User:Myselgo/McCloud River

Threats
The McCloud ecosystem faces threats to the various cultural sites along the river and the general river ecosystem health. In November 2020, the Trump Administration under the direction of then U.S. Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, approved plans to increase the nearby Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet. The consequences would include the flooding of 5,000 acres of the local habitat which would harm the wild trout fishery, as well as introduce permanent and seasonal flooding of roughly 39 sacred Winnemem Wintu Tribe sites that are located along the McCloud River.

The river system is closely tied to the Winnemem Wintu Tribe's culture as the tribe once lived in the greater SiskiyouRegion and depended greatly on the river as a source of food and a setting for cultural ceremonies. In 1945, the completion of the Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River harmed the river's salmon population. It also led to the flooding of 95% of Winnemem Wintu territory, this included about 250 cultural sites, such as burial sites, and whole villages. The Central Valley Project Land Acquisition Act of 1941 had issued portions of over 4,000 acres of land in order to recompense tribal territories that were flooded and damaged. However, the U.S. Federal Government failed to deliver compensation and instead created a cemetery for the 183 Winnemem Wintu bodies that were displaced from their burial sites along the McCloud.