More than a decade after efforts began to protect land along the lower Eel River, the Fortuna City Council unanimously voted Monday to approve moving forward with the purchase of more than 200 acres of undeveloped property. …The council approved the process for purchasing two plots of land: a 7.2-acre parcel at 1320 Riverwalk Drive and a 236-acre property along the Eel River, which will be returned to the Wiyot Tribe. … [City Manager Amy] Nilsen said the purchase has been in the works for more than a decade and would secure both parcels from the landowners, with funding from the California River Parkways Grant Program and forthcoming grant funding from the California Coastal Conservancy.

Other tribal water news:

• The Plumas Sun (Quincy, Calif.): 10,000+ acres of [Feather River Basin] Washoe homelands returned