Yurok Tribe Clean Transportation Planning Project
Organization: Yurok Tribe
Funding Request: $465,941.00
Project Summary
The Yurok Tribe Clean Transportation Planning Project is a Tribally-led planning effort by the Yurok Tribal Transportation Department (YTTD), which has operated Yurok Tribal Transit Services since 2013, serving the Yurok, Hoopa, and Karuk Tribes. The Tribe’s vision is to advance a transit system that is equitable, sustainable, and responsive to community needs through continued improvements to YTTD’s facilities and fleet. The project has two complementary thrusts: clean-energy infrastructure planning for the Tulley Creek facility, and community outreach focused on clean transportation for the region’s youth.
On the infrastructure side, the project will plan and design a photovoltaic (PV) system, including rooftop and carport solar, along with future EV charging infrastructure at Tulley Creek, evaluating load capacity, interconnection feasibility, and site constraints to ensure compatibility with growing transit operations. The work spans site assessments, preliminary engineering, and conceptual design, and culminates in two deliverables: a PV/EV Planning Package documenting recommended concepts and assumptions, and an Implementation & Funding Strategy with preliminary cost estimates, phased implementation options, and potential funding pathways. These implementation-ready materials are designed to position the Tribe to pursue future capital funding efficiently while building internal capacity to manage PV/EV projects.
Project Descriptions and Transportation Equity
The Yurok Reservation spans 88 square miles along a 44-mile stretch of the Klamath River across Humboldt and Del Norte counties, a region where long distances, limited infrastructure, and persistent poverty are significant barriers to mobility. The average annual income of Yurok members on the Reservation is roughly $11,000; about 35% live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment reaches up to 80% in some areas. Many households lack access to personal vehicles, making Tribal transit their primary means of getting to school, work, groceries, medical care, and social services. The nearest urban centers (Crescent City, Arcata, and Eureka) are up to 90 miles away, with trips often taking several hours each way due to roadway geometry, terrain, and weather. Compounding this, YTTD’s current EV transit vans can require up to two days to charge, creating an operational bottleneck that constrains service.
The project advances transportation equity by directly addressing these conditions for the populations most affected: low-income families, Elders, youth, and individuals with disabilities. The community-outreach component, conducted in coordination with Yurok Head Start and the Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District (KTJUSD), will assess transportation needs for preschool and school-aged children across five elementary schools and one high school (951 students total). This engagement prioritizes low-income households, American Indian students, and socioeconomically disadvantaged families so that the lived experiences of those who depend on Tribal transit shape the plan. Findings will support service planning and identify opportunities to convert school transit to clean technologies. By expanding solar generation and EV charging while prioritizing routes for transit-dependent communities, the project tackles both the reliability and the environmental dimensions of mobility in a region prone to frequent power outages.
Community Benefit
The project benefits students living on the Yurok Reservation who are enrolled in Head Start programming or KTJUSD, a student body that is nearly 80% American Indian, with high rates of students experiencing foster care, homelessness, or disabilities, whose access to school is further challenged by geographic isolation and economic hardship. Yurok Head Start, one of the Tribe’s most successful programs, serves geographically dispersed communities in Klamath, Crescent City, Eureka, and Ke’pel, all of which require coordinated transportation to maintain consistent access for children and families. By identifying community needs through structured outreach and data collection, the project aims to inform strategies that support reliable, timely transit, reduce missed school days, and ease transportation burdens on families.
The effort also delivers capacity-building and resilience benefits. Outreach is anticipated to help identify future workforce and training needs for systems operations and maintenance, while providing dedicated staff time that YTTD’s limited resources would not otherwise allow. On the infrastructure side, the project springboards clean-energy planning for the Tulley Creek facility, accelerating the Tribe’s fleet electrification, creating durable renewable energy in a region that sees frequent power outages, and positioning YTTD to pursue implementation funding at an accelerated pace. In the long run, these planning activities lay the groundwork for investments that could support local jobs, improve operational efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and provide resilient power during severe weather and other disruptions.
Partnerships and Structure
As a Tribal applicant, YTTD does not require a sub-applicant for this program, so the structure is streamlined and Tribally-led. The Yurok Tribal Transportation Department serves as the Lead Applicant, responsible for overall project management, coordination, and delivery of activities and deliverables, and it will lead community engagement, including survey development, outreach to transit users, and documenting Tribal voices to inform planning. Because YTTD is a division of the Yurok Tribe, decision-making authority remains with the Tribal Council, and the project emphasizes equitable partnerships by centering community input, maintaining transparency, and using the grant to strengthen coordination across Tribal programs.
The supporting roles are:
Yurok Head Start (Community Partner): Supports outreach to families with preschool-aged children and provides insight into the transportation needs affecting early-education access.
Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District (supporting role, not a formal community partner): Supports engagement on school-aged transportation needs and coordination with existing transit services.
The project team brings substantial grant-management depth: oversight by Michael Gerace, Director of Planning & Community Development (who has secured over $100M for Tribal projects), with support from Assistant Director Sophia Lay; operational and financial oversight from YTTD Director Brandi Natt, who manages 16 staff and a $1.7M+ annual budget that has driven fleet expansion and EV deployment; and planning and grant support from Patricia Ulmer-Genaw. YTTD has managed grants from Caltrans, CalSTA, FTA, and others, including the awards that initiated the Tribe’s EV transit effort, and plans to address technical and coordination challenges through early planning, consultant support, and interdepartmental collaboration.