Big River/Salmon Creek Forests

Known as the Big River/Salmon Creek Forests, this project comprises two regions of redwood/douglas fir forestland totaling 16,300 acres. Located in Mendocino County, California, both are high priority refugia watersheds, identified in the Californian Fish and Game’s 2004 ‘Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon’ as areas of important forestland and fish habitat. The project reduces carbon emissions and ensures that the area will be permanently protected from fragmentation, development and conversion to non-forest uses.

Many of California’s forest-based communities are at a critical point. Coastal forests in the north have long supported abundant wildlife and a thriving economy with nearly 40% of all timber harvested in California coming from privately owned forests in Humboldt and Mendocino counties. However, the short term investment model of commercial timber companies tends to be incompatible with sustainable long term management of these forests. These companies have been divesting their forestlands, with some divided into smaller holdings while the rest have been sold to timber or real estate investment companies.

With these competing land use interests, conservationists are struggling to finance forestland acquisitions to protect the most sensitive natural areas. Help for the Big River/Salmon Creek Forests has come from: a 20-year low interest loan from the State Revolving Fund (SRF), a program traditionally used to support construction of waste water treatment facilities; a perpetual easement under Climate Action Reserve that requires the project land area to be used for forest purposes permanently; and emissions reduction sales.

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