This report highlights several interesting issues. It indicates that the Forest Service has not intensively managed the Upper Trinity River Basin over the past few decades, and that almost all timber management has been confined to private lands. It suggests that the forests be treated by thinning overstocked stands, and through uneven-aged management. Port Orford Cedars in the Upper Trinity River may be the only ones on the west coast that have not been infected by a water-borne root disease, and special watershed protection measures need to be taken to prevent the spread of the disease.

Stream channels are still recovering from impacts from historical mining activity and the 1997 Flood, and more work needs to be done to understand watershed conditions, such as erosion, hydrology, stream channels, and general water quality. This report indicates that roads and timber harvest activities are acknowledged contributors of sediment to the Trinity River and its tributaries, but little information was provided regarding specific conditions or restoration opportunities that could reduce sediment sources, except to say that on-the-ground inventories of roads and streams would help address problem areas. Upper Trinity River Watershed Analysis is available on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest website, or for more information on the Upper Trinity River Watershed Planning Project contact us at the RCD.