Protecting Habitat Where No Such Protection Exists
Siskiyou Land Conservancy has completed one of our most exciting projects yet. In October 2016 we recorded a conservation easement to protect the natural values of a 183-acre parcel on the Mad River, above Maple Creek in Humboldt County. The easement is important for many reasons:
- There is virtually no protected habitat on the entire Mad River aside from National Forest lands in the upper headwaters.
- This property contains nearly one mile of frontage on the Mad River and two clean, year-round creeks that feed the river.
- The Mad River is an important salmonid stream, supporting coho and chinook salmon and a rare run of summer steelhead. One of the creeks that runs through the property will provide anadromous fish habitat once a blockage is removed.
- The Mad River provides water for domestic and business uses to Humboldt County’s largest population base.
The conservation easement prevents subdivision of the parcel, clear-cutting, mining, new roads and destructive marijuana grows. The landowner retains the right to develop a modest home site on three acres of the property; to enjoy swimming, fishing, and other recreation activities on the Mad River; and to bring groups to the land for recreation and educational purposes.
A natural 3-acre pond, rare on the North Coast, is a protected feature of the Mad River property.
Nearly one mile of the Mad River runs through the property (shown here).