- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
Winnemem Wintu Tribe, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries signed agreements on May 1 to restore Chinook salmon to the mountains north of Redding, Calif.
The agreements support a joint effort to return Chinook salmon to their original spawning areas in cold mountain rivers now blocked by Shasta Reservoir in northern California. The agreement's goal is ecological and cultural restoration to renew fishing opportunities for the tribe that depended on the once-plentiful salmon for sustenance and cultural practices.
The tribe signed a co-management agreement with CDFW and a co-stewardship agreement with NOAA Fisheries, reflecting the way the two agencies describe accords with tribes. The agreements call for the agencies to include the tribe in decisions for salmon that have implications for the Winnemem Wintu.
Three years of drought have taken a toll on endangered winter-run Chinook salmon, which migrate and spawn in the lower Sacramento River. The river can warm to temperatures that are lethal to their eggs.
During the summer of 2022, the tribe joined state and federal agencies in pursuing urgent measures to improve the odds for winter-run Chinook salmon, including transporting 40,000 fertilized eggs to the cold McCloud River above Shasta Reservoir. Many hatched, swimming down the river for the first time since Shasta Dam was completed in the early 1940s. The tribe joined agency staff in collecting the juvenile fish before they reached the reservoir, which is populated with predators. Biologists then moved them downstream around the reservoir to continue to the ocean.
The new agreements call for the tribe to contribute traditional ecological knowledge, sharing insight as the tribe once did for Livingston Stone, who established the nation’s first Chinook salmon hatchery on the McCloud in 1872. The tribe’s oral history and Stone’s reports from the time recount the tribe’s deep cultural connection to winter-run Chinook salmon and practical knowledge of the species.
The agencies agreed to make the tribe a “co-equal decision-maker,” and CDFW has awarded a $2.3 million grant to support the tribe’s participation in salmon measures. Agencies also agreed to evaluate the potential reintroduction of Chinook salmon that were moved from the McCloud River in California to streams in New Zealand more than 100 years ago and have strong cultural and spiritual significance for the tribe.
“This is an historic agreement that moves us one step closer to our goal of returning wild salmon from New Zealand and creating a volitional passage around Shasta Dam,” Winnemem Wintu Chief Caleen Sisk said in a statement. “It’s incredible that we can now share this vision with CDFW and NOAA. We have a long way to go, but there are now more good people working on it.”
More Stories Like This
TIME Magazine Names Gila River Indian Community Leader to Its "2024 Time100 Climate” ListNavajo President Buu Nygren Says Remediation Fund, Cleanup of Sites is Solution to Contamination
Record Numbers of Steelhead Return to the Deschutes River, Heralding Progress in Long-term Fish Reintroduction Effort
National Park Service Issues Landmark Order for Tribal Consultations
On the Wisconsin-Iowa Border, the Mississippi River is Eroding Sacred Indigenous Mounds
Support Independent Indigenous Journalism That Holds Power to Account
With the election now decided, Native News Online is recommitting to our core mission: rigorous oversight of federal Indian policy and its impact on tribal communities.
The previous Trump administration’s record on Indian Country — from the reduction of sacred sites to aggressive energy development on tribal lands — demands heightened vigilance as we enter this new term. Our Indigenous-centered newsroom will provide unflinching coverage of policies affecting tribal sovereignty, sacred site protection, MMIR issues, water rights, Indian health, and economic sovereignty.
This critical watchdog journalism requires resources. Your support, in any amount, helps maintain our independent, Native-serving news coverage. Every contribution helps keep our news free for all of our relatives. Please donate today to ensure Native News Online can thrive and deliver impactful, independent journalism.
