October 4, 1999
3,800 acres of dramatic forested lands in a Corridor from the Redwoods to the Sea in Southern Humboldt County have been purchased by Save-the-Redwoods League for $5,250,000.
Old growth douglas fir and mature second growth forests blanket the steep slopes surrounding Gilham Butte, a landmark promontory on the ridge dividing the Mattole and Eel Rivers. Majestic multi-trunked madrones and live oaks up to ten feet in diameter border open grassland meadows.
Four tributaries of the Mattole River, spawning grounds for threatened salmon and steelhead populations, flow through the newly acquired lands that are home to the black bear and mountain lion.
These lands are the major stepping stones in a corridor for wildlife between Humboldt Redwoods State Park, the world's largest old growth redwood forest, and BLM's King Range National Conservation Area, the longest unroaded coastal area in the lower 48 states. The acquisition will enhance the wildlife benefits of 126,550 acres of neighboring public lands stretching from the massive redwoods of the Rockefeller Forest in the Eel River watershed, up through Bull Creek to the ridge top, westerly around Gilham Butte, dropping to the Mattole River and rising again through the coastal King Range to the Pacific Ocean.
"Permanent protection for this beautiful, wild stretch of California is an important extension of the League’s historic efforts to protect the old growth redwood forest of Humboldt Redwood State Park and its wildlife," noted Kate Anderton, acting Executive Director of the League.
The purchase ends a long struggle to protect the old growth forests of Gilham Butte. Local grassroots activists fought logging plans for over twenty years, successfully advocating removal of Gilham Butte lands from the public timber base slated for logging. Dave Walsh of Redway's Ancient Forest International, the League's partner in the project, said, "This unique project ensures habitat connectivity for the rare old growth dependent wildlife species that take refuge here. These include northern spotted owl, goshawk, golden eagle, pileated woodpecker, red tree vole, mountain lion, the very rare Pacific fisher, and the Humboldt Marten, long considered extinct."
These properties will later become public land, managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for their natural resource values. Lynda Roush, manager of the BLM's Arcata Field Office, says "We are excited by this purchase, and the opportunity to preserve this special area."
The Corridor from the Redwoods to the Sea is the result of the commitment and efforts of a large, diverse base of private and public support. The early pledge of a major gift from the Columbia Foundation, the largest grant they have made for land acquisition, was the catalyst for grants from five other foundations including: one million dollars from the Paul G. Allen Forest Protection Fund; $500,000 from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund; $50,000 from the Evelyn Tilden Mohrhardt Fund of the San Francisco Foundation, and $25,000 each from the Giles Mead and Compton Foundations.
State Senator Wesley Chesbro and Assemblymember Virginia Strom Martin, joined by Senator Byron Sher, secured $2.6 million in State funding approved by Governor Gray Davis in this year’s State budget. The State’s Wildlife Conservation Board is scheduled to consider a grant of a portion of these funds in November and the US Bureau of Land Management will add $1.1 million of federal funds when it takes title to the Corridor lands in early December.
More than 1,200 members of Save-the-Redwoods League from 49 states and the District of Columbia donated more than $80,000 in gifts ranging in size from $5 to $2,000.
"Funding at such significant level from individuals, foundations, and public sources, both here in California and all across the country, reflects the depth of commitment to conservation on a landscape scale," said Anderton. "It is a promise of the far-reaching accomplishments that are possible when groups work as partners."
The League purchased the 3,800 acres from Eel River Sawmills and expressed appreciation for the flexibility and responsiveness of the Company in structuring a deal that made the project’s success possible. "This project continues a proces that we have established with the League and other conservation groups that enables us to receive market value for lands that have been designated for natural habitat preservation and for public use. The price negotiated with the League represents a fair compensation for our properties that we are now able to use to acquire the raw materials for our sawmills that are needed to replace the tmber resource that we are selling," stated Dennis Scott, President of Eel River Sawmills.
Management strategies will build on the good stewardship of the private owners in the corridor. "This project is possible in large part because ranch lands in the Corridor have been under long term exemplary management in large ranches in the area. Private ownership and management of those lands has huge benefit to the values being protected through this conservation effort, and will continue to be an important component of the Corridor," noted Anderton.
The League will continue to seek additional funding to reconfigure certain parcels and purchase other parcels that complement and expand the benefits of the private and public lands in the Corridor.
The Save-the-Redwoods League is a nonprofit organization, established in 1918, which acquires and protects primeval forestlands for protection in public parks and preserves. Since 1918, the League has contributed more than $4 billion worth of land to the California State Parks and Redwood National Park.
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