Western Rivers Conservancy conveyed 288 acres of Sacramento River frontage to the Bureau of Land Management yesterday, conserving rare stands of mature cottonwood, oak and sycamore forests along nearly a mile of the river, just upstream of Jelly’s Ferry Bridge.

Conservation of the Jelly’s Ferry parcel will allow the BLM to restore riparian and side-channel habitats that will benefit Chinook salmon, green sturgeon, winter steelhead and Pacific lamprey. Western monarch butterflies, which rely on abundant milkweed found on the property, as well as Swainson’s
hawk and yellow-billed cuckoo, all stand to benefit from the efforts.

WRC’s conveyance of the property to the BLM will also open significant new access to the Sacramento River in an area that is popular among anglers, hunters, hikers, boaters, birdwatchers and others.

“This project was an incredible opportunity to protect a stretch of the Sacramento River that still bears a resemblance to the wild, free-flowing river it once was,” said Nelson Mathews, WRC’s Interim President.  “Protecting the last of these forests is a win for salmon and steelhead, for wildlife, and for the countless people who venture out here to enjoy this stretch of the river. We applaud the vision of the Bureau of Land Management to acquire and restore this property, the latest success in its decades-long effort to conserve this stretch of the Sacramento River and open it for all to enjoy.”