Photo: Middle Mattole Conservancy

The Mattole River watershed is largely a forested landscape, with several different forest ecotypes present: redwood, Douglas fir, mixed hardwood, oak woodlands, Sitka spruce, tanoak, and mixed conifers.

Some of the dominant hardwood trees include California Buckeye (Aesculus californica), Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana), several Live Oaks (Quercus spp.), Pepperwood (Umbellularia californica), Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus), Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), and, in riparian areas, Red Alder (Alnus rubra), Oregon Ash (Fraxinus latifolia), Elderberry (Sambucus spp.), Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum), Vine Maple (Acer circinatum), Dogwood (Cornus spp.), and several species of Willow (Salix spp.).

TAN OAK

While the forests of the Mattole are diverse, three species stand out in the economic history of the place. The first of these is the tanoak, whose bark was harvested in the late 19th century for its high tannin content. Tannic acid was necessary in the process of leather making. Most if not all of the harvested material was taken out by ship, from the mouth of the river near Petrolia.

RIPARIAN FORESTS

Photo: Amanda Malachesky

Riparian forests, those that grow along creeks and the River, are important to fisheries and riverine health as well. A healthy riparian canopy shades the watercourse and maintains cool water temperatures. In many coastal rivers, summertime water temperatures approach levels high enough to be lethal to salmonid fishes. Riparian zones act as a "buffer" between upslope lands and the river. This can work to prevent excessive nutrients and sediment from entering watercourses. Riparian vegetation also "armors" stream banks so that they can withstand high stream flows lessening the chance of eroding the banks. Fallen riparian vegetation (particularly the larger and more rot-resistant conifers) also contribute large woody debris to the river, which is important in the creation of complex habitats preferred by young salmonids.

CONIFERS

In the Pacific Northwest of the 20th century, particularly in the post-World War II construction boom, harvest of redwood and Douglas fir has become economically important. Douglas fir is the dominant forest species in the Mattole watershed. Prior to World War II, the technology did not exist to make harvesting and transporting of logs out of the extremely steep and rugged country of the Mattole profitable. After the war, two conditions were in place to make logging of Douglas fir in the Mattole a reality: a standing-timber tax that made it economically difficult for private landowners NOT to cut trees, and the tank tread technology and heavy equipment needed to make roads and transport logs out.

From the time of the migration of Eastern settlers to the watershed, land in the Mattole was held in large tracts primarily for ranching and orchard agriculture. The standing-timber tax forced much of the ranching community to either log their land or lose it. In 1957, Humboldt County had more sawmills than any other county in the United States. So many logs were being transported out of the Mattole that log truck drivers had to time their trips to the mill as to avoid congestion on the small roads. In the 1980s, most of the original forest had been entered for harvest, and very little ancient forest remained.

In 1988, the Mattole Restoration Council created a map depicting the ancient forest cover in 1942 and in 1988. Below is a picture depicting old growth forests as of 1997, which shows that of the total Mattole forestlands, only about 9% remain as ancient forest. That percentage has since dropped to less than 8%. The MRC is actively engaged in efforts to preserve remaining old growth forests.

Click here for full size image.