Upper Mattole River and Forest Cooperative

Draft Coordinated Resources Management Plan

Background
• Upper Mattole River and Forest Cooperative (UMRFC) was created in 1999 through
signing of an MOU.
• Signatory participants to the MOU are: Sanctuary Forest, Save the Redwoods
League, Restoration Forestry, California State Parks, California State Coastal
Conservancy, CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Bureau of Land
Management, CA Department of Fish and Game.

Purpose and Goal

• Primary purpose of MOU is to coordinate management of conserved lands in Mattole
headwaters as old-growth forest and salmonid refuge across ownerships.
• Primary goal of the MOU is to develop a Management Agreement detailing how the
purpose of the MOU is to be met.
• When approved by the signatories, this draft plan will constitute the Management
Agreement

Limitations
• This draft plan is a vision for how to maintain old-growth, salmonid, wildlife and other
resources through voluntary and collaborative actions.
• The plan is non-binding.
• The plan is NOT a CEQA or NEPA document
• Plan scope was developed through consultation with UMRFC members, Sanctuary
Forest committees, Community Focus Groups and Visioning Questionnaire

Scope
• Plan Topics are: Forests & Fire, Watershed and Fisheries, Wildlife & Habitat, Scenic
Resources, Cultural Resources, Public Access, Trails & Recreation, Education and
Interpretation, Roads and Transportation, Economic and Community Development,
Connectivity and Collaboration
• Plan considers and makes recommendation for management of all lands within the
planning area.

Format
• Each Plan Topic Includes:
– Current Conditions: Describes current status of resources
– Preliminary Public Input: Describes public interest and concern from focus groups
– Management Goals: Describes values UMRFC would adopt and policies to
achieve them
– Projects: Actions that would achieve management goals.

Planning Area Description

• Planning area consists of the Mattole River headwaters, upstream of Bridge Creek to
Four Corners (28 square miles)
 Conserved Lands
• Currently there are 5,975 acres conserved in the planning area, equivalent to 34% of
the area or 9.52 square miles.

Conserved Land by UMRFC Signatories

– CA Dept. of Fish and Game: 1355 ac
– Bureau of Land Management King Range: 1253 ac
– Restoration Forestry: 1029 ac
– Sinkyone Wilderness State Park: 564 ac
– Sanctuary Forest: 520 ac
– Save the Redwoods League: 370 ac
– Bureau of Land Management Arcata Area: 179 ac
– CA Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection: 4 ac
Total UMRFC Acres = 5277.47 ac

Conserved Land by Cooperating Landowners

– Redwoods Monastery: 345 ac
– Northcoast Regional Land Trust: 302 ac
– Coastal Headwaters Association: 20 ac
– Anderson Creek: 22 ac
– Raven’s Watch: 13 ac
– Stage Coach Grove: 11 ac
Total Other Conserved Acres = 713 ac

Forests & Fire

Current Conditions
• Forests
– Redwood and mixed evergreen forest types.
– Heavily forested: 95% forest, 4% meadow
– 63% younger smaller forests 12-24 inch dbh
– 22% larger, more mature forests, greater than 24 inch dbh
– UMRFC conserves 6% of remaining old-growth in Mattole Valley (100% of
Redwood)
– History of extensive entry for logging including approximately 70% of conserved
lands.
– Potential impacts of sudden oak death a concern
– Redwood seed production and genetics a concern
– Meadow encroachment a concern
– Great diversity of policies amongst UMRFC towards allowable level of silvicultural
manipulation
• Fire
– Forests are naturally fire adapted. Natural burn interval is every 25 years.
– Last big fires 1950-1960
– Policy of fire suppression is in effect
– Planning area is at high risk for fire (63% dense stands under 24 in dbh)
– Upper Mattole Fire Plan developed recommendations for fire risk reduction

Forests & Fire

 Preliminary Public Feedback
• Widespread support for fuels reduction
• Strong concern about use of controlled burns.
• General support for “restoration” forestry
• General concern about commercial forestry
• Strong support for UMRFC modeling sustainable forestry.

