Hupa Mountain and Pine Creek (United States)

Photo credit: The Conservation Fund

In November 2023, the Wyss Foundation provided a $5,000,000 grant to The Conservation Fund to help the Hoopa Valley Tribe reacquire 10,309 acres of heavily forested, mountainous ancestral land in Humboldt County, California.

The Hupa Mountain property borders the western boundary of the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s twelve-mile-by-twelve-mile reservation and is part of the Tribe’s traditional territory. Prior to the success of this project, the Tribe had lost access to and use of this area for more than 160 years. The Tribe manages these lands for conservation to safeguard them from threats. In doing so, the Tribe protects a magnificent Douglas-fir forest and numerous native species including the Pacific marten, northern spotted owl, black bear, and the state-endangered foothill yellow-legged frog. The Tribe uses its expertise to rebuild the elk population by creating a network of high-elevation meadows. Tribal forestry staff are also fighting sudden oak death, which impacts the acorn crop and creates hazardous fire conditions.  

Protection of this property also safeguards clean water. Nearly all the rainwater that falls on this property flows into Pine Creek, which drains directly into the Klamath River and then to the Pacific Ocean. This protected forest naturally safeguards the clean water that flows into Pine Creek, supporting the health of plants, animals, and humans. The creek also provides habitat for coastal Chinook salmon and endangered steelhead.

This conservation success was made possible through the work of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and The Conservation Fund. Additional funding came from the California State Coastal Conservancy, the California Natural Resources Agency’s Tribal Nature-Based Solutions Program, and the Holdfast Collective.