Seth Zuckerman: Community-Based Forestry in California

When the Mattole Restoration Council was founded in 1983, it grew out of the founders' realization that salmon don't just live in rivers, they live in watersheds. What's more, those watersheds aren't just made up of forests, prairies, and wildlife--they are home to people, too, the only species able to make a conscious effort on the salmon's behalf. For any restoration effort to gain traction and staying power, it would need to be rooted in an approach that invited all landowners and residents to participate in whatever way they could: a community-wide approach to restoration.