Forests & Fire

Management Goals
• Protect ecological functioning of existing old-growth
• Promote development of old-growth forest characteristics.
• Restore native species diversity.
• Promote development of riparian shade
• Promote projects demonstrating ecologically compatible forestry practices.
• Promote projects supporting local capacity to produce sustainable forest products
• Protect surrounding communities from threat of wildfire
• Promote reintroduction of fire as an essential ecosystem element

Forests & Fire

Proposed Projects
• Forestry
– Explore thinning to promote late seral characteristics: Whitethorn Grove,
Shadowbrook, Mattole Corridor, Dream Stream
– Explore opportunities to restore native species diversity: Anderson Creek,
Restoration Forestry, 3V’s, Lost River Corridor
– Redwood reproduction viability study
– Monitor spread and impact of Sudden Oak Death
• Fire
– Implement Upper Mattole Fire Plan system of fuel breaks with attention toward
policies of UMRFC partners
– Provide guidelines to fire emergency responders on how to manage fire in the
UMRFC
– Select and promote a demonstration prescribed burning project

Watershed & Fisheries

Current Conditions
• Free flowing “wild” river.
• 9.4 miles of main stem Mattole, 54 miles of tributary streams in 19 tributary
subbasins
• Threatened coho, Chinook and steelhead salmonids
• Critical spawning and rearing habitat for salmonids
• Rare amphibians: Tailed Frog, Torrent Salamander
• Federal Clean Water Act “impaired” watershed for sediment and temperature
• Severe low summer time flows. Community and fish dependent on surface water.
• Long history of restoration: bank stabilization, fish passage, in-stream structures,
road removal/upgrade

Watershed & Fisheries

 Preliminary Public Feedback
• Widespread community awareness of severe summer low flow problem
• Community taking actions to secure water supply
• Help from UMRFC to secure water supply welcome
• Strong support for fisheries restoration, disappointment with closing of native
hatcheries
Watershed & Fisheries
Management Goals
• Restore, maintain and enhance ecological health of watersheds.
• Protect and restore native runs of coho, Chinook and steelhead
• Maintain and enhance healthy water flows and high water quality to benefit aquatic
species and community.

Watershed & Fisheries

Proposed Projects
• Implement the flow enhancement recommendations of the 2004 “Options and
Obstacles: Living with Low Water Flows” report: (tanks and forbearance, recharge
ponds, flow monitoring)
• Monitor fish population and sensitive amphibian trends
• Complete Phase II: Upper Mattole Watershed Rehabilitation Project

Wildlife & Habitat

Current Conditions
• Animal diversity: amphibians (high) 19 species; reptiles (low) 17 species; 52 bird
species identified; 61 mammal species; 7 fish species; 7 orders of aquatic insects
• Plant diversity: 20 tree species; 27 shrub species; 91 herbs, 17 grasses, 6 sedges, 2
rushes, 13 ferns (identified)
• Listed and sensitive animals: Spotted Owl; Marbled murrelet (not identified);
Cooper’s Hawk; Northern Goshawk (not confirmed); Red tree vole
• Listed and sensitive plans: Eight NDDB identified possible plant species occurring;
only identified is Long-beard lichen; likely are Maple-leaved checkerbloom, Howell’s
montia, Leafy-stemmed mitrewort
• No hunting, some mushroom gathering.
• Significant invasive species problem particularly with Scotch broom and French
broom, particularly along roadways

Wildlife & Habitat

Preliminary Public Feedback
• High level of support for “preservation” and protection of sensitive wildlife.

Wildlife & Habitat

Management Goals
• Protect and restore native biodiversity and sustaining natural processes.
• Protect and conserve habitat of all rare, threatened and endangered species.
• Contain and remove non-native, invasive species.
• Increase understanding and knowledge of native wildlife to improve management
• Promote abandonment of homesteads in important wildlife areas.
 Wildlife & Habitat
Proposed Projects
• Update wildlife surveys of sensitive species to determine current status.
• Implement Mattole Watershed Plan invasive species control projects.
• Identify and designate critical wildlife habitat areas.

