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Headwaters Forest Reserve
Special Features
Old-growth redwoods. Rarely can so few words conjure so much majesty. A grove of ancient trees, some 300 feet tall and as more than 2,200 years old , Headwaters Forest Reserve is a spectacular and delicate ecosystem. The Reserve was established in 1999 to preserve the precious and stately redwoods and the varied animals that thrive in a forest rich with Douglas fir, tan oak, western hemlock, sword fern, lichen, and mosses.
Headwaters contains hundreds of plant species, the headwaters of several major stream systems, and habitat for the marbled murrelet, spotted owl, and threatened Coho salmon. The marbled murrelet, a seabird that nests in the redwood branches, is particularly sensitive to human disturbance (Accordingly, Headwaters is closed from March 25 to September during the murrelet's breeding season).
History
It took fishing and conservation communities more than 15 years to protect California's old-growth redwoods against logging interests. In 1986, MAXXAM Corporation purchased the rights to the Headwaters area from Pacific Lumber Company and planned to clearcut the grove. The cutting escalated, drawing nearer to the heart of Headwaters, and in 1997, close to 8,000 people attended a rally to preserve Headwaters Forest, helping to raise awareness of the need to protect the last ancient redwoods in the world.
In 1999, fishing and conservation groups worked with the state of California and the federal government to develop a complex deal with the timber company. The companies received $380 million for Headwaters, and a protective buffer around the area, totaling about 7,400 acres. The agreement left 200,000 additional acres open to continued logging under a long-term habitat conservation plan, as well as some parcels still privately owned within the Reserve. The Conservation System and the state of California now co-manage the Reserve.
Resources
Posted by Conservation System Alliance on September 12, 2007