October 2017 found Siskiyou Land Trust visiting with John and Evelyn Ward at their home next to the Trinity River where they shared a recent river restoration project on their land. The Ward family donated a 76-acre conservation easement to SLT in 1998 over their riverfront property in Lewiston, Trinity County.
Landowner John Ward, left, and SLT board member David Tucker view the restoration project, which included adding woody debris to stabilize the river bank.
They recently partnered with the Yurok Tribe, Hoopa Valley Tribe, the Trinity River Restoration Program, and the Bureau of Land Management to complete the “Bucktail” river channel rehabilitation project. This multi-landowner project brought back oxbow channel complexity and adjoining wetland restoration to a barren river bar that sat denuded for years after the former concrete batch plant was closed and abandoned.
Like all of the landowners who partner with Siskiyou Land Trust for conservation easement project, the Ward’s dedication to taking care of the earth is exemplary! Thank you John and Evelyn for your dedication and generosity.
The Ward property does not include public access to the river. Public access to the Trinity River and the Bucktail restoration project site is available through BLM’s Bucktail River access in Lewiston. To learn more about the river restoration project at the Ward’s and about the Trinity River restoration program, visit: trrp.net
