November 15, 2006
As Sanctuary Forest moves into its
20th year, we celebrate the many successes of the past and prepare to overcome the new conservation challenges of the future.
One of the most acute challenges to the survival of the threatened coho, Chinook, and steelhead salmonids of the Mattole River is maintaining their summer habitat. This habitat is perilously diminished by low summertime flows in the Mattole River headwaters. When the river stops flowing and breaks up into disconnected pools, thousands of juvenile fish are lost. The headwaters are home to most of the river's juvenile salmon because of the cold water located there. These maturing fish must spend one to two summers in the headwaters in order to complete their life cycle.
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Another conservation challenge that Sanctuary Forest is rising to meet is providing public access to the lands of the Upper Mattole River and Forest Cooperative. According to the Bureau of Land Management, more than 150,000 people visit the Mattole and Lost Coast region every year. Because of the $10 million-plus in taxpayer investment to conserve the Cooperative lands, Sanctuary Forest is meeting the obligation to help provide appropriate public access to these old-growth forests and salmon streams. Through a generous grant from the California River Parkways program, Sanctuary Forest intends to open the Ancestor Creek trail to public access by 2008. In use for the last decade as a private trail, the first phase of development of the Ancestor Creek access involves creating a small parking area, trailhead, and one mile of disabled-accessible trail. There will also be some signs interpreting the extensive restoration work undertaken in Ancestor Creek.
Over the last twenty years Sanctuary Forest and our many partners have created the 5,000-acre old-growth forest and salmon reserve in the Mattole River headwaters. As we move into our next twenty years, we look forward to sustaining the functions of the Upper Mattole River and Forest Cooperative through restoration projects like the Mattole Flow Program and by enhancing public understanding and appreciation for the temperate rainforest through projects like the Ancestor Creek Trail.
For more information please call (707) 986-1087 or visit
www.sanctuaryforest.org
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TOC for Forest & River News, Fall 2006