Wednesday September 9, 2026
KRCR —
A long-running effort to better protect Trinity River salmon while supporting tribal fishing traditions is entering a new phase this fall, as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Hoopa Valley Tribe begin operating a single, jointly run fish weir for monitoring and harvest.
The Bureau of Reclamation joined its partners for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the consolidation, which is intended to strengthen collaboration, improve the efficiency of Trinity River restoration monitoring, and reduce stress on salmon migrating upriver to spawn.
CDFW Director Meghan Hertel said the department and the Hoopa Valley Tribe have worked for more than a decade to resolve the issue of operating two separate weirs and bring the work together at one location.
“Today is an incredibly momentous moment because we finally found a solution that works both for the tribe and also works for the Department of Fish and Wildlife as we sample salmon,” Hertel said.
A weir is a structure that spans the river and captures salmon as they move through. Hertel said the tribe uses the weir for selective harvest to feed its people, while CDFW uses captured fish to take samples, assess health, and tag salmon to better understand how fish are doing across the system.