Watersheds Branch
The Karuk Watersheds Branch currently includes Fisheries and Water Quality programs. Current Watersheds Branch efforts focus on benefits to fish, water, wildlife, and habitat restoration. These programs study and enhance the health of the Klamath River, its tributaries, and it’s natural inhabitants at watershed scales. The Watersheds Branch has been instrumental in the process of dam removal and restoration of the Klamath watershed.
Water Quality
The Karuk Tribe’s Water Quality Program focuses on water quality conditions within Karuk Aboriginal Territory, Tribal lands, and the Klamath watershed. Water quality includes characteristics of river water including temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, conductivity, nutrients, heavy metals, sediment, and other specific toxins. Our program has sensors along the Klamath River and its tributaries that measure water quality continuously, with real-time data available at waterquality.karuk.us. We also collect grab samples for nutrients, solids, metals, and toxins.
This river once supported a very productive salmon fishery, and provided a main food source and way of life for our people. Now because of upriver actions such as the construction of dams, overallocation of diverted and pumped water, agricultural and ranching activities, and polluted runoff, our seasonal salmon runs are in danger of becoming extinct. In addition, poor water quality has led to health risks associated with swimming in the Klamath River, impairing our ceremonies.
Water temperature in the Klamath River can reach up to 80 °F in the summer, when migrating adults and growing juveniles need temperatures below 68 °F in order to survive and grow properly. Oxygen levels are reduced by excessive plant growth due to warming waters and high nutrient levels from Upper Basin agricultural activity. Prior to dam removal, massive harmful algae blooms in the reservoirs turned the river bright green and released toxins into the water. Now, as dam removal progresses, we are working with the Yurok Tribe, USGS, and RES to monitor conditions in the river to ensure minimal impacts from reservoir drawdown and dam demolition.
The Karuk Tribe collaborates with other entities in the Klamath Basin including the Klamath Tribal Water Quality Consortium (Yurok Tribe, Hoopa Tribe, Pulikla Tribe of Yurok People, and Quartz Valley Indian Reservation), regional collaborations with other salmon tribes and scientists, and cooperative agreements with the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Geological Survey, and US Fish and Wildlife Service. We also work closely with the Klamath River Renewal Corporation and RES on dam removal and restoration.
Habitat Restoration
The Habitat Restoration program is dedicated to restoring culturally significant places and resources, managing species of interest, improving the watershed, and strengthening the relationship between people and the landscape. This work is rooted in cultural values and traditional ecological knowledge, ensuring that both the environment and the community benefit from long-term stewardship.
The next steps in this process include defining unit boundaries to guide project planning, establishing fireline delineation to support cultural and prescribed burning, and creating riparian buffers to protect waterways and fisheries. Additional work will involve opening and retention marking to encourage biodiversity, as well as timber marking to promote sustainable forest management. Together, these efforts reflect a balanced approach to ecological restoration and cultural revitalization.
Fisheries
The Karuk Tribe is the second largest in California, with ancestral homelands stretching along the mid-Klamath River in western Siskiyou and northeastern Humboldt Counties. For countless generations, the Karuk people have lived in balance with the river and the surrounding forests, sustaining themselves through a deep connection to the land and its resources.Known as áama (salmon) and acorn people, their way of life has long depended on these two essential foods, which remain central to Karuk culture, diet, ceremonies, and economy.
Salmon runs once filled the Klamath River in abundance, and acorns from the surrounding oak woodlands provided nourishment and were carefully harvested, stored, and prepared as part of traditional food systems. These resources are a staples of survival woven into the spiritual and cultural identity of the Karuk people.
Today, the Karuk Tribe Fisheries Program carries forward this responsibility by monitoring the health of the middle and upper Klamath fisheries. The program works to restore salmon runs, protect aquatic habitats, and ensure that future generations can continue to rely on these vital resources. Through research, monitoring, and collaboration, the program reflects the Tribe’s commitment to cultural preservation, food sovereignty, and ecological stewardship.
Wildlife
The mission of the KDNR Wildlife Division is to enhance, protect,
conserve, and restore the ecological processes that the wildlife
depend on in Karuk Aboriginal Lands, to support the physical,
cultural and spiritual well-being of the Karuk community and to
continue this ancestral legacy of nurturing and protecting the
traditional relationships of respect and reciprocity with our wildlife
family for the future generations to come.
Water Quality Reports
The Karuk Tribe is committed to protecting the health of the Klamath River and its tributaries through careful monitoring of water quality. Regular testing and reporting help track changes in temperature, clarity, chemical balance, and overall watershed health. These reports provide critical information for restoring fish populations, protecting culturally important resources, and ensuring that the river continues to sustain Karuk people and the broader community.
Branch Leadership
Watershed FAQs
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he program tracks conditions within Karuk Aboriginal Territory, Tribal lands, and the Klamath watershed. Monitoring includes water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, conductivity, nutrients, heavy metals, sediment, and toxins. Sensors along the Klamath River and its tributaries measure these factors continuously, and real-time data is available at waterquality.karuk.us. In addition, grab samples are collected for nutrients, solids, metals, and toxins.
For countless generations, the Klamath River supported one of the most productive salmon fisheries in the region and provided a central food source and way of life for the Karuk people. Poor water quality now threatens salmon runs, endangers cultural practices like ceremonies, and creates health risks for swimming and other river uses.
Habitat restoration focuses on revitalizing culturally significant places and resources, managing species of interest, improving watershed health, and strengthening the relationship between the Karuk people and the landscape. Projects include fireline delineation, riparian buffer protection, and sustainable timber marking.
The Wildlife Division works to enhance, conserve, and restore ecological processes that wildlife depend on in Karuk Aboriginal Lands. This supports both biodiversity and the cultural and spiritual well-being of the Karuk community.
The Karuk Tribe partners with neighboring tribes, regional organizations, and federal agencies such as the U.S. EPA, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Collaboration also includes the Klamath River Renewal Corporation and RES on dam removal and restoration efforts.