About Dam Time!
Downriver Communities Celebrate as Klamath Reservoir Drawdown Begins By Regina Chichizola, Save California Salmon A few months after removal of the Copco 2 Dam on the Klamath River in October, 2023, Tribal members and scientists studying the river braved a cold, icy morning on January 11, 2024 to join the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC)…
Read MoreRestoring Beneficial Fire in the Klamath Mountains: A Long Time Coming
By Will Harling, Mid Klamath Watershed Council In the Klamath Mountains in California, and across the nation, 2023 was a turning point for fire. After decades of grassroots organizing underscored by ever more catastrophic wildfires that have shown the folly of attempts to take fire out of fire-dependent ecosystems, we are seeing promising gains in…
Read MoreKS Wild’s PLAY Program: Public Lands And You!
By Allee Gustafson, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildands Center What mountain range runs east to west in the Klamath Siskiyous, is an important wildlife connectivity coordinator, and is a botanically diverse hotspot? It’s the Siskiyou Mountains! Located along the border of Oregon and California, they connect with the Coastal, Klamath, and Cascade mountain ranges. The Siskiyou Mountains are…
Read MoreProject Reports: Cereus Fund
For over 23 years, with direct input from our Cereus Funder, Trees Foundation was able to grant nearly a million dollars to our Partner Groups. With the recent passing of our generous benefactor, our fundraising efforts are increasing in our hope to continue offering these kinds of grant opportunities. The following reports are from some…
Read MoreShasta River’s Safe Harbor Agreement Not Safe for Salmon
By Amber Jamieson, Water Advocacy Director, Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) Earth Day is about protecting our planet! The Pacific Northwest has been at the forefront of the environmental movement since its inception, helping to shape and enforce environmental laws. From forest defense to water wars, our community remains at the heart of efforts to…
Read MoreTenmile Creek Watershed Forest Health Grant
Planning for Action By Pat Higgins, ERRP Managing Director The Eel River Recovery Project (ERRP) is the recipient of a CAL FIRE Climate Change Initiative (CCI) grant awarded in August 2023 that runs through March 2028. More than 818 acres of forest land will be treated using thinning from below and prescribed fire. Acquisition of…
Read MoreForest Health and Fire Resources Program Update
Southern Humboldt Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Project The Trees Foundation Forest Health and Fire Resources Program has been hard at work in 2024. We began the year collaborating with project partners California State Parks, Humboldt Redwood Company, Briceland Fire, Elk Ridge Forestry, Eel River Wailaki (ERW), Native Health in Native Hands (NHNH), and numerous…
Read MoreThe Richard Gienger Report
The following is an open letter I wrote in early December 2023. It remains valid today and in the coming months and years as an effort to reform (“modernize”) forest stewardship that includes a model of co-management. Perhaps the most appropriate and pressing place to achieve this is the 50,000-acre Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF).…
Read More26th Annual Coho Confab
September 13-15, 2024, Smith River By Salmonid Restoration Federation SRF, with the support of California Department of Fish and Wildlife, will host the 26th Annual Coho Confab at the beautiful Rock Creek Ranch on the South Fork of the Smith River. The pristine Smith River is the largest undammed river in California and is located…
Read MoreEvery Day is Earth Day
While for many of us “Every day is Earth Day,” Trees Foundation is highlighting the annual renewal of our commitment to the Earth with this issue of Forest and River News. We hope the community joins us this Earth Day on April 22nd—the “how” is up to you! We suggest simply getting outside, taking a…
Read MoreThe Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference, March 2024
Holding Space: Creating Habitat and a Platform for Innovation Salmonid Restoration Federation Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) produces the largest salmon restoration conference in California, convening a diverse range of people in the watershed restoration field including planners, engineers, policy makers, students, Watershed Stewards Program members, consultants, academics, tribal members, on-the-ground practitioners, and landowners. It is…
Read MoreEditor’s Note
We have chosen “Collaboration, Cooperation, and Communication” as our theme for this issue of Forest and River News, but collaboration has always been at the very heart of Trees Foundation. It is our raison d’etre, but as we all know, it isn’t always easy. Trees Foundation is growing (see here) by evolving and adapting to…
