December 12, 2001
Save-the-Redwoods League secured additional land critical to the expansion of
a wildlife habitat corridor in Humboldt County on Tuesday, December 11 with
the purchase of 280 acres of property adjacent to the Gilham Butte Late Successional
Reserve. The purchase advances the League’s Corridor from the Redwoods
to the Sea project which protects major stepping stones in the land between
Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the King Range National Conservation Area.
A grant through the voter-approved Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean
Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act (Proposition 12), administered by the Wildlife
Conservation Board, provided full funding for the purchase.
“Save-the-Redwoods League has taken a real leadership role in securing landscape scale protection of the Redwoods to the Sea Corridor and we are pleased to support this work on behalf of the people of the State of California,” commented Al Wright, Executive Director of the Wildlife Conservation Board.
The property contains a major portion of Salmon Creek, a tributary to the Eel River, California’s third largest producer of Chinook and Coho salmon. The property contains suitable habitat for forest-dependant species, such as the northern spotted owl, small carnivores, and, potentially, marbled murrelets. The mixture of open grassland and forest add to the mix of open and covered forest areas in the Gilham Butte Reserve, enhancing habitat for many species. Creating connections on the landscape and erasing unnatural lines created by years of fragmentation will strengthen the conservation values both in the Park and the King Range.
“Permanent protection of Salmon Creek and the Eel River watershed is critical for long term effective conservation consistent with the scientific principles developed in the League’s Master Plan,” said Kate Anderton, the League’s Secretary and Executive Director. “The Redwood Forest” (Island Press 2000 edited by Reed Noss, internationally-known consultant on biodiversity) is the heart of the Master Plan: a comprehensive analysis of the past, present, and future conservation needs of the redwood ecosystem on a landscape scale.
The effort to protect Gilham Butte has been ongoing since the early 1970’s
when the ancient Douglas fir forest in Gilham Butte was threatened by timber
harvest. Since 1999, Save-the-Redwoods League has purchased approximately 5,000
acres in this corridor, primarily from Eel River Sawmills.
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