Scenic Resources
Current Conditions
• Impression of unbroken forested landscape
• Elements of scenic Briceland-Thorn Road Corridor: Redwood and other groves;
Meadows; Ridgetops; River; Night Sky; Shrines
• Impacts to scenic resources: Rural residential development; Littering and dumping;
Outdoor lights; Utility lines; Generators; Roadside vegetation management; Industrial
forestry

Scenic Resources
Preliminary Public Feedback
• Scenic beauty is reported as a core value and benefit to living here.
• This is identified as: peace and quiet, river, hills and trees, stars at night.
• Freedom to enjoy forest is important

Scenic Resources
Management Goals
• Protect visual integrity of views from roadways by:
– Limiting visual impacts of rural residential development.
– Discourage placement of commercial signage.
– Discourage outdoor lighting left on all night
– Request modifications to logging activities with significant visual impacts.
– Limit visual impacts of clearing rights-of-way

Scenic Resources
Proposed Projects
• Promote and develop a program of roadside trash clean-up.
• Promote and encourage a program of abandoned car removal.
• Identify and develop scenic pull-outs along County roadways.
• Explore designation of County roadways as “scenic byways”.
• Develop river access points.

Cultural Resources
Current Conditions
• Understanding of cultural resources is just beginning.
• Most significant theme is the changing human uses and impact of the natural
resources as they are today.
• Native American: Archaeological evidence going back 5,000 to 10,000 years.
• Sinkyone people occupied headwaters around 1400 B.C., Athabaskan speakers.
• Fist record of Euro-Americans in Mattole 1832
• Period of “ethnic cleansing”, Sinkyone dispersed.
• Area settled by Euro-Americans in 1850’s
• Presence of redwood led to development of timber industry, then tan-bark boom,
tractor logging
• “Back to the land” movement
• Extensive Native American cultural sites both archaeological and traditional cultural
properties
• InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council and Bear River Band often serves as Tribal
Consultation
• Euro-American cultural resources include: logging history, historic apple orchards,
stage coach house, unique local architecture.

Cultural Resources
Preliminary Public Feedback
• Topic was not addressed in focus groups

Cultural Resources
Management Goals
• Conserve, protect and where appropriate interpret cultural resources within the
UMRFC, particularly those that reflect the history of land management.
• Honor Native American heritage by developing a formal relationship with the
InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council as the consulting tribal entity in regards to
management of Native American cultural resources within the UMRFC

Cultural Resources
Proposed Projects
• Undertake a formal cultural resource inventory of UMRFC lands that would:
• Develop relevant historical themes.
• Identify all cultural resources on UMRFC lands.
• Lead to nomination of any significant cultural resources to State and National
registers.
• Create a mechanism of collaboration and cooperation for management of cultural
resources outside of the UMRFC.
• Create a public awareness and educational program to promote historical study,
interpretation and conservation of cultural resources.

Public Access, Trails and Recreation

Current Conditions
• Growing public demand for outdoor recreation opportunities.
• KRNCA had equivalent of 150,000 visitors in 2001.
• Lost Coast (King Range and Sinkyone) forms the largest coastal wilderness trail
network in the country.
• Sanctuary Forest Summer Hike Program is currently only public access provided to
UMRFC lands.
• Existing trails are Big Red and 3V’s (primitively developed), also “Back Way”.
• Recreation Spectrum Within UMRFC: Hiking, river access for swimming, ceremonial
and other gatherings, herb and mushroom gathering.
• Recreation Spectrum Outside UMRFC: Equestrian and mountain bikes (limited),
motorcycling (Barnum lands).
 Public Access, Trails and Recreation
Preliminary Public Feedback
• Strong support for limited public access (for outsiders) in order to protect sensitive
resources.
• Comfortable with guided hikes as main source of public access.
• General understanding of need to provide public access on lands acquired with
public funding.
• General sense that hiking is ok but that other recreation activities should not be
allowed and is available elsewhere.
• Little support for camping (fire hazard, attracting homeless).

Public Access, Trails and Recreation

Management Goals
• Provide low-impact and limited public access, trails, recreational opportunities and
related facilities that meet minimum public trust obligations and emphasize protection
of the sensitive biological resources of the UMRFC lands while protecting
surrounding rural residential community safety and privacy.
• Increase access to low-impact recreational activity to children, elderly and those with
disabilities.
• Maintain and enhance guided access to the UMRFC lands.
• With minimal development, designate a site for public access for ceremonial and
other low-impact social gatherings within the forests of the UMRFC.