Read MoreMessage from the President
The seasonal changes of Fall and Winter often inspire us to reflect. To say we are living in turbulent times describes more than just our climate-driven weather patterns. However dark the impending storms may feel, Trees Foundation and our partner groups have always tried to focus on nurturing our connections to the land to create a…
Read MoreSouth Fork Eel River 2023 Pikeminnow Survey Provides Encouraging Results
By Pat Higgins, Managing Director, Eel River Recovery Project The Eel River Recovery Project (ERRP) conducted its eighth annual survey of invasive Sacramento pikeminnow on the South Fork Eel River from Rattlesnake Creek to Standish Hickey State Park on June 28 and 29, and results were surprising. The invasive pikeminnow population was far lower than…
Read MoreSouthern Humboldt Fire Safe Council: Part of the Web of Groups Working Together to Rebuild Our Relationship to Fire
Submitted by Gail Eastwood, Chair, Southern Humboldt Fire Safe Council If you watch busy ants around an anthill for a while, you’ll see many ants industriously moving a bit of grain or chaff or something. It appears to be part of a coordinated effort to achieve some mutual goal. But where is the commander? Who’s…
Read MoreIf You Build It, Will Coho Run? Marshall Ranch Ponds Constructed to Maintain Redwood Creek Summer Flows
By Dana Stolzman, Executive Director, Salmonid Restoration Federation The Build Up Coho salmon persist in scattered watersheds throughout the North Coast of California, especially in forested tributaries that provide habitat refugia. Redwood Creek is a rare example of a human-populated watershed that still retains intrinsic potential for coho salmon recovery. For over 10 years, the…
Read MoreInstitute for Sustainable Forestry: A Brief Retrospective, Current Update on Projects, and Looking Ahead
Submitted by Chip Tittmann, President; Greg Condon, Treasurer; Gray Shaw, Secretary; and Board Directors Richard Gienger, Jeff Hedin, Liz Harwood, and Connie Smyser Over the last 39 years, ISF has built a legacy of promoting forest health, forest protection, and sustainable forest products utilization in NW California, all while collaborating with local NGOs, Tribes, and public…
Read MoreSPAWN Nursery: The Power of Community Over 20 Years of Propagating Native Plants
By Audrey Fusco, Nursery Manager and Restoration Ecologist, Salmon Protection and Watershed Network The SPAWN restoration nursery, seaturtles.org/nursery, grew out of the desire to restore creek habitat for coho salmon by utilizing local genetic stock of native plants that were not available in any nursery. Beginning as a volunteer effort, we sought experts to mentor…
Read MoreFlowers for Susy
Susy Barsotti, a long-time member of the Hog Farm at Black Oak Ranch in Mendocino, and tireless environmental advocate, recently stepped down from the Trees Foundation Board of Directors after a quarter-century of dedicated service. She served Trees with aplomb, commitment, and boundless energy. Longtime Trees staffer Barbara Ristow recalls Susy “always promoting Trees” showing…
Read MoreThank You for Supporting Trees Foundation!
We rely on the generous support of our readers to fund our work. Trees Foundation provides services to a network of over forty grassroots partner groups that are leading community-based efforts in healthy land stewardship throughout California’s Redwood Coast. Your donation enables us to continue supporting our partner groups, publish the Forest & River News…
Read MoreThe Roots of Cooperative Management
By Michael Evenson With the formation of the Trees Foundation in 1991, founding directors Rick Klein and I sought a path for forest communities to continue to work in the woods while “restoring ecological functions,” terminology that changes with the times, but means healing from the outrageous disturbances of the past. The path to achieve…
Read MoreWillow Walls, Cottonwood Containment, and Flood Control
Town Creek Restoration Project in Covelo Gives Round Valley Students Hands-On Experience By Eel River Recovery Project In 2021, the Eel River Recovery Project (ERRP) was awarded a grant from the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) Urban Streams Restoration Program (USRP) for work in Covelo in northeast Mendocino County. The Town Creek Restoration and Education…
Read MoreMarshall Ranch Flow-Enhancement Implementation Project Underway
Innovative Flow-Augmentation Project to Restore Flows in Redwood Creek By Salmonid Restoration Federation This summer Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF), Stillwater Sciences, and Edwards Excavation will build an innovative flow-augmentation restoration project on the historic Marshall Ranch to improve instream flows in Redwood Creek (a tributary of the South Fork Eel River) for threatened salmon and…
Read MoreAdd Butterflies to Your Garden!
