By DORANY PINEDA, TERRY CHEA and GODOFREDO VASQUEZ Associated Press
Roughly 73 square miles of ancestral homelands once belonging to California's Yurok Tribe have been returned to them. The land-back conservation project along the Klamath River, a partnership with the Western Rivers Conservancy, is being called the largest in state history and more than doubles the tribe's land holdings. The lands include important river tributaries, salmon habitat and areas of cultural and spiritual significance that the tribe will now manage and protect. The deal joins a growing Land Back movement of returning lands to Indigenous people, as well as mounting acceptance that their traditional ecological knowledge is critical to addressing climate change.
By PATRICK WHITTLE and ROBERT F. BUKATY Associated Press
Commercial fishers are eager to see if President Donald Trump's command to shed federal fishing regulations will boost one of the nation's oldest industries. Trump's April 17 order cites the nation's more than $20 billion seafood trade deficit as the reason to overhaul the industry. The order calls on the federal government to reduce the regulatory burden on fishermen by later this month. Many fishing groups have long said deregulation is needed to revitalize the industry. Scientists and conservation groups say catch limits and other regulations are critical to prevent overfishing and keep fish populations healthy.
With salmon fishing barred off the California coast for two years, fishermen have been running historic boat tours, party cruises, and scattering the ashes of the deceased to try to stay afloat. Now, sport and commercial fishing fleets are gearing up for what could be a third consecutive year of salmon closures in the Golden State due to dwindling stocks. Salmon fishermen say the closures are endangering not only the fish but their livelihoods and stem from years of drought and state and federal water policies. The Trump administration has been pushing to send less water through some California waterways to aid farmers in a move that salmon fishermen say could further worsen their lot.
