Voices from Blue Creek

After all these years, and all the hard work, WRC finally completed the Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary and Yurok Tribal Community Forest on the lower Klamath River.

A total of 47,097 acres of ancestral homelands are now back in the hands of the Yurok Tribe, and the entire unprotected lower half of Blue Creek, the cold-water lifeline of the Klamath River, has been permanently conserved.

For the Klamath’s salmon, this is a project of immeasurable importance, coming at the pivotal moment of the removal of the Klamath’s four mainstem dams. Blue Creek provides the first influx of cold water on the lower river and, without the refuge the creek provides, summer and fall-run fish couldn’t cool themselves down enough to reach their upriver spawning grounds. This has become exponentially more meaningful now that hundreds of miles of historic salmon habitat have been reopened upstream of where the dams once stood.

Bringing a project of this scale to fruition—at a cost of more than $70 million—required immense creativity, generosity and years of perseverance from countless individuals, from the Yurok Tribe, state and federal agencies, private foundations, state representatives and so many, many others. Over the course of the two-plus decades it took to do this, WRC also developed cutting-edge finance strategies including the use of New Markets Tax Credits and selling carbon offsets, showing just how effective we are at assembling the funding needed to protect the great rivers of the West.

In May, WRC and the Yurok Tribe successfully completed the final conveyance of 14,968 acres to the Tribe, a momentous win for Blue Creek, the Yurok, salmon and the Klamath River itself. This historic effort will help ensure the survival of one of the West’s great salmon streams, protect vital wildlife habitat in one of the most biologically rich areas on Earth, and reestablish a sacred homeland and economic base for the Yurok Tribe. Blue Creek will now be safeguarded by a community whose greatest cultural, spiritual and economic interests are healthy forests, healthy habitat and healthy returns of wild salmon and steelhead.

Thank you for being a part of this historic accomplishment. Here's what some of the people involved in the effort have to say.

^ "There are not enough words to describe the importance of Blue Creek, what it means to the river, the basin, the Tribe. It’s a sacred place of prayer and a permanent sanctuary for our salmon. On behalf of the Yurok Tribe, I would like to thank Western Rivers Conservancy for partnering with us over the long term to preserve our lands and resources.” - Honorable Joseph L. James, Chairman, Yurok Tribe

^ "Returning these lands to the Yurok Tribe is an unprecedented step forward for the Klamath River, and it comes at a critical moment following the removal of the Klamath River dams. Returning ancestral lands to Native American tribes is an essential step in restoring ecological balance and health. WCB is proud to be part of this truly historic achievement, both for the Yurok people and as part of the broader effort to guarantee the long-term survival of the Klamath’s salmon and the wildlife of Northern California." - Jennifer Norris, Ph.D., Executive Director, California Wildlife Conservation Board

^ "Our efforts at Blue Creek exemplify the power of partnership, showcasing how conservation and the land back movement can converge to benefit rivers, fish, wildlife and people of an entire landscape. After more than 20 years of close collaboration with the Yurok Tribe, we have together achieved this magnificent conservation success while ensuring these lands and waters are in the hands of those most deeply committed to their future health and sustainable use. Blue Creek and its watershed are critical to the health of the entire Klamath fishery. The Yurok Tribe has the resources and the deep cultural connections that sustained this land for millennia, and now they can continue to do so." - Nelson Mathews, President, Western Rivers Conservancy

^ "The cold water that flows out of Blue Creek year-round plays a critical role in the life cycle of all Klamath River salmon, steelhead and Pacific lamprey. The watershed also holds one of our most sacred sites. We plan to permanently protect and restore Blue Creek from its high mountain headwaters to its confluence with the Klamath. This holistic approach will make the stream and the surrounding landscape more resilient to drought, which will benefit fish, wildlife and people for generations to come.” - Barry McCovey Jr., Senior Fisheries Biologist, Yurok Tribe

^ "Thanks to this incredible group of partners, the Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary and Yurok Tribal Community Forest has become one of California’s great conservation successes—one that will nurture tribal resilience for the Yurok people, improve conditions for the Klamath River’s salmon and wildlife, and carry forward the Coastal Conservancy’s mission of improving climate resilience on the California Coast." - Amy Hutzel, Executive Officer, California State Coastal Conservancy

^ "When WRC set out on this journey over 20 years ago, we saw Blue Creek for what it was—a stream so vital that without it, the whole system could collapse. We knew it had to be protected, and we saw the opportunity to build a lasting partnership with the Yurok Tribe and to do what no one else would. There was no easy path forward, but we dug in, brought our unmatched experience, our deep expertise and our unique comfort with risk to the table and made it happen. I take tremendous pride in that. And now, two decades and over 70 million dollars later, Blue Creek is protected forever, and salmon will always have their first cold-water refuge where they can rest and recover along their journey to their natal waters to spawn.” - Sue Doroff, Cofounder and Former President, Western Rivers Conservancy

^ "Green Diamond sustainably managed this watershed for over 50 years and is excited to be part of the largest reacquisition by a tribe in recent history. We continue to collaborate with the Yurok Tribe on restoration projects in the lower Klamath River outside of the Blue Creek watershed, providing improved habitat for numerous cold-water adapted species and job opportunities for local tribal members to be involved in this wonderful story. We want to thank Western Rivers and the Yurok Tribe for demonstrating that working together can create lasting outcomes." - Peter Jackson, Vice President, GM California Timberlands, Green Diamond Resource Company

^ "The renewed access to Blue Creek restores our ability to practice our culture and ceremonies with the same freedom as our ancestors, which is incredibly important. Getting this land back will positively influence the lives of every Yurok person alive today as well as all future generations." - Rosie Clayburn, Yurok Tribal Heritage Preservation Officer

^ "I spent my career working in fish conservation, and a lot of my time has been spent documenting the decline of native fish. Blue Creek is a sanctuary, not only for the salmon that use the creek itself, but for all the salmon that are migrating up the Klamath River. And the protection goes beyond fish. The project just really has all the right elements. It’s saving fish, it’s saving forests, and it’s helping the Yurok people regain some of their natural heritage.” - Peter Moyle, Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Davis