Mission Statement

The mission of the Karuk Department of Natural Resources is to protect, promote, and preserve the cultural/natural resources and ecological processes upon which the Karuk People depend. Natural Resources staff work in conjunction with agency personnel to ensure that the integrity of natural ecosystem processes and traditional values are incorporated into current and future management strategies within our area of influence.

FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT RECOMMENDS REMOVING KLAMATH DAMS

9,000 Pages of Triple Peer Reviewed Analysis Concludes that Klamath Dam Removal is Safe, Affordable, and Beneficial to Salmon

Washington, D.C.–  Today the Department of Interior released its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on what would be the largest dam removal and river restoration effort in US history on Northern California’s Klamath River. The FEIS concludes that dam removal under terms of the 2010 Klamath Restoration Agreements is safe, cost-effective, and will lead to improved fisheries and water quality. In addition, the report predicts that implementation of the Klamath Agreements would lead to the creation of an estimated 4,600 new regional jobs. The analysis concludes by recommending full removal of PacifiCorp’s lower four Klamath dams.

P R E S S  R E L E A S E

Karuk Tribe

For Immediate Release:  March 18, 2013

For More Information:  Craig Tucker, Klamath Coordinator, Karuk Tribe: 916-207-8294; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

SUPREME COURT: ESA TRUMPS 1872 MINING ACT

• Supreme Court Denies Miners’ Challenge to Ruling that Endangered Species Act Trumps 1872 Mining Act 
• Ruling Strikes Down U.S. Forest Service Approvals of Mining Projects Across the West

Washington, D.C. – Today the Supreme Court let stand a decision from the En Banc panel of 11 judges of the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that essentially establishes that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) trumps the 1872 Mining Act. Recreational mining groups had filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking that they overturn the lower court decision, but the petition was denied.

“This decision is a great victory for the Karuk Tribe and everyone else who believes that federal agencies must act to protect our natural resources and fisheries,” according to Buster Attebery, Chairman of the Karuk Tribe.

Eco-Cultural Resources Management Plan

The Department of Natural Resources Eco-Cultural Resources Management Plan (ECRMP) is intended to guide future management of natural resources within the Karuk Aboriginal Territory and beyond.  The ECRMP is an integrated resource management plan (IRMP) developed under the authority of the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act.  Though this Act limits the implementation of IRMP’s to Tribal Trust lands, the authority provided in 43 USC Chapter 35 Federal Land Policy and Management provides for the “Coordination of plans for National Forest System lands with Indian land use planning and management programs for the purposes of development and revision”. 

This should allow for coordination of the ECRMP with the Klamath and Six Rivers National Forests Land and Resource Management Plan revisions that will be occurring soon.  With this coordination we should be able to once again manage the Aboriginal Territory in a manner consistent with our cultural and natural heritage.  The Department of Natural Resources welcomes comments from the Tribal Membership and Descendants to help ensure that the final plan will provide lasting benefits for generations to come.  We will be developing the draft provided below in consideration of the comments received to provide a final draft for council review, NEPA compliance, and approvals.

Click here for a copy of the ECRMP document