Yurok People Are An Essential Part Of The Klamath River Ecosystem

Описание: Yesterday, the Trinity River Restoration Program partners celebrated the completion of the Oregon Gulch Channel Rehabilitation Project. At the event, Yurok Vice Chairman Frankie Myers delivered a thought-provoking speech about the relationship between the restoration of the Trinity River and the tribal communities that have depended on its fish runs since time immemorial.

“It wasn’t just the river that was affected by the history of gold mining in this place. It was the people as well. They were the first ones to be displaced from here. That lead to the negative impacts we see in the river today,” said Vice Chairman Myers. “This project is about holistically restoring our ecosystem. If you look to restore an ecosystem you have to restore every species in it, starting with the first species that was removed, the Indigenous people that were here because we’re a part of this landscape. We are part of this ecosystem and if we ever want to restore ecosystems anywhere we have to restore the people that were there first.”

The speakers at the ribbon-cutting event included:
• Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman Joe Davis
• Nor Rel Muk Tribal Chairman John "Sonny" Hayward
• Yurok Tribal Vice Chairman Frankie Myers
• Bureau of Reclamation Northern California Area Office Manager Don Bader
• Trinity River Restoration Program Executive Director Mike Dixon

The Yurok Fisheries Department’s multidisciplinary team of restoration biologists, engineers and hydrologists, in collaboration with tribal geomorphologists, wetland ecologists and botanists, designed the project. The Yurok Tribe Construction Corporation led the The Oregon Gulch Project is largest-ever restoration initiative to be implemented on the Trinity River. implementation of the monumental rewilding effort. The Yurok Tribe secured $4.5 million from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and US Department of the Interior for the $13 million project, which was completed more than a year ahead of schedule.

The Oregon Gulch Project was designed to improve the function of approximately one mile of the salmon and steelhead-spawning stream. The project also aimed to rebuild a nearly 35-acre floodplain and riparian forest. In a nutshell, the 18-month undertaking sought to address the mining damage and provide the river with what it needs to heal itself, such as large wood, native vegetation and an intact floodplain. Much of the new floodplain will be wet year-round.

Floodplains provide juvenile salmon and steelhead access to ample food and shelter from high flows and predators. At Oregon Gulch, this important habitat type was previously buried in 580,000 cubic yards of mine tailings comprised of softball to soccer ball-sized rocks. The rocks formed 35-foot walls along the river, making it function like a cement gully. It took nearly 30,000 truckloads to remove the rubble.

The Hoopa Valley Tribe hand-planted 17,000 native trees and shrubs throughout the project site. They also strategically scattered native grass seed on the elevated areas. Once the native vegetation matures and other natural processes occur, the Oregon Gulch will offer optimal habitat for fish and many different amphibian, mammal and bird species.

Additional project accomplishments include:
• Restored complex floodplain habitat and natural river processes for the benefit of salmon and steelhead
• Increased habitat diversity for all riparian species (fish, frogs, turtles, birds, insects, etc.…) year-round
• Increased juvenile salmon and steelhead habitat by up to 1000 percent within the project reach
• Increased groundwater retention and restore riparian corridor
• Established conditions for the river to access its valley, allowing the channel to evolve as well as create new fish habitat for many years to come

The Trinity River Restoration Program is a collaborative partnership between the following entities: Bureau of Reclamation, Yurok Tribe, Hoopa Valley Tribe, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Department of Water Resources, US Forest Service, NOAA and Trinity County.