This Could Save The Mattole!

Thanks to the passing of proposition 40 there now exists a window of oppurtunity to save the the second largest privately owned low-elevation old-growth Douglas Fir forest in California. We must pressure the government to set aside money for the aquisition of the Pacific Lumber Companies holdings on Rainbow ridge above the Mattole river.
The numerous new timber harvest plans (thp) threaten to fragment a large tract of crucial habitat for many species. Among the species which dwell there are, Golden Eagles, Spotted Owls, Fishers, mountain lions, bobcats, black bears,deer, red tree voles, rare lichens and plants, and many many more.

Please write to the Wildlife Conservation Board and urge them to use the money that they recieve from Proposition 40 towards the purchase of the Mattole Forest.

Points for your letter:

The Mattole Forest contains roughly 3000 acres of old-growth Douglas Fir. Globally, very few old-growth stands of this size are still in existence.

The Mattole Valley is the most seismically active area in the continental U.S. It is at the juncture of three tectonic plates, the Punta Gorda plate, the Juan de Fuca plate, and the Pacific Ocean. The proximity of these earthquake faults combined with the high average rainfall (over 100 inches) magnify the instability of these steep hillsides. Logging these hillsides puts downstream landowners and businesses at risk of flooding and physical danger.

Large tracts of low elevation Douglas Fir are scarce in California and provide crucial habitat to a number of rare, threatened, and endangered species. This intact ecosystem is home to Peregrine Falcons, Northern Goshawks, Northern Spotted Owls, Marbled Murrelets, Bald Eagles, and Summer Steelhead.

The Mattole Valley is sandwiched by Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the Kings Range National Conservation Area. To protect this area would be to create a vital biological corridor from the redwoods to the Pacific Ocean.

Please email letters to the Mattole Restoration Council, mrc [at] inreach.com, who will forward them to your representatives. Or send typed letters to:
Al Wright, Executive Director
Wildlife Conservation Board
1307 13th st
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-8448
fax (916) 323-0280

To learn about other efforts to protect the Mattole watershed you can read all the past postings on this site.