Tribal Water Dispute Escalates as Yurok Tribe Files Suit Over Trinity River Flows

The Yurok Tribe has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in what the Hoopa Valley Tribe characterizes as a pressure tactic to force changes to long-established Trinity River flow protocols.

Filed in the Northern District of California, the suit challenges the Bureau’s implementation of the 2000 Trinity River Record of Decision (ROD), which sets scientifically-determined water flows based on extensive environmental studies. The Yurok Tribe seeks to replace these protocols with an experimental “Winter Flow Variability Project” that would significantly alter water release patterns.

The Hoopa Valley Tribe, a key stakeholder with federal reserved water rights and co-manager status of Trinity River fisheries, strongly opposes the proposed changes. In court documents, Hoopa officials argue that modifying the carefully calibrated ROD flows could harm fish populations and impair tribal fishing rights, particularly during crucial summer months.

“The flow regime advocated by Yurok would contradict the best available science and create additional risk to the fragile Trinity River fishery,” according to legal filings by the Hoopa Valley Tribe, which is seeking to intervene in the case.

At stake are decades of scientific research and intergovernmental agreements governing Trinity River flows. The ROD, signed in 2000, represents what the Department of Interior called “the culmination of over two decades of efforts” to restore river habitat and fish populations.

The case highlights growing tensions over water management in Northern California’s complex river systems, where tribal rights, environmental concerns, and water allocation decisions frequently intersect.

The lawsuit will be heard by Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, with initial proceedings scheduled for January 2025.