Ishi Wilderness

Shasta Land Trust donated two properties in Tehama County to the United States Forest Service (USFS).  The properties were purchased from a willing seller in September of 2007 and were added to the USFS Ishi Wilderness Area in 2009.  These properties total 648 acres and are managed by the USFS to protect their many natural and historic resources.

While the properties are rugged and difficult to access, they include portions of Deer Creek canyon and Big Dry Creek canyon.  The Ishi Wilderness Area is one of the lowest elevation Wilderness Areas in the continental US, and supports a diverse array of wildlife and plant species.  It was also on some of these lands that the remaining members of the Yahi Native American tribe were able to survive into the previous century. 

Protection of these two properties was part of a larger project that involved several other partnering organizations including the Northern California Regional Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy, landowners with a desire to conserve their properties, and funding agencies. 

The properties are now owned and managed as part of the Ishi Wilderness Area, in compliance with the Wilderness Act of 1964.  Shasta Land Trust was able secure funding and purchase the properties so that they could be added to the federally protected area, playing a critical role in this historic land transaction.  The properties continue to support native flora and fauna and will remain open of any development for generations to come.