REDWOOD NEEDLES

Presented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, The REDWOOD NEEDLES

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From the Chair

By Marianne de Sobrino, Chair, Redwood Chapter

Dear folks,

This will be once more about the Headwaters Forest Preserve&emdash;because both the Chapter website and myself have been getting regular inquiries about visiting the forest. If you completely know this information and are utterly bored by it I will understand, but at the same time ask you to make it as public as possible. Maybe just so that our local Bureau of Land Management office can get fewer phone calls asking if the family could celebrate grandma's fiftieth wedding anniversary by that nice new waterfall in the woods.

Anyway.

The current status of access to Headwaters is as follows:

The North entrance from Elk River Road is open, with ample parking at the entrance. A new parking lot, plus relevant fencing and gates have been put in by BLM in record time. This entrance is reached via about seven miles of country road off route 101 just south of Eureka. The hike to the actual forest is five miles, about three miles of which is a relatively easy walk along an old logging road. The second two miles are very steep and difficult, but also up an old logging road.

At the top of the ridge/end of the trail you get to walk through a clear-cut and look across a small valley to a lot of tall trees which are the Headwaters Forest. You also get to turn around and look at some very tall trees that are also the Headwaters Forest. You cannot walk into this forest because there is no path through the thousands of years of duff, fallen debris and understory growth. And the BLM is specifically asking that folks stay out of the understory. Thus the reward of this five mile hike is a chance to look at some trees.

The round trip is ten miles and takes betweeen five and seven hours. Bicycles, animals, motor vehicles and overnight stays are prohibited.

The South entrance to the preserve is currently closed, due to Marbled Murrelet season. The BLM plans to open that end in late August or early September. Access will be limited to ten vehicles per day and permits will be required. The same restrictions will apply as at the north entrance. However, from this entrance you will be able to actually walk into and among the trees of the headwaters, again on old logging roads. That should be about a five to six mile round trip hike. That entrance will probably be closed each year during Murrelet season,

That's the story.

Otherwise, I guess I should remind everyone in the world who is interested in ancient redwood forests that we have a whole bunch of them preserved already in some rather nice State and National parks in Humboldt County.

The Headwaters Forest was purchased in order to save some endangered species and the headwaters of some fragile streams. So we need to leave it somewhat untroubled to do its work.

So, once again, pass it around.

And thanks for your patience.

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