Hoopa Tribe and CDFW consolidate Trinity River weir for salmon season

The Hoopa Valley Tribe and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife stood together on the Lower Trinity on Sept. 8, 2026, to dedicate one weir instead of two. CDFW Director Meghan Hertel and Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman Joe Davis, with federal and Tribal partners, marked the shift at a site already in the water near Tish Tang Campground for the fall migration.

For decades the river had two stops. CDFW’s Willow Creek weir, running since 1978, handled run size, composition, and timing. The Tribe’s selective-harvest weir near Hoopa, in place since 2016, mixed monitoring with ceremonial, subsistence, and community fish. Those jobs now sit in a single jointly staffed weir on the Hoopa Valley Reservation — scientific exam plus selective tribal harvest under shared protocols and training.

Selective take on this weir follows Hupa methods: natural-origin fish keep going upstream; hatchery-oriented fish can come out per the management plan. Folding two structures into one cuts the double-handling and extra gear migrating salmon and steelhead used to hit. The work sits inside the Trinity River Restoration Program.

Photo: CNRA photo via CDFW release (dedication group at the weir).

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: CDFW, Hoopa Valley Tribe and California Department of Fish and Wildlife Announce Historic Fishery Restoration Partnership