FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Connie Best, Co-CEO, Pacific Forest Trust
415-561-0700 ext. 19
or Jason Gohlke, Communications Manager, Pacific Forest Trust
415-561-0700 ext. 17
California Department of Fish and Wildlife awards Pacific Forest Trust $500,000 grant to conserve McCloud Soda Springs working forest
SAN FRANCISCO (December 14, 2017) — The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) has received a grant of $500,000 from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to fund watershed restoration and conservation at the McCloud Soda Springs Working Forest, a more than 1300-acre property that is home to a variety of wildlife and a source of clean water. The McCloud Soda Springs project is a partnership between PFT and landowner Schroll Timberlands, LLC.
“This grant is the final funding commitment we need in order to complete the conservation of the beautiful McCloud Soda Springs forest,” notes PFT Co-CEO Connie Best. “We look forward to working with our conservation funders, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Natural Resources Agency, and the Wildlife Conservation Board, to close on the acquisition from Schroll Timberlands, LLC in the spring of 2018. We thank them all and especially thank Schroll Timberlands for their generous commitment to permanently protect this extraordinary forest with us.”
The McCloud Soda Springs working forest conservation easement (WFCE), when finalized in the spring of 2018, will guide management to restore an older, more complex forest and wet meadow system, conserve the renowned Soda Spring, protect other rare habitats, and sustainably produce wood products.
The property is notable for its volcanic springs that provide clear, cold water to the huge Lake Shasta reservoir, which sustains farms and cities as far away as San Diego. The easement will help ensure long-term protection to Soda Spring as well as Boy Scout Springs, two large spring complexes that feed Squaw Valley Creek, a major tributary to the McCloud River. McCloud Soda Springs and its environs provide habitat to beavers, black bears, deer, mountain lions, willow flycatchers, northern goshawks, and brook, brown, and rainbow trout.
The prior landowner had received approval to split the property and build up to 50 houses. In 2015, Schroll Timberlands bought the land expressly to conserve it by entering into an easement with PFT. PFT partners directly with private landowners to obtain WFCEs, which conserve forests and other natural land in perpetuity; PFT currently has 100,000 acres under easement.
McCloud Soda Springs was one of just 39 projects to receive funding from the CDFW’s Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1) Restoration Grant Programs. It received funds from the approximately $31.7 million awarded through the Watershed Restoration Grant Program to projects of statewide importance. More information about Proposition 1 grants can be found at http://bondaccountability.resources.ca.gov/p1.aspx and http://www.wildlife.ca.gov/grants.
- Download photos at https://www.pacificforest.org/mss/photos
- Project fact sheet: https://www.pacificforest.org/mss/facts.pdf
About Pacific Forest Trust
Since 1993, the Pacific Forest Trust has been dedicated to conserving and sustaining America’s vital, productive forest landscapes. Working with forest owners, communities, and an array of public and private partners, we advance innovative, incentive-based strategies to safeguard our nation’s diverse forests. In so doing, we’re ensuring forests continue to provide people everywhere — from rural communities to urban centers — with a wealth of benefits, including clean water, sustainably harvested wood, green jobs, wildlife habitat, fire protection, and climate resilience. Find out more at https://www.pacificforest.org/.
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