Contacts:   Jeff Riggs, Yurok Tribe: 707/ 482-1350
            Jeff McCracken, Bureau of Reclamation: 916/ 978-5101
            Alexandra Pitts, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: 916/ 414-6619
            Amy Dutschke, Bureau of Indian Affairs: 916/ 978-6000
            Janet Bedrosian, Bureau of Land Management: 916/ 978-4600

The Department of the Interior and the Yurok Tribe of Northern California
today announced a major agreement to cooperate in the management of land
and fishery resources in the Klamath Basin. This unprecedented agreement
will assure the coordination of resource management programs, and expand
the cooperation between the Tribe and Interior agencies in river
monitoring, data collection, strategic planning, land acquisition and
recovery and related natural resource management efforts.

The execution of the agreement by the Department of the Interior
acknowledges the unique resources skills and knowledge that the Tribe can
contribute to cooperative programs with Interior agencies including the
Bureau of Reclamation, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and others. As part of
the Agreement, the Yurok Tribe will conduct valuable studies including fish
counts, water quality monitoring and juvenile chinook assessments.

“I am pleased that the Tribe and the Department have reached this historic
agreement.  It is a new beginning in our relationship, one that will
greatly benefit both the Tribe and the important resources of the Klamath
Basin that we are committed to maintain and restore,” said Kirk Rodgers,
Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation.  “We look forward to working with
the Tribe on a wide variety of projects and benefiting from the Yurok
Tribe’s considerable knowledge of the river and its fisheries.”

The Yurok Tribe is California’s largest Native American tribe with nearly
5,000 enrolled members. The Tribe’s main offices are located in Klamath,
California.

Yurok Tribal Council Chairman Howard McConnell called the agreement “unique
and tremendously promising. Since time immemorial, the Yurok people have
continuously inhabited the Lower Klamath River Basin and surrounding areas.
Our ancestors were exemplary stewards of this land and water, and our
commitment to responsible natural resource management continues to this
day. This landmark agreement gets us working in new and creative ways with
the federal government, and it allows us to leverage our proven expertise
in fisheries, forestry, watershed and other natural resource areas to the
long-term benefit of the basin and its inhabitants.”

“The Yurok have distinguished themselves as exceptional partners,” added
Steve Thompson, California and Nevada Manager of U S Fish and Wildlife
Service. “This agreement acknowledges their capabilities, commitment and
forges a partnership which will prove a powerful tool for achieving our
shared goals.”