‘King Range’ Area of Special Biological Significance (ASBS) comprises almost 33 miles of coastline in Humboldt County. This ASBS contains the King Range State Marine Reserve. The northern coast is mostly wilderness, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The town of Shelter Cove is to the south.

Key pollution threats include home and business septic tanks, parking lot runoff, as well as fishing waste, sediment and fluctuating temperatures from the Mattole River to the north.

The terrain here makes one of the sharpest coastal rises on the continent, climbing more than 4,000 feet above sea level within three miles of the ASBS. Access in on mostly unpaved backroads.

ASBS Area: 25,056 acres

Counties: Humboldt and Mendocino

Regional Board Area: North Coast RWQCB

Year designated: 1974 (Resolution 74-28)

ASBS Index No.: 7