Bureau of Reclamation began today sending another round of emergency flows down the Trinity River with the hopes of staving off a massive fish kill. After initially refusing to release additional water from Lewiston Dam into the Trinity, […]
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SECOND UPDATE:Trinity Will Get More Water; Suit Filed
SECOND UPDATE: On Monday, Aug. 25, around 5 p.m., the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority filed for a temporary restraining order in Fresno Superior Court to stop the increased flows. Dan Nelson, executive director of the water authority, said Tuesday that the issue is much the same as last year when his agency and the Westlands […]
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Biologist Gets 10 Months for Yurok Grift
A judge today sentenced a local biologist to serve 10 months in prison for his role in conspiring to embezzle nearly $1 million in federal funds from the Yurok Tribe over a three-year period beginning in 2007, according to Yurok Tribal Chairman Thomas O’Rourke. Mad River Biologists founder Ron LeValley pleaded guilty in February to […]
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Del Norte School Board Extends ACLU Settlement
The Del Norte County Unified School District Board voted unanimously this week to extend its settlement agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, which stemmed from a lawsuit brought against the district alleging a pattern of racial discrimination against Native American students. The district has made progress under the settlement agreement adopted […]