Public Access, Trails and Recreation

Proposed Projects
• Trail Assessment and Feasibility Study – This study would assess the
environmental impacts of the existing UMRFC trail system and the feasibility of
enhancing connectivity of the UMRFC trails with the SWSP and KRNCA. It would
also make recommendations for management of UMRFC trails particularly, which
might be appropriate to open for unguided public access.
• Whitethorn Grove ADA Public Access Site Feasibility Study – This study would
assess the suitability of developing the Whitethorn Grove property as a site for a)
unrestricted ADA compliant loop trail, b) ceremonial and other social gatherings c)
enhanced public access to the Mattole River
• Expanded Guided Hikes – At this time guided hikes offered by SFI are limited to the
summer season. Expanding to a year-round program will offer increased opportunity
for visitation and provide all-season enjoyment of the UMRFC lands.

Outreach, Education, Interpretation and Research

Current Conditions
• Education and Outreach
• SFI Summer Hike Program
• Docent Training
• Nick’s Interns
• Mattole Ecological Education Program
• River Celebration
• Interpretation
• KRNCA Visitor Center
• SWSP Needle Rock Visitor Center
• Wailaki-Nadelos Interpretive Trail
• Signage (currently limited)
• Research and Monitoring
• Restoration Forestry: fungal diversity, sudden oak death study
• SFI Volunteer Monitoring: restoration and summer flow
• Mattole Salmon Group fisheries surveys
• Shadowbrook Nursery: native plant propagation experiments

Outreach, Education, Interpretation and Research

Preliminary Public Feedback
• General support for “stewardship education” for landowners regarding water
conservation and forestry
• Support for UMRFC as demonstration area for forest and stream restoration.
• Most people are not aware of the UMRFC

Outreach, Education, Interpretation and Research

Management Goals
• Promote understanding, appreciation and stewardship of the conservation values of
the Mattole headwaters through outreach, education, interpretation and research
programs.
– Provide stewardship assistance to local landowners in management of forest and
water resources.
– Strengthen opportunities for youth training in natural resource management.
– Enhance interpretation experience for visitors.
– Promote scientific research.
– Create community awareness of the existence and goals of the UMRFC

Outreach, Education, Interpretation and Research

Proposed Projects
• Develop unified signage for UMRFC.
• Develop Whitethorn Grove as an interpretive site.
• Strengthen community involvement in research and monitoring activities.
• Support use of UMRFC as education and research site.
• Promote understanding of UMRFC and its goals.

Roads and Transportation

Current Conditions
• Roads have significantly influenced character of UMRFC
• Road density is 6.4 miles per square mile, highest density in watershed (average is
4.2 miles per square mile)
• Active and abandoned roads are a major source of sediment pollution.
• Significant effort to decommission abandoned roads and upgrade roads in use.
• Roads are the main method of transportation.
• Other transportation systems include airfield and power line right-of-ways.

Roads and Transportation

 Preliminary Public Feedback
• Widespread concerns about dangerous driving on County Roads.
• General support for road decommissioning and upgrades

Roads and Transportation

Management Goals
• Provide and maintain vehicular access for recreational, residential, management,
restoration and fire protection access while protecting resources.
• Promote and support decommissioning and upgrading of private secondary roads to
prevent erosion.
• Promote the ongoing and long term maintenance of private secondary roads through
encouraging the development and capacity of existing road associations.
• Promote and support safe and courteous driving on Mendocino and Humboldt
County public arterial roads

Roads and Transportation

Proposed Projects
• Complete Phase II: Upper Mattole Watershed Rehabilitation Project
• Develop UMRFC signage
• Monitor and study potential development and impact of new arterial connections east
towards highway 101.
• Develop and interpretive site to explain and educate the public about the relationship
of roads to watershed values and the nature and extent of road projects in the
UMRFC.
• Develop and publicize recommendations for emergency evacuations due to fire,
earthquake, flooding or other natural disaster.

