UPDATE, 12:30 p.m.:

Yurok Tribal Chair issued the following comment on the new law:

The passage of AB 263 is a critical step toward protecting the lifeblood of our people — the Klamath River and its salmon. Tribes have fought to protect our water, fish, and culture, and this bill extends the safeguards we need while long-term flow rules are developed. This is real progress for the health of the river and everyone who depends on it.

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Original post:

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Press release from the Environmental Protection Information Center:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On Friday, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 263 (Rogers), which will work to protect important salmon populations in the Klamath River watershed. The legislation would maintain river flows in two critical Klamath River tributaries, the Scott and Shasta Rivers, while the State Water Resources Board completes long-term flow rules. 

Protecting flows in the Scott and Shasta Rivers has long been a priority for the Karuk and Yurok Tribes, who worked with Assemblymember Chris Rogers to develop this legislation. The Scott and Shasta are important tributaries to the Klamath and the salmon runs from these rivers have long supported the indigenous people of the area. Most of the wild Chinook salmon in the Klamath River are born in the Shasta River. The majority of the wild Southern Oregon Northern California Coho salmon left in the wild spend part of their lifecycle in the Scott River. Low flows, a product of over-allocation of water in the watersheds together with a warming climate, threaten coho salmon and other species that depend on cold, clear water from these tributaries. It is fitting that Governor Newsom signed this legislation on California Native American Day.

“Today’s signing of AB 263 is a victory for salmon, rivers, and the communities that depend on them. We thank Assemblymember Rogers for championing this as his first bill and Governor Newsom for recognizing the urgent need to safeguard flows in the Scott and Shasta rivers,” said Amber Jamieson, Water Advocacy Director at the Environmental Protection Information Center. “This law honors Tribal leadership, upholds California’s responsibility to protect endangered salmon, and provides stability for communities as we work toward long-term solutions.”

AB 263 builds on Governor Newsom’s “Salmon Strategy,” a comprehensive system of actions intended to safeguard California’s imperiled salmon runs. Protecting instream flows complements the removal of Klamath River dams, critical investments in watershed restoration, and reopening of more than 400 miles of salmon habitat. Nick Joslin, the Policy and Advocacy Director at Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center, explains, “we know that it will take years for the Klamath River to fully heal from dam removal and we have seen some encouraging signs just one year since the dams have been out.

We need all of the major salmon producing tributaries to remain healthy and habitable and the Scott and Shasta Rivers are the major fish producers in the mid-Klamath. These fish will wander or stray upstream of their natal streams, helping to spread native genetics back into the stock that has been supported by hatcheries.”

“To improve conditions for fish, sufficient flows instream are necessary. Yet lack of enforceable regulations render California’s rivers vulnerable to dewatering,” said Angelina Cook, Restoration Associate with the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. “AB 263 establishes measurable thresholds which empower agencies to limit excessive water withdrawals. Passage of AB 263 is a significant step to reverse trends toward extinction of a keystone species in the third most productive salmon-bearing river in the contiguous western United States.”