1 Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program Overview Michael Belchik, Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program

2 Yurok Tribe Tribal Government Established in 1993, but Tribe has been there since time immemorial: Tribal Government has a Constitutional Mandate to steward and protect the natural resources and cultural values in Yurok ancestral homeland  We pray for the health of all the animals, and prudently harvest and manage the great salmon runs and herds of deer and elk. We never waste and use every bit of the salmon, deer, elk, sturgeon, eels, seaweed, mussels, candlefish, otters, sea lions, seals, whales, and other ocean and river animals

3 Klamath River Basin OR CA Pacific Ocean N Klamath River Trinity River Map Source USFWS

4 Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program Founded in 1993: Our mission (from Yurok Constitution) is to: Restore, enhance, and manage the tribal fishery, tribal water rights, tribal forests, and all other natural resources We fulfill this mission by providing technical and scientific information and advice to inform the Yurok Tribe’s efforts to restore and manage their ancestral homelands:

Yurok Tribe is a Co- manager of the fishery Yurok Tribe also acts in a co- management capacity through its Fishery Program and other institutional capacity:  Harvest management  Klamath River flow issues  Trinity River flow management and restoration  Shasta and Scott Rivers  Secretarial Determination  Subcontractor to CDFG in the Secretarial Determination process 5

Structure of Program Consists of several divisions:  Harvest Management Division  Lower Klamath Watershed Division  Trinity River Division  Klamath River Division Approximately 70 employees during peak field and harvest management season 6

Harvest Management PFMC, KFMC Net Harvest montoring Recommends Harvest Regulations for Council for Implementation 7

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9 Klamath and Trinity River Divisions Data Collection Report Generation Co-management Set future research priorities

10 Lower Klamath Watershed Division Research on lower Klamath Tributaries Coho ecology project Guidance to watershed restoration activities Co-management of fisheries and watershed Green diamond Caltrans Report Generation

11 Reports and Publications It is our policy to produce timely and quality reports related to all of our data collection activities Annual reports Collaborative efforts USFWS OSU Project Reports Peer-reviewed publications eportsandpublications.htm

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