The Elk River in Northern California has had a contentious past. From the earliest logging of the old growth redwoods on up to the modern era of logging the Elk has been a productive watershed for timber but at the expense of native fish. The Elk was hit especially hard during the Maxxam take over of PALCO and was at the center point of the Timber Wars in the mid 90’s leading up to the preservation of the Headwaters Forest Reserve. That era of heavy clear-cutting has left a legacy of degradation on the river system and is causing problems for landowners downstream. CalTrout sees an urgent need to address the most pressing problems in the watershed- both ecologically and socially- and has been leading technical studies since 2014 to document the issues facing the Elk River and coordinating with other stakeholders to formulate a plan for recovery.
