Hoopa, Yurok tribes plan settlement

Eureka, CA - "The Yurok and Hoopa Valley tribes have agreed on a plan to settle a long-standing legal battle over land and timber, a pact that could dramatically change the face of the Yurok Reservation in years to come.

The settlement plan signed last week would, if approved by Congress, allow the U.S. Interior and Agriculture departments to turn over or facilitate the purchase of 238,000 acres of federal and private land to the Yurok Tribe and redraw the boundaries of the reservation. The land in question is held by a hodgepodge of owners, including the Simpson Resource Co., the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service.

The land would be bought from willing sellers or by transferring land from the federal government. The intent is to establish a land base for the tribe that allows 11 million board feet of timber to be harvested each year."