South Fork Smith River

In 2005 Siskiyou Land Conservancy recorded a conservation easement to protect a unique 148-acre privately held wild land along the Wild and

Siskiyou Land Conservancy’s South Fork Smith River property contains expansive meadows and rare seasonal wetlands.

Scenic South Fork Smith River. The property is home to the easternmost redwoods on the Smith River, as well as the largest privately held flat on the South Fork Smith River. The flat contains expansive meadows of several native grasses, and rare ecosystems such as an ancient white oak grove and seasonal wetlands.

The property is also among the first private parcels downstream of the Siskiyou Wilderness, and it is surrounded by the Smith River National Recreation Area — giving it very high habitat value despite its relatively small size.

Large, ancient Oregon white oaks dot the meadows of SLC’s South Fork Smith River property.

Since 2011 Siskiyou Land Conservancy and the property owners have collaborated with the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service in an ongoing, long-term restoration project to protect and enhance wildlife habitat at the site. Since then Siskiyou Land Conservancy has completed three phases of the project. The first two phases thinned 25 acres of densely stocked Douglas fir regeneration. In the third phase volunteers planted redwoods and caged white oak seedlings that dot the property’s expansive meadows. (The property contains a small grove of magnificent, ancient white oaks, but regeneration of the trees is rarely successful due to deer browse.)

The 148-acre property protected by Siskiyou Land Conservancy is just above this pool on the South Fork Smith River.

For more about the South Fork Smith River property and SLC’s restoration efforts, click here, here and here.