Environment and  Conservation

Protecting the land, water, and natural resources for future generations.

The Yurok people are deeply connected to their homelands

along the lower Klamath River and Pacific coast in Northern California, where the health of lands and waters has always shaped cultural life, food systems and responsibility to place. In this largely rural and

remote landscape, clean rivers for fishing, healthy ecosystems

for hunting and gathering, and thriving forests and coastal e

nvironments remain essential to daily life and cultural continuity.

Through Indigenous-led conservation approaches, the Yurok Tribe exercises its sovereign responsibility to care for these environments using generations of knowledge about how ecosystems function as interconnected systems. This work supports habitat health, biodiversity and climate resilience while strengthening the balance between land, water, animals and people across the broader region.

Support helps advance Indigenous-led conservation and

land acquisition while strengthening the tribe’s ability to

steward forests, rivers and coastal environments for the

benefit of people, wildlife and the living world.

Returning Land. Restoring Habitat. Sustaining Stewardship.

'O Rew Redwoods Gateway

Along Prairie Creek in Orick, a landscape once changed by logging, ranching and a lumber mill has entered a new chapter.

‘O Rew Redwoods Gateway encompasses 125-acres within Yurok ancestral territory at the southern end of Redwood National and State Parks. After years of restoration and partnership, Save the Redwoods League returned the property to the Yurok Tribe on June 30, 2026. The site opened for recreational public access on August 1, 2026.

The ‘O Rew Redwoods Gateway creates an all-new Yurok-owned and operated recreational area  at the southern end of Redwood National and State Parks. It’s expected to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors each year from near and far and is a powerful opportunity to center Indigenous voices in the parks experience. Save the Redwoods, the Yurok Tribe, and other partners have completed significant site improvements with new visitor amenities, including engaging interpretive exhibits sharing Yurok perspectives in audio and written formats, and new, accessible trails. These include an extension of the California Coastal Trail and a new connection on adjacent Redwood National Park lands to Lady Bird Johnson Grove, one of the world’s largest remaining stands of old-growth redwoods.

The Tribe’s future plans include a cultural center highlighting Yurok history, living culture, and the natural wonders of the surrounding redwood landscape. A traditional Yurok village onsite will provide space for cultural activities and interpretation.

With the site transformation complete, the grounds opened to the public on August 1, 2026. ‘O Rew is poised to become a model for Indigenous guardianship at the doorstep of a globally significant park—telling a story of cultural resilience, ecological renewal, and what’s possible when stewardship is guided by Indigenous partnership and leadership.

125 acres

returned to Yurok stewardship and ownership

700,000+ Native Plants

native plants handplanted across the recovering landscape

21 acres of Asphalt

removed from the former mill site in Orick, CA

~ 1 mile

restored and realigned, rebuilding important ecological connections within the watershed.

18 acres

of riparian and wetland flood plain restored to support a healthier, more connected ecosystem

3 Backwater Channels

created to reconnect Prairie Creek with floodplain habitat for young salmon and steelhead

From an Industrial Site to

Public Living Landscape

For more than 50 years, the property operated as a lumber mill. Large areas were paved, and portions of Prairie Creek's natural channel and floodplain were buried. Save the Redwoods League purchased the property in 2013 and, together with the Yurok Tribe, California Trout and other partners, began the work of restoring the landscape.

Today, that landscape is changing again.

Restoration work included creation of a one-mile braided stream channel, off-channel ponds, wetlands and upland habitat. Yurok crews and project partners also planted native vegetation to rebuild habitat.

The current Yurok project page reports the removal of 21 acres of asphalt, reconnection of Prairie Creek to its floodplain, more than 400,000 native plants established, and revitalization of 18 acres of riparian and wetland habitat.

These achievements created the foundation. It's not just ownership, it is STEWARDSHIP.

Not just ownership ~ its stewardship

A Shared Commitment to Stewardship

The return of ‘O Rew was made possible through relationships built across Tribal, nonprofit, state and federal partners. 

Thank you to our partners.

Funding Partners

• The Yurok Tribe
• Save the Redwoods League
• California State Coastal Conservancy
• NOAA Restoration Center
• California Wildlife Conservation Board
• California Ocean Protection Council
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
• National Park Foundation
• Cantus Foundation

Restoration Team

• California Trout
• Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program
• Yurok Tribe Construction Corporation
• Northern Hydrology & Engineering
• McBain Associates
• SHN Engineers & Geologists
• Ross Taylor and Associates
• GHD
• AECOM