$1.65 Million grant from WCB awarded for forests, wet meadows near Mt. Shasta

Today, the Wildlife Conservation Board granted $1.65 million in support of PFT’s Butte Creek Meadows Working Forest Conservation Easement project near Mt. Shasta, a beautifully managed working forest and wet meadow system 2 1/2 times larger than Yosemite Valley. This grant, along with a previous funding commitment of $500,000 from California’s Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program and a generous donation from the property owners makes it possible to permanently conserve this spectacular landscape.

Straddling the divide between the Klamath River and the Sacramento River Basins, the 3,468-acre Butte Creek Ranch provides water flows important for drinking and agriculture, as well as for endangered salmon. Almost four miles of Butte Creek (a fish-bearing stream), several ponds and wetlands, as well as numerous cold-water springs will be conserved by the easement. Importantly, the easement will maintain and enhance the ranch’s impressive wet meadows–natural reservoirs that soak up winter snow melt to release later in the summer when other sources have run dry.

Protecting this land secures an important wildlife corridor that connects the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and the Klamath National Forest, and enhances habitat for imperiled species such as the northern spotted owl and the Pacific fisher. The Hart family, fifth generation stewards of the property, will continue to manage it for timber production, cattle grazing, and wildlife habitat.