Restoring Habitat for Pollinators Benefits Salmon and Other Wildlife By Audrey Fusco, Restoration Ecologist for the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network Along with plants, insects form the base of the food web and the bulk of the diet for fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Plants and insects have co-evolved. Native insects require a diverse set of…
Read MoreRedwoods and Climate Change
Vulnerability, Resilience, and Hope in the World’s Tallest Trees By Marie E. Antoine and Stephen C. Sillett, Cal Poly Humboldt Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) has a narrow and highly fragmented distribution along 460 miles of western North America. Although they occupy only a small land area, primary (unlogged, old-growth) redwood forests are globally renowned. Extreme…
Read More25th Annual Coho Confab on the Mattole River
Returning to the Roots of Coho Salmon Restoration, August 25-27, 2023 Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) is coordinating the 25th Annual Coho Confab that will take place August 25-27 on the Mattole River in Humboldt County. This year’s Coho Confab will be held at the Mattole Retreat Center which is on the banks of the beautiful…
Read MoreNorthern California Tribes and Agencies Plan for Tribal Land Return
Tribes Ask State to Update Policies and Join Fight for Unrecognized Tribes and Water Protection at LandBack Symposium Arcata, CA, from March 28, 2023 Press Release—Save California Salmon and Cal Poly Humboldt’s Native American Studies Department hosted the Northern California LandBack Symposium. This first-of-its-kind free event featured Tribal and State leaders, university representatives, foundations, NGOs,…
Read MoreGrowing Trees Foundation
In an effort to better serve our community and our partner groups, Trees Foundation has grown. We have new Staff, new Board Members, and a bustling new Forest Health and Fire Resources Program. After serving nearly four years as our Organizational Development and Partner Outreach Director, Kerry Reynolds is moving into a new position as…
Read More2022 Cereus Reports
In 1998, a generous individual contacted Trees Foundation with the desire to support local grassroots environmental activism. Shortly thereafter, the Cereus Fund of Trees Foundation was created. Her desire was to give annually, not only to Trees Foundation, but also to our many Partner groups. For 23 years, with direct input of the Cereus Funder,…
Read MoreEnter to Win! 2022 Quilt Raffle
$5 each or five for $20. Quilt is King Size. Drawing March 21st, 2023. Tickets available at TreesFoundation.org
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Annual Pikeminnow Dive Provides Insight
into Health of South Fork Eel River
By Eel River Recovery Project The seventh annual Eel River Recovery Project pikeminnow survey of a key reach of the South Fork Eel River took place on June 28th and 29th. It was determined that despite the population of this non-native predator remaining high, there were a surprising number of salmon and steelhead juveniles and…
Read MoreGrassroots Spotlight: Native Health in Native Hands
Revitalizing Wailaki Cultural Practices By Kerry Reynolds, Organizational Development & Partner Support, Trees Foundation In late 2021, an email came into Trees Foundation that asked about our mapmaking services. That was nothing unusual—GIS mapmaking is one of our most popular services. Little did I know then, that we had just made contact with Perry Lincoln,…
Read MoreThe Richard Gienger Report
The record October 2021 rains are a distant memory, but those rains seemed to have triggered some very good coho spawning numbers in many North Coast streams. Then we had basically no rain from January 1st through March, and we started getting frantic. April and May rain came as a real blessing and changed our…
Read MorePublic Records Requests and the Maintenance of Democracy
A Jackson Demonstration State Forest Case Study Implicit in a democratic process is the notion that government should be accountable for its actions. In order to verify accountability, individuals must have access to government files. Such access permits checks against the arbitrary exercise of official power and secrecy in the political process. (California Supreme Court:…
Read More24th Annual Coho Confab on the South Fork Eel River
Evolving Strategies to Enhance Coho Salmon Habitat Salmonid Restoration Federation Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) is coordinating the 24th Annual Coho Confab that will take place September 9–11, 2022 on the South Fork Eel River in Mendocino County. This year’s Coho Confab will be held at the Rangjung Gomde Buddhist Retreat Center, which is nestled in…
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Prescribed Fire:
An Indigenous Perspective
By Margo Robbins, Cultural Fire Management Council The following is a transcript of the talk given by Margo Robbins during a webinar hosted by Trees Foundation on Oct. 3rd, 2021 titled “Pathways to Fire Resilience.” She refers to some photos from her slideshow that don’t appear here, but you may watch her full presentation with…
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The Buckeye Ridge Prescribed Fire:
A Nonprofit’s Perspective
By Ali Freedlund, Mattole Restoration Council Charged into the marrow of my life is how I felt participating in the Stansberry Ranch’s 109-acre prescribed burn that occurred in February just outside Honeydew, California. The Buckeye Ridge burn was supposed to happen in the fall of 2020, but the river was the force that prevented it.…
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The Oak Knoll Prescribed Fire:
A Landowner’s Perspective
By Mitchell Danforth Wildfires represent the single greatest threat to most of our inland communities, especially in recent times, as fires have grown in size, intensity, and damage to people and property. It is critical to acknowledge that fires are not good or evil, they simply are—and like floods, landslides, snowstorms, and earthquakes, how we…
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The Old Briceland Ridge Prescribed Fire:
An Ecological Field Observer’s Perspective
By Kyle Keegan Ecological Restoration Is Not a Race: Lessons from Western Pond Turtle It was a 70-degree afternoon in February 2022 on Old Briceland Ridge: 1,960 feet of elevation amidst stands of Douglas-fir, scattered Tanoak, and Chinquapin. Winds were light out of the southwest, and relative humidities were in the high 40s. Fire had…
Read MoreTell PG&E to STOP Ravaging our Trees and FIX their Infrastructure Instead!
