Klamath Indigenous Land Trust buys 10,000 acres along river

The Klamath Indigenous Land Trust has purchased 10,000 acres in and around the former reservoir reach of the Klamath River, according to the Mt. Shasta News. The acquisition comes as salmon return to the river’s headwaters for the first time in more than a century. Tribal representatives said the purchase is one of the largest private land acquisitions by an Indigenous-led land trust in U.S. history.

“Dam removal allowed the salmon to return home. Returning these lands to Indigenous care ensures that home will be a place where they can flourish and recover,” Molli Myers, president of the Land Trust’s board of directors, told the Mt. Shasta News. PacifiCorp, the previous landowner, partnered with the Land Trust to complete the sale. The Land Trust said it plans to develop land management plans with input from Klamath Basin Tribes that will address habitat recovery, cultural resource protection, fire management and public access.