The river's watershed is entirely within the Klamath National Forest, and less than two percent of the land area is privately owned. Nearly half of the watershed is federally protected wilderness area, including portions of the Trinity Alps Wilderness on the south, the Russian Wilderness on the east, and the Marble Mountain Wilderness on the north. Another twenty-five percent of the watershed is designated as Late Successional Reserve under the Northwest Forest Plan and is managed to enhance and retain old-growth forest characteristics and habitat.