- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Real Estate
The Klamath Indigenous Land Trust has completed a 10,000-acre land purchase from PacifiCorp, a transaction that represents a major transfer of land to Indigenous stewardship following the removal of four Klamath River dams.
The acquisition covers land in and around the former reservoir reach of the Klamath River, upstream and adjacent to four hydropower dams removed in 2024 following a decades-long Indigenous-led campaign. The acreage is considered central to long-term river, habitat and fisheries recovery across the basin.
“Dam removal allowed the salmon to return home. Returning these lands to Indigenous care ensures that home will be a place where they can flourish and recover,” KILT Board President Molli Myers (Karuk) said in a statement. “Our communities spent generations fighting for this moment and we honor our ancestors who carried this vision forward.”
PacifiCorp, the prior landowner, worked with KILT to complete the sale after the dam removals were finalized. The transfer marks the first time in more than a century that stewardship of the property will be guided by Indigenous values and ecological restoration goals rather than utility operations, according to KILT.
“PacifiCorp is gratified to see these lands transition to a stewardship model that honors their cultural and ecological significance,” said Ryan Flynn, president of Pacific Power, PacifiCorp’s operating division in California, Oregon and Washington.
KILT was formed by Indigenous leaders from across the Klamath Basin after the 2002 Fish Kill. The founders, representing multiple tribal backgrounds but not acting on behalf of any tribal governments, spent two decades advancing the movement to un-dam the river and restore salmon runs.
It marks the first time in more than a century that stewardship of these lands will be guided by Indigenous values and ecological restoration goals rather than utility operations, KILT wrote.
“We recognize the leadership of the Klamath Basin Tribes and KILT in shaping a restoration vision that will benefit the entire region,” said Ryan Flynn, president of Pacific Power, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp.
Board vice president Wendy Ferris-George (Hupa/Karuk) said the acquisition reflects years of collective organizing across tribal communities.
KILT will now begin developing land management plans with input from area tribes, addressing habitat recovery, cultural resource protection, fire management and public access.
“This is the next chapter in the Klamath River’s renewal,” said board member Jeff Mitchell (Klamath/Modoc).
Funding for the purchase was provided by The Catena Foundation, the Community Foundation of New Jersey and an anonymous donor.
