McCloud Soda Springs

Working Forest Conservation Easement

Neighbor to subdivisions and a golf course, this beautiful rolling woodland at one time had been rezoned for residential development. Its current conservation-minded landowners are now partnering with Pacific Forest Trust to keep it intact to benefit wildlife, water sources, and the local economy.

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In Northern California, at the edge of the historic mill town of McCloud, lies the 1,346 acre McCloud Soda Springs Working Forest. Thanks to Schroll Timberlands LLC and a conservation partnership led by Pacific Forest Trust, it is no longer in danger of being split into 50 luxury home sites—a real possibility just a few short years ago.

In 2015, the prior owner of the McCloud Soda Springs property put it up for auction. Susannah Schroll, a long-time practitioner of sustainable forest and range management, took a chance and bought the property—not to convert it, but to conserve it. Today, Schroll Timberlands LLC is working with Pacific Forest Trust to keep Soda Springs as a well-managed, bountiful forest that benefits beavers and rainbow trout, wildlife and working people. Ms. Schroll’s risk-taking on behalf of nature has been rewarded and Soda Springs, including its four beaver ponds, is now protected by a permanent conservation easement granted to Pacific Forest Trust.

The McCloud Soda Springs property is part of the ancestral homeland of the Wintu and was favored by people and wildlife for millennia due to its rich diversity of habitats. It became part of the original McCloud Lumber Company lands when the mill was built at the turn of the 20th century. Around 1990, Champion International moved toward converting the property to luxury home sites, going so far as to rezone it for residential subdivision.

The conservation easement agreed to between Schroll and PFT ensures that Soda Springs is never broken up and that only one house can be built, potentially for a caretaker or perhaps to house an environmental education program. After more than a century in timber production, the relatively young ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forest stands will now be managed to restore their natural diversity and enhance habitat values, especially for wildlife that need older forests with big trees, large limbs, and furrowed bark or cavities perfect for nesting.

“It’s so important to keep forests as forests—that’s why we granted this conservation easement. We plan on protecting the incredible springs and the beavers who live at Soda Springs. And we will manage the forest to restore its habitats and timber value, for wildlife and for working people. I’m so happy to be working with Pacific Forest Trust to accomplish this.”

–Susannah Schroll, Schroll Timberlands LLC, landowner

Why Conserve This Property?

It Conserves Wildlife Habitat

The property’s diverse habitats—including conifer forests, wet meadow systems, springs and creeks, oak woodlands, and aspen stands—will be enhanced for a wide variety of wildlife such as beavers, black bears, deer, mountain lions, willow flycatchers, and northern goshawks. Gray wolves are known to reside nearby, as well as Pacific fishers. Native rainbow trout reside in Squaw Valley Creek on the property and beyond.

Why Conserve this Property?

It Benefits Natural Water Systems

The McCloud River provides abundant clear, cold water that flows into the Lake Shasta reservoir, helping sustain farms and cities as far away as Los Angeles. Conserving this land will ensure long-term protection to springs that feed Squaw Valley Creek, a major tributary to the McCloud River. We will also work alongside the beavers at McCloud Soda Springs to restore the rare wet meadows—natural reservoirs—so important to our source watersheds.

Why Conserve This Property?

It Mitigates Climate Change

Keeping private forests like McCloud Soda Springs intact and securing lasting connections among large blocks of natural lands are key strategies to help wildlife adapt to climate change. The conservation easement on McCloud Soda Springs will also encourage restoration of special habitats and rare habitat structures, such as big old trees, that will help wildlife on the move, too. Plus, active management will reduce fire risks and increase long-term forest carbon stores to mitigate climate change.

Why Conserve This Property?

It Supports the Local Economy

Scenic beauty, natural wealth, and good jobs in the woods complement each other. As the local economy embraces more tourism, recreation, and associated development, Schroll Timberlands is making a lasting commitment to forestry and, with that, to watershed health and wildlife habitat. The conservation easement with PFT not only prevents the property from being split into residential parcels, but also guides management to restore an older, more complex forest and meadow system, conserve the renowned Soda Springs, protect other rare habitats, and sustainably produce wood products.

Connecting a Larger Forest Landscape

In a forested landscape where public and private ownerships are mixed together, PFT is working with our partners to create a network of conserved working forests that provide strategic connections with public lands, such as the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. This benefits wildlife on the move, water quality, and quality of life for residents and visitors.

By permanently protecting McCloud Soda Springs with a working forest conservation easement, the landowners have contributed important gains for the economy and the environment in Siskiyou County, CA. The McCloud Soda Springs Working Forest borders the 20 square mile McCloud Dogwood Butte Working Forest, conserved in a partnership between Hancock Timber Resource Group and Pacific Forest Trust. Its conservation will add to the tens of thousands of acres of PFT’s protected working forests in the Mount Shasta Headwaters region. This region provides a majority of California’s drinking water, is the center of the timber industry, and is a home to one of the world’s most diverse conifer forests. We are proud partners of Schroll Timberlands LLC, who are dedicated to do their part to conserve and sustain this vital, productive forest landscape.

Who Lives There?

Many species call the McCloud Soda Springs Working Forest and the surrounding landscape home. Learn more about the species in this area.

American black bear

In Peril

Gray Wolf

In Peril

Northern Spotted Owl

Pacific fisher

Peregrine falcon

Willow flycatcher

This Project Conserves Diverse Habitats

McCloud Soda Springs is made up of a variety of unique habitat types. Explore a few of the habitats that support animals, including beaver, black bear, mountain lion, and native trout.

Aspen Meadow

Wet Meadow

Conservation Project Partners

Thanks to our partners for collaborating to ensure the natural values of this land are conserved for future generations!

California Department of Fish & Wildlife

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