Because most of the Mattole drainage headwaters areas have been so inaccessible, they still harbor either significant protected stands or, in the case of the North Fork, unprotected roadless virgin forest. There is a chance that both the Chinook and Coho salmon of the Mattole will survive. Fresh from the Wildlands Philanthropy Conference sponsored by the Foundation for Deep Ecology, Ancient Forest International took up the reins to match this concept with a feasible conservation plan. The Mattole Watershed Taxpayers Association forms in part to protect Gilham Butte. Community members ask BLM to designate the GB tracts as old growth and establish a larger old-growth reserve system for similar BLM parcels scattered throughout Humboldt and Mendocino counties.
Local residents challenge the THPs.
FOGB files a lawsuit against the plans. ERS withdraws the plans one week after the written briefs are sent to the court. FOGB challenges the plans administratively. FOGB joins with EPIC to file a lawsuit against all three plans. Eel River Sawmills announces that its lands are for sale.