FOREST FLASH

September 2025

In Pacific Forest Trust’s e-newsletter, Forest Flash, we send you the most recent PFT news and updates on forests, clean water, climate, and wildlife. Subscribe here.

Forestry in Action: McCloud High School Students Explore the McCloud Soda Springs Working Forest

Located on the edge of the historic mill town of McCloud in Northern California, the 1,346-acre McCloud Soda Springs property is permanently protected under a conservation easement held by PFT. A highly productive forest threatened by development, the property was conserved in 2015 thanks to the vision of Susannah Schroll and Schroll Timberlands LLC, who partnered with PFT to ensure its long-term conservation-focused management. Today, this vibrant landscape—home to many species, including the imperiled gray wolf and northern spotted owl, as well as multiple springs feeding a key tributary to the Yét Atwam Creek—is managed to restore the diversity of its magnificent Ponderosa pine forests, wildfire resilience, and sustained production of high quality timber products.

One of last year’s outdoor classroom excursions on MADF.

During the visit, students got hands-on experience measuring trees, discussed silviculture techniques, and asked thoughtful questions about conservation easements and forestry careers. They also met crews from Terra Fuego Resource Foundation, who were preparing for prescribed burn operations, and had the chance to see tools and practices that make forests more resilient to wildfire.

This work at McCloud Soda Springs is part of PFT’s broader commitment to cultivating the next generation of land stewards. A central hub of this outreach is our Mount Ashland Demonstration Forest (MADF), where PFT partners with schools to provide immersive, hands-on education in climate-resilient forest management. Students at MADF learn about forest health, biodiversity, and fire ecology through real-world fieldwork, gaining experience that builds directly into future conservation and natural resource careers.

Experiences like the recent McCloud Soda Springs field trip complement our ongoing programs at the Mount Ashland Demonstration Forest, giving students additional opportunities to explore forests firsthand and understand their vital role in climate resilience. Together, these efforts form a cornerstone of our educational mission: inspiring the next generation of conservation resource leaders and ensuring that the forests we protect today will be cared for long into the future.

California Climate Policy Creates Path for Nature-Based Solutions

This milestone has been several years in the making. In. 2023, PFT helped shape AB 1757, which established the Expert Advisory Committee on Natural and Working Lands for Climate Solutions to recommend strategies for natural and working lands to meet the state’s climate Goals. In December of that same year, the AB 1757 EAC, chaired by PFT President Laurie Wayburn, delivered its report to the state, and on Earth Day 2024 , the Governor announced the state’s targets for natural and working lands.  This was a “first in the nation” policy to harness the power of forests and other lands to address the climate and biodiversity crisis. SB 840 delivers on that vision by instructing CARB to recommend a new “alternative mechanisms” for Cap and Invest that delivers on the state’s targets for both climate action and biodiversity protection. PFT’s proposed Nature-Based Climate Credits (NBCCs), which link climate action directly with restoration, sustainable resource management and conservation outcomes.

PFT President Laurie Wayburn with CA State Senator Monique Limón who introduced SB 840.

For decades, PFT has advanced policies that recognize forests and other natural lands as essential to California’s climate strategy. From pioneering Working Forest Conservation Easements (WFCEs) to shaping statewide carbon accounting standards, our advocacy has consistently highlighted how natural climate solutions provide multiple benefits: wildfire resilience, water security, biodiversity protection, and healthy rural economies.

With SB 840’s passage, this work enters a new and critical phase. PFT will continue to provide leadership and expertise as CARB develops these alternative methodologies, ensuring they are grounded in rigorous science, transparency, and accountability.

California is now poised to model how natural and working lands can deliver climate solutions at scale—aligning its net-zero goals with its 30×30 conservation targets and setting an example for other states and nations to follow.

Please consider a donation to the Pacific Forest Trust. Your help—in all capacities—makes our work possible. Thanks for supporting us as we support forests!

Prop. 4 was crafted with the recognition that California’s natural and working lands are among the most effective large-scale and immediate tools for addressing climate change. Shaped significantly with Pacific Forest Trust’s expertise, the bond directs funding toward clean water, wildfire prevention, biodiversity conservation, and nature-based climate solutions—all critical for adaptation and resilience.

This year’s allocations channel resources into restoring forests and watersheds, advancing biodiversity and Tribal-led conservation, strengthening coastal resilience, and expanding wildfire and forest health programs statewide. Together, these investments will safeguard drinking water supplies, reduce catastrophic fire risk, and harness nature’s ability to sequester carbon, all while protecting the state’s irreplaceable landscapes and communities.

These efforts align with California’s 30×30 campaign to conserve 30% of state lands and waters by 2030 and with the recommendations outlined by the AB 1757 Expert Advisory Committee on Nature-Based Climate Solutions, chaired by PFT President Laurie Wayburn. Prop. 4 is beginning to deliver on its promise—driving large-scale conservation and climate resilience. With this step, California is showing how practical, nature-based solutions can meet the challenges of climate change head-on, and all Californians will benefit from both enhanced environmental quality and be safer.

1. Pacific Forest Trust is hiring! Come join our growing team for the chance to work with other friendly forest-lovers. Current open positions include Gifts Officer and Senior Accountant.
2. CARB blasted EPA’s attempt to overturn the 2009 endangerment finding—the landmark determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. CARB called the move reckless, unscientific, and a betrayal of EPA’s mission. Read more here.
3. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) introduced the bipartisan Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act, giving states the option to work with accredited nonprofit land trusts to manage conservation easements under the Forest Legacy Program. Backed by Pacific Forest Trust and partners nationwide, this no-cost change would expand private forest conservation, strengthen wildfire resilience, reduce state costs, and improve outcomes for landowners and communities alike. Read the press release here.