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Organization

Western Rivers Conservancy

Western Rivers Conservancy, a non-Indigenous land trust, says it bought 47,097 acres on the Klamath for the Yurok Tribe, completed in 2025.

Kind
501(c)(3) land trust (non-Indigenous)
Native-led
no
Works with
Yurok, Esselen, others (tribal land transfers)
Region
Portland, OR; nine western states
Focus
Buys river land and transfers to tribes (Blue Creek 47,097 acres to Yurok; Adler Ranch 1,199 acres to Esselen)
Registry
EIN 93-1326405 (ProPublica); Charity Navigator 4/4 stars

What happened

Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) is a nonprofit land trust in Portland, Oregon, working on rivers in nine western states. It is not Indigenous-led. Its staff page lists Nelson Mathews as President. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer lists it as a 501(c)(3) with exemption issued in February 2002. WRC says it has protected over 227,000 acres along more than 260 rivers.

WRC's strongest tribal result is Blue Creek. WRC says it and the Yurok Tribe set up a long-term partnership in 2009 to buy 47,097 acres along the lower Klamath River and Blue Creek from Green Diamond Resource Company. Its Yurok partner page says WRC bought 47,000 acres of privately owned land and returned it to the Yurok, doubling the tribe's land holdings and creating the Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary and the Yurok Tribal Community Forest. Its project page says that in May 2025, after a 23-year partnership, WRC and the Tribe completed the largest single "land back" deal in California history. WRC says it raised $60 million for the project, in part through carbon offset credits.

WRC's Tribal Nation Partners page also describes helping the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County regain a 1,199-acre ranch in 2020, which it says was the first land ever returned to the tribe since the Spanish displaced it. These descriptions are WRC's own.

A gift to WRC is not a gift to any tribe.

Good to know. A non-Indigenous land trust; a gift to it does not go to the Yurok Tribe. Its pages date the start of the Yurok partnership differently (2009, or 23 years before 2025).

Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Well supported by the sources below.

  1. Nelson Mathews PresidentStaff - Western Rivers Conservancy
  2. By purchasing 47,000 acres of privately owned land and returning it to the YurokYurok Tribe - Western Rivers Conservancy
  3. In May 2025, following a 23-year partnership, Western Rivers Conservancy and the Yurok Tribe completed the largest single “land back” deal in California historyKlamath River Blue Creek - Western Rivers Conservancy
  4. the property was the first land ever returned to the tribe since the Esselen were displaced by the Spanish four centuries agoEsselen Tribe of Monterey County - Western Rivers Conservancy
  5. Portland, OR Tax exemption issued: Feb. 2002 EIN: 93-1326405ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: Western Rivers Conservancy

Research notes. The Blue Creek and Esselen accounts are WRC's own; the Yurok Tribe's page was read separately (see the Yurok entry). WRC's totals (227,000 acres) are its own. Some pages say 2009 for the start of the partnership and another says a 23-year partnership ending in 2025. A donation to WRC does not go to the Yurok Tribe.

Visit the organization’s website or give directly on its own page. This site takes no money.

Connections

These links were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.

Works with 2

Works in 1

Sources

  1. westernrivers.org/self-description
The record’s fields
Vetting notes
Allied nonprofit, not Indigenous-led. Home page claims 227,000+ acres protected. Donation to WRC is NOT a donation to the Yurok Tribe; the tribe's recipient entity is its own government.
Kind
Organization
Confidence
High

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