Siskiyou Land Conservancy
Protecting California’s Wild North Coast and Rivers Since 2004

SLC Protects the Mad River

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.

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A natural 3-acre pond, rare on the North Coast, is a protected feature of the Mad River property.

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Nearly one mile of the Mad River runs through the property (shown here).