BLM to host free nature writing workshop at Headwaters Forest Reserve

ARCATA, Calif.- North coast author Jerry Martien will lead a free nature writing workshop, Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Headwaters Education Center within the Bureau of Land Management Headwaters Forest Reserve near Eureka.

Participants should meet at 12:30 p.m. at the Elk River Trailhead for the half-hour walk along a paved and accessible trail to the Education Center. In the family friendly event, Martien will guide participants though his process of "listening" to nature and "translating" what is heard into poetry and prose.

To reach the Elk River Trailhead, take the Elk River Road exit from Highway 101 at the south end of Eureka and turn right onto Elk River Road. Follow the road about six miles to the trailhead parking area.

The event is one of a series of outings and events offered by the BLM this year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of acquisition of the Reserve for public ownership. The Reserve was established in 1999 after a decade long grassroots effort to protect the world's last unprotected old growth redwood forest ecosystem.

Several threatened species including the northern spotted owl, the marbled murrelet (a seabird), coho salmon and steelhead benefit from the Reserve's habitat.