Economic & Community Development

Current Conditions
• Community development is important because 42% of planning area is in rural
residential ownership.
• Communities are: Thorn Junction, Whitethorn, Whale Gulch, Shelter Cove
• Community Values: An emphasis on privacy, land owner’s rights, distrust of
government, neighborliness, community responsibility and land stewardship.
• Issues of Community Concern: Schools and Youth (education and economic
opportunity); Community Services (fire, water); Aging Population
• Economic Activity: Construction, Small Business, Tourism, Restoration, Agriculture,
Timber.

Economic & Community Development

Preliminary Public Feedback
• People value strong sense of community.
• Concerns about ability to keep land in the family.
• Youth concerned about affordability of owning a home here.
• Concerns about growing population.
• Mixed feelings about increasing role of tourism.

Economic & Community Development

 Management Goals
• Economic Development Goal: Promote and provide economic opportunities that
protecting the conservation values of the UMRFC and maximize local jobs,
businesses and products.
– Promote local processing and manufacture of local forest products.
– Promote funding of restoration and stewardship projects.
– Promote sustainable forestry projects that provide revenue and manage fire risks.
– Promote practices, such as water conservation, that minimize the negative
impacts of marijuana growing.
– Develop and promote eco-tourism opportunities.
• Community Development Goal: UMRFC is perceived by the community as a positive
partner in meeting community needs.
– Promote projects that lead to reduced risk of fire.
– Promote projects that engage and nurture local youth.
– Provide public access to the elderly and others with limited mobility

Economic & Community Development

Proposed Projects
• Participate in the Mattole Forest Futures project to develop a PTEIR, lowering cost to
landowners for sustainable forestry projects.
• Develop and promote a driving tour brochure for the UMRFC.
• Develop and promote a fire-smart landscaping nursery (possibly at the Shadowbrook
facility).
• Develop the Whitethorn Grove as a universal access trail.

Collaboration & Connectivity

Current Conditions
• Collaboration
– Internal collaboration happens through quarterly UMRFC meetings. Decision
making is informal.
– External Collaboration includes participation of other stakeholders in UMRFC
meetings, and Mattole River and Range Partnership (MRC, MSG, SFI)
• Connectivity
– How to maintain and increase conservation goals of UMRFC through fee title and
easement acquisitions
– Strong potential for increased rural residential development to impact goals of
UMRFC (rural residential 44% of area, industrial 24%)
– Focus on: 1) maintaining summertime flows, 2) maintaining or enhancing
connectivity of high quality fisheries habitat; 3) reducing subdivision; 4) maintaining
or enhancing connectivity of habitat for wide-ranging species, by connecting with
SWSP and KRNCA; and 5) maintaining or enhancing the scenic road corridor

Collaboration & Connectivity

Preliminary Public Feedback
• Collaboration
– Community not very aware of UMRFC
– Community wants to be informed and participate in decision making of UMRFC
• Connectivity
 – Concern for “balance” in terms of increasing land holding. Some strongly support
acquisition others less so.
– Restore existing conserved lands.
– Acquire only critical lands for conservation

Collaboration & Connectivity

Management Goals
• Collaboration Goal
– Develop cooperative relationships with groups and individuals resulting in
conservation stewardship of surrounding non-conserved lands in the Mattole
headwaters.
• Connectivity Goals
– Using conservation easements and fee title acquisition to enhance UMRFC core
values of fisheries and mature forest habitat and address the critical environmental
challenges of water conservation & subdivision.

Collaboration & Connectivity

Proposed Projects
• Collaboration
– Create a mechanism for incorporating new conservation land owners in the
Mattole headwaters, such as the North Coast Regional Land Trust, as members in
the UMRFC.
– Increase UMRFC communication and collaboration with rural residential
landowners and the larger community. Provide a mechanism for ongoing
community comment and feedback into UMRFC activities such as the
establishment of an advisory group.
• Connectivity
– Conserve key tributary subbasins within the headwaters by prioritizing projects in
accordance with recommendations of the Landscape Conservation Strategy
(Watershed Plan).
– Create connectivity to BLM King Range and Sinkyone Wilderness State Park.
– Create a conserved river corridor in the Mattole Headwaters focusing on
forbearance agreements that limit pumping from the river during critical low flows.
– Consider “Wild and Scenic River Designation”.