The Redwood Chapter of Sierra Club is leading a campaign to demand that PG&E stops ravaging our trees and instead invests in modern infrastructure that will greatly reduce wildfire risk. State leaders must hold PG&E accountable for its negligence. Why This Matters PG&E’s antiquated infrastructure is vulnerable to high winds and its outdated lines create…
Read MoreThe Cereus Fund of Trees Foundation Continues to Help Grassroots Environmental Advocacy in the Redwoods Region
The following pages highlight grassroots environmental projects supported by the Cereus Fund of Trees Foundation in 2021. Established in 1998, the Cereus Fund is a part of Trees Foundation’s Donor Advised Program which allows individuals to donate and direct funding to projects of their choice, which Trees Foundation administers on their behalf. To learn more…
Read MorePomo Perspective with Michael Hunter
The following is a partial transcript of the Oct. 18, 2021, KZYX Public Affairs show hosted by Alicia Littletree Bales, edited for length. Alicia Littletree Bales: Good morning, this is Alicia Bales. I’m live in the Ukiah studio with Michael Hunter [Chair of the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians] …and we’re going to hear…
Read MoreThe Map: A Mythic Recollection
By Jeff Hedin Editor’s Note: We are excited to announce that the Mateel Region Conservation Context map—23 years in the making—is now available on our website at treesfoundation.org/map. We would like to acknowledge the dedicated work of activists Jeff Hedin and Rob DiPerna in the creation of this map, and to Trees Foundation’s past GIS…
Read MoreThe Early Days of Trees Foundation
By Leib Ostrow, co-founder and current Board Treasurer of Trees Foundation Ah, tracing the roots of Trees Foundation. For me its starts with fleeing my birthplace, as industrial a place as you can find, Detroit, Michigan. I had witnessed some of the worst of what humans could do to our Mother Earth and was searching…
Read MoreBack in Person! 23rd Annual Coho Confab to be Held on the Navarro River Aug 20-22, 2021
Evolving Strategies to Enhance Coho Salmon Habitat Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) is coordinating the 23rd Annual Coho Confab that will take place August 20-22 on the Navarro River in Mendocino County. This year’s Coho Confab will be held at River’s Bend Retreat Center in Philo which is nestled in the redwoods. The Coho Confab is…
Read MoreWelcome to Our New Partner Group
On February 27th the staff of Trees Foundation met with the board of Eel River Wailaki to make our partnership official! Although we have already had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects together, we are now excited to be able to offer additional support for their organization. Over the past year, our…
Read MoreBook Reviews: Green Reads
The word green evokes many concepts beyond color. Fresh, new, environmentally friendly and a sense of growth can all be conveyed by calling something green. For anyone who loves to read and has a passion for this planet we call home, these books belong on your green reading list. …… The Ghost Forest by Greg King…
Read MoreCalifornia Buckeye
Aesculus californica One of the first native plants to leaf out each year is California buckeye. Buckeyes don’t even wait for spring, leafing out in mid-winter, when moisture from rains is abundant. In California’s dry summer climate, many native plants have adapted to grow during the wet season and go dormant in the dry season;…
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