Resource Library

Forest of the Future

Region of Focus

Topics

Overview

The Conservation Fund purchased the Big River and Salmon Creek Forests to protect rare and threatened temperate rainforest from fragmentation and the risk of conversion to non-forest uses. The non-profit organization’s experience demonstrates how programs that provide financial incentives to landowners for a long-term commitment to sustainable forestry can achieve significant habitat restoration, water quality protection, and climate change mitigation objectives at a landscape scale.

Big River and Salmon Creek

The Big River and Salmon Creek Forests are located along California’s North Coast – part of a stretch of Redwood and Douglas fir forests that comprise one of the richest and rarest ecosystems in the world. The temperate rainforests provide critical habitat for the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, and coho salmon and are highly productive economically, providing nearly half of the state’s annual timber revenues and 16 percent of local jobs. Development pressures in the region threaten the long-term sustainability of these forests and the ecosystem services they provide.

The 11,770-acre Big River property and 4,250-acre Salmon Creek property are strategically located among state protected lands and a large forested property, which maintains the ecological integrity of the landscape and enables wildlife habitat connectivity and coordinated watershed management.

Government support for conservation purchase

The Conservation Fund was able to purchase the working forests with help from a low-interest loan from the State Water Board and two public grants. In exchange, the Fund committed to permanently protecting the forests and improving water quality. Riparian habitat protection for salmon is a key management objective.

Carbon offsets fund improve timber management

The Conservation Fund sells independently verified carbon onsets issued by the Climate Action Reserve. Onset sales enable the Fund to forego harvests when log prices are low and increase standing timber inventory.