Yurok Tribal Council votes to sign dam removal pacts

An official signing by all the various parties involved in the negotiations to dismantle dams, including American Indian tribes, fishermen, farmers, irrigators and government agencies, is expected later this month.

“We’re ready to go to the signing,” Yurok Tribe policy analyst Troy Fletcher said Tuesday. “We just need to figure out where that’s going to be and when. And, of course, the real work will start after the signing.”

It took several years to come to the terms to take out the four dams on the Klamath River. There’s still a lot of work left to be done, including ensuring all the funding for the project is available, completing several environmental impact analyses and passing key legislation, before the 2020 target date for a free flowing river.

Many groups have already supported signing the agreements to take out the dams, including the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, Karuk Tribe, and Klamath Tribe of Oregon.

The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors has not made a decision on whether to sign the agreements, with members saying last week that they needed more information on the local impacts.