Statement of Endorsement for the Protection and Conservation of Shaahnaa' Lhook'

Approved by
Cahto Tribe of Laytonville Rancheria
Endorsed by
InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council (a consortium of 10 federally recognized Tribes), First Mennonite Church of San Francisco

September 4, 2025

Tribes throughout the redwood region were nearly annihilated in the mid-1800s through government-sanctioned acts of violence and displacement. For millennia, the Tribes' careful guardianship and tending of vast, cherished landscapes produced diverse and healthy habitats with a rich abundance of plant and animal species and clean waters. Like the Tribes, these cultural ecosystems, with their once-thriving communities of redwoods and salmon, have also been subjected to an onslaught of harmful impacts and traumas. Yet, for countless generations, the region’s forests and streams have been—and today remain—home to the Tribes, the salmon, and others who survived and are now healing from these assaults.

We recognize the need to help heal past and current harms by supporting Tribal-led initiatives to defend and revitalize traditional territorial lands and waters. The Cahto Tribe of Laytonville Rancheria has committed to protecting the imperiled cultural landscape of Shaahnaa' Lhook' from harmful impacts, and stewarding it in perpetuity. Located in Northern California's coast range, this landscape includes a critically important wild coho salmon stream and recovering watershed.

We hereby express our full support and endorsement of the initiative to protect and conserve all of Shaahnaa' Lhook', through leadership of the Cahto Tribe and Nature, and with support from allies. This important area of the Cahto Tribe’s traditional lands and waters, with its imperiled salmon and other culturally—ecologically important species, deserves lasting protection. We hope many others will support and endorse the Cahto Tribe's effort to achieve this goal.

Shaahnaa' Lhook' is a unique and special place

• The upper S. Fork Eel River watershed is home to the last viable metapopulation of California’s endangered coho salmon. A key tributary that the Cahto Tribe has named Shaahnaa' Lhook' is the upper S. Fork Eel’s only known reliable coho spawning habitat. Shaahnaa' Lhook', meaning “Salmon Stream” (and called “Dutch Charlie Creek” in only recent times), is a remarkable and important waterway. Other streams in the region do not have the consistently cool temperatures and critical habitat essential for coho.

• The 2,800-acre watershed has no public roads.

• While most nearby watersheds have been severely impacted by recent timber harvest, the last significant timber harvest in the Shaahnaa' Lhook' watershed occurred 25 years ago. The watershed’s remaining large trees and abundant bio-cultural diversity make it an extremely high priority for protection.

Conservation of Shaahnaa' Lhook' is practical and important

• The watershed is the key part of an important cultural landscape of the Cahto Tribe, whose nearby reservation represents a tiny fraction of its original territory. For millennia, the Cahto Tribe diligently cared for and coexisted in harmonious relationship with the lands and waters of Shaahnaa' Lhook', neighboring watersheds, and coastal / marine environments. The Tribe and its cultural heritage, lifeways and values remain deeply connected to these places.

• The Cahto Tribe is opposed to damaging activities, including timber harvest, within the Shaahnaa' Lhook' watershed and immediately adjacent areas, and has declared that this sensitive watershed and cultural landscape should be protected and conserved in perpetuity.

• Shaahnaa' Lhook' is adjacent to three protected areas: the 23,979 combined acres of the federal Elkhorn Ridge and South Fork Eel River Wilderness areas, and the 7,660-acre UC Berkeley Angelo Coast Range Reserve. Protecting Shaahnaa' Lhook' will significantly expand these existing protected forest and stream habitats by extending this matrix of protected lands and waters another three miles toward the ocean, a vitally important enhancement benefitting the many species of wildlife who live there, as well as the Cahto Tribe, other local communities, and the State of California.

The time to protect Shaahnaa' Lhook' is now

We can help ensure lasting protection for Shaahnaa' Lhook'. Timber harvest, road-building, and development typically cause irreparable damage to watersheds and landscapes like Shaahnaa' Lhook' that contain highly sensitive habitats. Coho and other at-risk species are often permanently harmed and unable to recover from the impacts of such activities. These harmful impacts can be prevented, and a conservation opportunity created to advance lasting protection and healing for Shaahnaa' Lhook'. Please join us in endorsing and supporting the protection and conservation of this precious place, for the sake of present and future generations of the Cahto People, the redwoods, the salmon, and the planet.

Learn about and help prevent threats to Shaahnaa' Lhook'

You are invited to Donate to the Shaahnaa' Lhook' defense fund.