Summer 2024 Newsletter

Supporting the Health & Healing of the Klamath River Basin

Dear friends, vital collaborators, and partners,

We’re excited to share with you our inaugural edition of the Klamath River Fund Newsletter.

Our goal and highest hopes are to use this medium as one way to share news and updates from the Klamath River Basin, the work of Tribal Nations and the communities who are continuing or beginning the restoration and revitalization of the river, the lakes, and its surrounding environments following the historic removal of four dams along the river.

We’ll be publishing this newsletter twice per year for our philanthropic partners. In the newsletter, readers can look forward to reading about the positive impacts of philanthropy, and ways the philanthropic community can support the efforts of Indigenous and community leaders, researchers, environmental specialists, storytellers, and more who are working or continuing to work to create positive healthy outcomes for the basin, its people and the Klamath River.

About the Fund

A New Fund to Support the Health & Healing of the Klamath River Basin

The Klamath River Fund is a new program of Humboldt Area Foundation and Wild Rivers Community Foundation (HAF+WRCF) focused on community-led climate resilience and restorative justice work.

Following the unprecedented dam removal in 2023 and 2024, the Klamath River Fund will invest in and amplify restoration and revitalization efforts in the entire Klamath basin in the decade that follows.

The Klamath River Fund was established with seed funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and additional launch funding from the James Irvine Foundation, Roundhouse Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Tamalpais Trust, and an anonymous funder. HAF+WRCF is now inviting philanthropic partners that share our goals to join us in this exciting and momentous opportunity.

Meet the Team

Pimm Tripp-Allen (she/her)

Vice President

Programs, Community Partnerships & Tribal Relations

Holly Hensher

(she/her)

Senior Program Officer

Programs & Community Partnerships

Brianna Juarez (she/her)

Program Manager

Klamath River Fund

Craig Woods

(he/him)

Departmental Director

Programs & Community Partnerships

Gina Zottola

(she/her)

Vice President

Advancement & Philanthropic Innovation

Keytra Meyer (she/they)

Departmental Director

Advancement & Philanthropic Innovation

Read Team Bios

Updates from the Basin

Klamath Dam Removal Ahead of Schedule

Years of community collaboration are reaching an incredible milestone this August: The Klamath River, from Lake Euwana to the Pacific Ocean, will be flowing freely for the first time in over a century. Read more about the latest developments in the effort to restore and revitalize the Klamath River Basin and its communities.

Grantee Summaries

First Grants from Klamath River Fund Making an Impact

We’re excited to announce our first round of grants from the Klamath River Fund. With a focus on community healing, tribal self-determination, science and restoration, storytelling, climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, and environmental stewardship, this set of grants is already making an impact in communities in California and Oregon.

Initial grantees include:

California Trout in collaboration with the Klamath Tribes, Karuk Tribe and Yurok Tribe
Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District Fish Fair
Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District

And initial sponsorship recipients include:

Save California Salmon
Ridges to Riffles

Grantee Spotlight

$330,000 Grant Supports California Trout’s New Monitoring Project on the Klamath

A recent $330,000 grant from the KRF is helping California Trout launch a new program to monitor fish migration and restoration efforts in the river following the historic removal of four dams. The project, undertaken in collaboration with Tribal Nations, will hopefully help develop a deeper understanding of the river and open doors to public funding opportunities to support future restoration efforts.