About 1,000 trees to be planted along Jolly Giant Creek in 2017
4/10/16
The city of Arcata announced Friday that it will be using $245,000 to purchase a 20-acre forested parcel along Jolly Giant Creek to connect the Arcata Community Forest to Humboldt State University.
According to the release, $90,000 of the funds came from the Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Grant, awarded by the state Natural Resources Agency last month. An additional $150,000 comes from Cal Fire Forest Legacy Program Greenhouse Gas Funds and $5,000 comes from the city.
“We are thankful to John and Claudia Lima and the Natural Resources Agency for working with us on this important conservation and working forest project,” Arcata Mayor Paul Pitino said in the release. “And I want to send out a special thank you to our Environmental Services Department staff for all the work they did on this connecting piece of forest land and to Cal Fire for their assistance.”
People regularly use a trail on this property to travel between the university and the forest, the release states. The purchase would make the trail a bona fide public trail and assure that this forested parcel remains as open space in perpetuity.
According to the release, the land purchase not only expands forest recreational and educational opportunities for university students, residents and visitors, it permanently preserves a working redwood forest, enhances Humboldt Bay water quality by maintaining forested uplands in the upper reaches of the Jolly Giant Creek watershed, and provides habitat protection for coastal cutthroat trout, northern spotted owl and a host of other wildlife species.
The release states that the forest expansion project was one of 21 projects statewide funded by the Natural Resources Agency.
The Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program encourages projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and risks associated with climate change, while protecting and conserving natural resources, according to the release. Money for the grant comes from fuel taxes distributed to the Agency by Caltrans.
The release states that the city plans to manage this forest addition as part of the Arcata Community Forest and incorporate it into the city’s Community Forest Management Plan. About 1,000 conifer and hardwood trees will be planted along Jolly Giant Creek in 2017.
