Yuroks continue pursuit of land vision: Federal land transfers could include Klamath mouth and redwood forest

The Yurok Tribe has produced a draft legislative proposal it intends to submit to Congressman Mike Thompson that contemplates the transfer of federal lands at the mouth of the Klamath River and near the town of Klamath to the tribe as envisioned years ago.

The transfer of the Redwood National Park and Six Rivers National Forest lands was first publicized in 2004, when the Yurok and Hoopa Valley tribes signed a plan amending the 1988 Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act. The plan outlined a strategy to allow the Yurok Tribe to buy or acquire through transfer of lands some 238,000 acres and redraw the Yurok Reservation boundaries.

The tribe has recently worked with Western Rivers Conservancy on purchasing 22,000 acres in the Pecwan, Weitchpec and Ke'pel creek watersheds, and plans to acquire another 25,000 acres in the Blue Creek area from Green Diamond Resource Co.

The land the tribe hopes will be transferred from the federal government includes 1,200 acres on either side of the mouth of the Klamath River. Currently under National Park Service ownership, the land contains the popular scenic Klamath overlook to the north, and to the south, a campground, part of the Coastal Drive and most of the Flint Ridge Trail. The park land is all within the current boundaries of the reservation.

The proposal suggests the transfer of 1,200 acres near Klamath owned by the Six Rivers National Forest and known as the Yurok Redwood Experimental Forest. The tribe is also hoping to acquire Reading Rock offshore to the south, currently managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

”The Yurok Tribe certainly has this vision ... this is part of a lot longer process that we've been engaged in,” said Yurok Tribe policy analyst Troy Fletcher.

Fletcher said the tribe is interested in managing the land as a tribal park, with the possibility of bringing in businesses, like an eco-lodge and other park-related concessions. He said that the effort is geared toward conservation while enabling the tribe to be successful.

Fletcher said a tribal park would fit well with the Redwood National and State Parks system and even help fulfill part of the parks' mission to interpret the Yurok culture.

”We're the best ones to talk about the culture and heritage of the Yurok Tribe on our landscape,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher said that the tribe has spoken with Humboldt and Del Norte county representatives about the latest proposal and will do so again.

Thompson, D-St. Helena, said that any legislation is not imminent, though his office has been working with the tribe for the past year and a half. There are a number of details that need to be worked out, he said.

”Some of it makes perfect sense,” Thompson said, “some of it has some rough edges.”

He said there will be a full public process surrounding the plan, which will also have to be reviewed by a number of public entities.

Redwood National Park Superintendent Steve Chaney said that any meaningful discussion about a transfer would have to include how resources would be managed and how public use would be accommodated. The laws that the Park Service must adhere to are lengthy and complex, Chaney said, and include managing driving on the beach, fire management, fees and public access, among many others.