April 4, 2005
The Mattole Salmon Group is celebrating a quarter-century of salmon restoration. It has been 25 years since a small, determined group of watershed residents decided that they had to take action to prevent the disappearance of the awe-inspiring wild salmon from the Mattole River. In the face of indifference, resistance, and sometimes hostility from agencies and others invested in the status quo, they persisted in establishing one of the first citizen-based salmon restoration organizations in the western U.S.
Throughout our efforts, it has been community support that has made it all possible. Local ranchers such as Richard and Sally French have provided river access and trapping sites; Arcanum Ranch Pottery of Whitethorn and Tim Day of Solitude Ranch on South Fork Bear Creek have provided fish rearing sites for more than 20 years. Others have generously provided access for stream surveying, alternative trapping sites, and hatchboxes. Over the years, hundreds of community members have volunteered their time, and many have made substantial donations.
This season we have seen the second year in a row of near-ideal conditions for returning salmon. The erratic rains came at just the right time for the fish to reach their favored headwaters spawning grounds. Our stream surveyors tell us that the runs were some of the best they've seen in recent years, especially for coho. The relatively mild storms of this winter should result in a good survival rate even for eggs hatching in the lower reaches of the river where high flows normally would wash them away or suffocate them in sediment.
Where is MSG going from here? Rather than be disappointed that we haven't achieved all of our goals, our energy and enthusiasm are being constantly renewed by the small successes we see. Thanks to a new generation of environmentally aware and educated idealists, especially those who come to us via the AmeriCorps program and those who have emerged from the Mattole community itself, we are confident that we will be able to carry on for as long as it takes to assist nature in healing the Mattole watershed and in restoring its salmon to their former abundance. Please join us as we enter the next 25 years of working on behalf of wild salmon.
For more information:
www.mattolesalmon.org
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TOC for Forest & River News, Winter 2005