The Klamath River is flowing free again after the breaching of dams along the southern basin.
Klamath River, California – In a sweeping reversal of more than a century of dispossession, the Yurok Tribe has reclaimed nearly 73 square miles of ancestral land along the lower Klamath River in northwestern California. The $56 million land-back deal, more than two decades in the making, more than doubles the Yurok Tribe’s land holdings and represents the most significant such conservation partnership in California history.
For generations, these lands—dense with coastal redwoods, steelhead trout, and deep cultural memory—were under the control of timber companies. The forests around Blue Creek, once central to Yurok lifeways, became off-limits except to those willing to risk sneaking past fences and security patrols. Barry McCovey Jr., now director of the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department, remembers doing just that as a boy. Years later, as a fisheries technician, he returned to snorkel the same waters under official permit, and it became clear to him that the tribe had to find a way to bring the land home.
Now, after a 23-year effort involving the Yurok Tribe, Western Rivers Conservancy, and a network of environmental allies, that vision has materialized.
The return of these forestlands is not only a cultural restoration but also an ecological one. The Yurok plan to rehabilitate the landscape using traditional stewardship methods: controlled burns, prairie restoration, invasive species removal, and tree planting. These practices, rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems, are gaining renewed attention as more studies affirm that tribal-managed forests are often healthier, more biodiverse, and more resilient to the pressures of climate change.
For a tribe whose territory was reduced by 90% during the California Gold Rush—an era marked by violence, disease, and dislocation—the land’s return is a profound act of reclamation. It is also part of a larger national movement. Over the past decade, approximately 12,000 square kilometers of land have been returned to tribes across 15 states, thanks to a mix of federal initiatives and conservation partnerships.
Still, while the headlines may focus on scale and symbolism, tribal members understand that this moment marks a beginning, not an end. Centuries of logging, ecological disruption, and forced absence have left their mark. Healing the land—like healing a people—will take time, labor, and enduring commitment.
What’s returned is more than acreage. It’s the possibility of sovereignty, stewardship, and continuity—expressed not just through policy but through practice: in fish runs restored, and meadows cleared.
