News and Events
Mattole River at Petrolia, August 20, 2008

Volunteer

Posted 03/03/2010
Volunteers brave the elements to restore native grasslands on Prosper Ridge

Feb. 23, 2010 - Over 20 Volunteers from Marin Academy, Triple Junction High School and the Mattole community gathered on March 2nd to learn about the Council’s Native Plant Nursery and enhance coastal grassland habitat.Volunteers inspect cells of growing native grasses at Petrolia's Native Plant Nursery

On Prosper Ridge, volunteers installed native perennial bunch grasses including California Melic (Melica californica), Leafy Reed Grass (Calamogrostis foliosa), Prairie Junegrass (Koeleria macrantha) and Tufted Hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa). Despite howling wind and stinging rain, the crew planted a total of 350 grass plugs!

This project helped to restore coastal grassland habitat and, due to the perennial nature of the grasses planted, will also provide better water retention in the soil and a reduced sediment load into local salmon bearing streams.

Upcoming Events

Posted 03/01/2010
The Mattole Restoration Council is excited to offer a lecture series and workshops about restoration efforts, methods, and results, beginning in the Spring of 2010. These events are brought to you through the support of the U.S. EPA's Targeted Watershed Grants Program: West Coast Estuary Initiative for the California Coast. The first lecture was held on March 1 and was given by Brad Job, Civil Engineer with the Bureau of Land Management in Arcata. Brad presented on the hot topic of Water Scarcity and Groundwater Resources in the Mattole, and his lecture was attended by a crowd of 32 interested Mattolians from all corners of the watershed.

Mattolians gather for a lecture on Water Scarcity, March 1

Rex Rathbun in Memoriam

Posted 01/11/2010
Rex Rathbun 1920-2010Rex Rathbun, 1920 - 2010

Rex Rathbun, one of the founders of the Mattole Restoration Council, passed away on Sunday, January 10. 

Rex represented the Mill Creek Watershed Conservancy on the MRC's board of directors through the late '90s and was a dogged advocate for the preservation of the Mill Creek Forest, a grove including 220 acres of old-growth that was purchased from Eel River Sawmills and added to the public domain in 1999.