Yurok Tribe honors Rep. Huffman

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) was awarded the first Excellence in Partnership Award Tuesday by the Yurok Tribal Council.

“Congressman Huffman has a proven track record of being a powerful advocate for the Yurok people,” said David Gensaw Sr., the Yurok Tribe’s vice chairperson. “We selected the congressman to be the first recipient of this award, because of his enduring commitment to restoring the Klamath River, increasing our land base and protecting our natural resources.”

The Award honors non-Tribal leaders who have,worked toward the betterment of the Yurok populace. A release from the tribal council said Huffman is a longtime supporter of the Tribe’s effort to remove the lower four Klamath River dams, an action that will open up hundreds of miles of historic, salmon spawning habitat and aid in the recovery of struggling fish stocks.

Huffman also introduced a package of two bills for appropriating nearly $140 million to assist commercial fishers, including Yurok Tribal fishers, impacted by the 2016 fisheries disaster.

As the sponsor of the Yurok Lands Act last year, Huffman introduced a pivotal piece of legislation to address land inequities within the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act and increase land management partnerships between the Tribe and the federal government. The bill intends to take the Yurok Experimental Forest into trust for the Tribe and expand the reservation to include approximately 45,000 acres, located within the Tribe’s territory. It will also make the Tribe a joint lead agency for all major federal actions, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, for certain areas and designate the Bald Hills Road, which runs from U.S. 101 to the Klamath River, as a Yurok Scenic Byway.

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