The Smith River in Northern California is one of the most pristine — perhaps the most pristine — river in the country. The battle over the future of a coveted ranch at the mouth of the river is bringing to light more than a century of secrets.
Restoring the river mouth is the last piece to the equation. The estuary — gated and degraded by decades of dairy farming — is home to at least 38 fish species, as well as red-legged frogs, bank swallows and waterfowl. State wildlife officials note that on Reservation Ranch alone, there are three major tributaries and two critical staging holes for salmon migration.
He pulled over to a spring by the river where he knew the water was particularly sweet. He took a sip, gathering his thoughts as he considered what to say next. He’s since led the Chamber of Commerce and served on numerous boards — he even oversaw economic development for Elk Valley Rancheria, a smaller tribal nation near Crescent City. Most recently, he’s been working with Alexandre Family Farm, a growing and influential dairy operation touted for its regenerative and organic practices.
“I think you can have a viable agricultural operation there and still have fish swimming up and down those creeks in massive numbers. It can be done,” he said. “That would be a benefit for everybody, no matter who owned it.”As for the Westbrooks, it hasn’t been easy ending what the family started generations ago.
“Our heart is to sell the ranch to someone who would keep the land in agriculture. We employ quite a few people who have families to support,” he said. “It is very meaningful to us that the land goes to the right people.”A wedding ceremony takes place by the Smith River at Jedediah Smith State Park. More than 80% of the land in Del Norte County today is public.
They understand the resentment that the Tolowa Dee-ni’ nation seems to be yet another government taking away land. But this fear is misguided, they say. Yes, they’ve cobbled together funding over the years to reclaim parts of their ancestral territory — but all told, the tribal nation today owns less than 960 acres, 875 of which they pay local taxes on like everybody else.
“We need a paradigm shift,” said Wade Crowfoot, who oversees the state’s management of natural resources and has been developing ways to work better with tribal nations. “The modern conservation movement that catalyzed around Earth Day created this perception that environmental protection is protecting nature from people … but people have always been part of nature.”Jaytuk Steinruck, treasurer of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, walks along a path toward the Yontocket memorial.
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