125 Acres Returned to the Yurok Tribe: Restored Salmon Habitat and O Rew Redwoods Gateway Opens Aug. 1

The Save the Redwoods League has conveyed 125 acres of land near Redwood National and State Parks back to the Yurok Tribe, restoring public access while permanently protecting critical salmon habitat. The transfer, completed June 30, returns land in the heart of the Yurok Tribe’s ancestral territory and establishes the tribally owned O Rew Redwoods Gateway on Prairie Creek.

A massive part of the coastal Redwood land in Northern California is now back in the hands of a Native American Tribe. NPS

The property sits off U.S. Highway 101 at the base of Bald Hills Road in Orick and connects directly to Redwood National and State Parks and the California Coastal Trail, providing new access to extensive old-growth coast redwood stands including the Lady Bird Johnson Grove.

The new tribally owned and operated recreational area on Prairie Creek is called the O Rew Redwoods Gateway. Instagram/@savetheredwoods

History and Restoration

In the mid-1800s, efforts to forcibly remove Yurok people from their homeland facilitated large-scale exploitation of natural resources — including salmon runs and old-growth redwoods. The tribe lost more than 90 percent of its land during that period. Save the Redwoods League acquired the O Rew property in 2013 after decades of industrial use: the site contained acres of asphalt, the footprint of a former lumber mill, an 80-acre cattle pasture and a stream channel degraded by invasive plants.

Officials said new trails at the site will give visitors a chance to see a part of California they've never seen before. Facebook/The Yurok Tribe

Beginning in 2021, a collaborative five-year restoration project led by the Yurok Tribe Construction Corporation, the Yurok Fisheries Department and partner organizations rebuilt the landscape to revive wildlife habitat and reconnect hydrology.

It is located off the U.S. Highway 101 at the base of Bald Hills Road in Orick. Instagram/redwoodnps

"This project represents a truly just approach to the restoration of culturally important landscapes and tribal communities," said Joseph L. James, Chairman of the Yurok Tribe.

Restoration work created a one-mile braided stream channel, two off-channel ponds, approximately 20 acres of wetlands and 20 acres of upland habitat, along with extensive native plantings. The design and implementation drew on expertise from more than a dozen restoration partners.

Officials called it a "transformational agreement that prioritizes tribal land-management practices, creates a new public space and permanently protects critical salmon habitat." Facebook/The Yurok Tribe

Early Signs of Recovery

The restored habitat is already attracting wildlife: officials report hundreds of endangered juvenile coho salmon using the new channel, along with western pond turtles, great blue herons and larger mammals such as bears, elk and deer. These early returns signal improving ecological function and the successful reconnection of floodplain and creek habitats.

Steve Mietz, President and CEO of Save the Redwoods League, said the project demonstrates "what is possible when people come together with a shared commitment to healing the land and honoring its history." The site will be tribally managed and open to the public beginning August 1.

O Rew Redwoods Gateway offers new trails that extend a segment of the California Coastal Trail, interpretive opportunities about Yurok stewardship and access to restored riparian corridors and redwood groves. The transfer is framed by officials as a model for collaboration between conservation groups and Tribal nations.