Watershed

When most people think of the Smith River, they think of the wild and scenic vistas along Highway 199 where majestic blue green waters flow over serpentine rocks or views of the river from Jedediah Smith State Park with a backdrop of old growth redwoods. As the Smith River crosses under Highway 101 it flattens out across a floodplain. The river broadens and slows, and takes on a milder character than the rugged, boulder clogged landscapes found upriver, but the water is teaming with life and productivity.

Pierson Building Center, home of the Big Hammer in Eureka, has been a longtime supporter of Smith River Alliance (SRA). They have been a “River Guardian” with SRA since the program’s launch in 2006 and have been supporters of our efforts since long before that.

In 1996, Bill Pierson instigated and implemented moving the old Camp Six fire lookout to its new home on Bear Basin Butte at the eastern edge of the Smith River Watershed. The project was a cooperative effort with the Smith River National Recreation Area and included disassembling the old, out-of-service lookout and moving and rebuilding it at its new site along with constructing a nearby 1930s-style cabin, aptly named “Pierson Cabin.”

SRA is proud to announce Doug Bosco (on the right) as the 2020 recipient of the President’s Award for Outstanding Stewardship. A Congressman for California’s 1st District from 1983 – 1991, Doug was the lead author of legislation that established the Smith River National Recreation Area — which has protected the Smith River in California from the ravages of strip mining. Here’s Doug with Executive Director Grant Werschkull on the banks of the South Fork Smith River.

A hardy group of explorers gathered at Rock Creek Ranch in late winter to paddle to the North side of the river to search for trail options on land recently purchased by the Smith River Alliance. The determined and agile crew scrambled through the underbrush to discover a loop route!