Think Out Loud

Klamath Basin drought: Yurok Tribe

By Sage Van Wing (OPB)
July 16, 2021 1:57 p.m. Updated: July 16, 2021 7:38 p.m.

Broadcast: Friday, July 16

Barry McCovey, Fisheries Department director for the Yurok Tribe, stands on the tribe's fishing dock where the Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean.

Barry McCovey, Fisheries Department director for the Yurok Tribe, stands on the tribe's fishing dock where the Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean.

Sage Van Wing / OPB

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This week, Think Out Loud has traveled to the Klamath Basin to have conversations with people affected by the severe drought in the region. The Yurok Tribe’s homeland includes much of the Klamath River as it meanders through the redwoods of Northern California and enters the Pacific Ocean at Klamath, CA. The drought this year has led to one of the worst salmon die-offs on the river in recent memory, which has a huge impact on the tribe. We talk to Amy Bowers Cordalis, an attorney for the Yurok Tribe, and Barry McCovey, Fisheries Department Director for the Yurok Tribe, at the mouth of the Klamath River.

Amy Bowers Cordalis stands at the site of her great grandparents house above the mouth of the Klamath River.

Amy Bowers Cordalis stands at the site of her great grandparents house above the mouth of the Klamath River.

Sage Van Wing / OPB

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