Siskiyou County supervisors authorize amicus brief in Yurok Tribe lawsuit

A clerk for the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors reported the board authorized county counsel to retain outside counsel to file an amicus brief on behalf of the plaintiffs in the case Yurok Tribe et al v. Climate and Water Users Association.

The clerk said the board had been in closed session from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and that the item was the only reportable matter. "The board authorized county counsel to hire outside counsel to file an amicus brief on behalf of the plaintiffs," the clerk said.

According to the clerk’s reading of the roll, the measure passed by a 4-1 vote. Chair Hough and Vice Chair Harris were recorded as voting yes. The clerk read additional yes votes by supervisors whose names were not specified in the transcript; Supervisor Valenzuela was recorded as voting no. The transcript contains a minor inconsistency in how individual yes votes were listed; the reported final tally in the meeting record is 4 yes, 1 no.

The board did not announce further actions tied to the authorization during the public report; the clerk concluded the report, said there was no other business and declared the meeting adjourned.

Closed-session timing and the authorization are the primary recorded outcomes from this meeting. The clerk’s report names the lawsuit and the board’s decision; the board did not provide additional public detail about the legal arguments, the specific outside firm to be retained, or the scope of the proposed amicus brief during the report-out.

The board adjourned after the report.