Unique McCloud Soda Springs Forest Permanently Protected

Slated for Development, Now Permanently Conserved for Wood, Water, and Wildlife

San Francisco, Calif. (July 10, 2018) – A 1346-acre property on Squaw Valley Road in McCloud, California, has been permanently protected by its owner, Schroll Timberlands LLC, through the grant of a conservation easement made last week to the Pacific Forest Trust. Known as “McCloud Soda Springs” for its unique mineral water bubbling out of the ground, the gently rolling, wooded property had been rezoned for development of up to 50 homes adjacent to the McCloud Golf Course. Schroll Timberlands stepped in to buy Soda Springs when the property was put up for auction for its real estate value in 2015. Instead of moving ahead with the subdivision, Schroll decided to keep the land in forest for its wildlife and watershed benefits while also managing it as a working forest – as it has been for over a century.

“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,” explained Susannah Schroll.

Pacific Forest Trust has acquired the conservation easement on McCloud Soda Springs with $1,670,000 in grant funding from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife under Proposition 1, the Resources Agency’s Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program, the Wildlife Conservation Board under Proposition 40, and The Joseph & Vera Long Foundation. These grants were matched by a generous donation from Schroll Timberlands.

“We are honored to partner with Schroll Timberlands and our funders to secure the lasting protection of this beautiful property and its extraordinary natural values,” said Constance Best, Co-CEO of the Pacific Forest Trust. “This property and the others we have conserved in the McCloud watershed show how essential private, working forests are to protecting the sources of the state’s water.”

“Protecting the McCloud Soda Springs Forest and keeping it well-managed is great news. Fire risk will be better managed, local jobs in the woods will be supported, and critical clean water will be protected for people and fish downstream,” commented State Senator Ted Gaines (District 1).

“The Wildlife Conservation Board helped fund the conservation of McCloud Soda Springs and other forests in the Mount Shasta region because conserving working forests in the state’s source watersheds benefits everyone – local communities, farmers in the central valley, downstream cities, as well as threatened fish and wildlife,” noted John P. Donnelly, Executive Director of the California Wildlife Conservation Board.

Photo, from left: PFT President Laurie Wayburn, Rebecca Fris of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Mark Sindt of Schroll Timberlands, John Donnelly of the California Wildlife Conservation Board, and PFT Co-CEO Connie Best

More Details:

• Situated just south of Highway 89, the McCloud Soda Springs property neighbors the 12,800-acre Dogwood Butte working forest conservation easement granted by Hancock Timber Resource Group to Pacific Forest Trust in 2016. Together they form a permanent, undeveloped wildlife corridor between two widely separated portions of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
• Soda Springs includes dozens of volcanic springs that feed Soda Springs Creek and more than double the water of Squaw Valley Creek after it flows from Mount Shasta through the town of McCloud. This cold, clear water is critical for the survival of the endangered winter-run Chinook salmon downstream in the Sacramento River – important flows also for 25 million Californians downstream who depend on the Sacramento for drinking and for irrigation water.
• Over 100 acres of beaver ponds, springs, wet meadows, and riparian woodlands are protected by the conservation easement on McCloud Soda Springs. Springs and mountain wetlands are high priorities for protection by the state of California because they are natural infrastructure critical to stable flows into the federal and state water systems. Wet meadows act as natural reservoirs that catch snow melt and winter rain, metering it out slowly through the summer when it is so dry.
• Soda Springs’ habitats are enjoyed by many rare or threatened animals such as the Pacific fisher, willow flycatcher, and sharp-shinned hawk. Northern spotted owl nest nearby and the gray wolf has been seen moving through. Mountain lion, black bear, and black-tailed deer all spend time at Soda Springs.
• Forest management will be guided by the easement to grow bigger trees with more habitat value, restore natural diversity, reduce fire risk, and increase the forest carbon permanently stored in the property’s timber stands.
• Free public access is available for daytime, non-motorized recreation under permits available from the Pacific Forest Trust.
• McCloud Soda Springs has a long history. Valued for millennia by the Wintu people, the property also includes some of the original Warmcastle settlement as well as the first major sawmill in the valley, pre-dating the town of McCloud.

Learn more about McCloud Soda Springs here and find out about all of PFT’s conservation projects.

About Working Forest Conservation Easements

A working forest conservation easement keeps land in private ownership and productive use, allowing the landowner and the land trust to work together as partners to safeguard the public benefits in perpetuity for far less than what it would cost to purchase lands outright for state or federal protection. Property owners can continue to earn forest revenues and make more investments in habitat enhancement and other stewardship needs. The property also remains on the county tax rolls, ensuring tax money is available to local government.

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 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 and a livable climate. Find out more about Pacific Forest Trust.

Media contact: Jason L. Gohlke, Communications Manager, 415-561-0700, ext. 17, communications@pacificforest.org