Wilderness Land Trust transfers 160 acres in the Trinity Alps Wilderness to the Forest Service

The Wilderness Land Trust recently announced the permanent protection of 160 acres of formally private timber property deep within the Trinity Alps Wilderness in Trinity County, California, located midway between Redding and the north coast city of Arcata.

This property is high up along the Coffee Creek near its intersection with Granite Creek.  Reopening it as a timber property would have resulted in reopening access and damaging otherwise protected wilderness by degrading the viewshed, as well as impacting protected water resources that provide habitat and water supply to the Trinity River drainage.  Popular hiking trails follow both Granite and Coffee Creeks.

“If we had not been able to acquire it and donate to the U.S. Forest Service, the former owner would not have had the option to realizes the economic value of the land, while preserving it as wilderness when the time came for his family to part with this land.” said Reid Haughey, President of The Wilderness Land Trust.

"We are greatly indebted to the Wilderness Land Trust for their contributions to our Wilderness lands," Sharon Heywood, Shasta-Trinity National Forest Supervisor, said. "Their efforts to acquire these pristine areas and turn them over to us for protection and management demonstrates a genuine commitment to Wilderness preservation. Our partnership with the Trust ensures future generations will be able to enjoy and appreciate these lands in their wild and primeval state."

Formerly known as the Salmon-Trinity Alps Primitive Area, the Trinity Alps Wilderness is located 50 miles west of Redding, California. Drained in the south by the Trinity River and in the north by the Salmon River, the area is dominated by some 55 lakes, scattered stands of timber and large meadows shadowed by peaks with elevations up to 9,000 feet. The Trinity Alps Wilderness contains a total of 550 miles of maintained trails, including 17 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail that run through the northern part of the wilderness.

The United States Congress designated the Trinity Alps Wilderness in 1984. With the recent additions made possible by The Wilderness Trust, it now has a total of 525,477 acres, all jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.