After two or so weeks of dialogue, FrOG and R and J settled their dispute. In exchange for FrOG's withdrawing the lawsuit, R and J agreed to several things. First, they agreed to make the Registered Professional Forester (RPF) responsible for the results of the harvesting practices used. If something goes wrong - the RPF will be held responsible, not the operator. With his license on the line, it is expected that he will be more careful of how things are done.
Second, they agreed to hire a watershed expert who will be involved in the THP process from the beginning, using his experience and expertise to help lessen the impact logging has on the watershed. He will also be there after the show is over to make sure it was done properly and that all mitigations were carried out.
Third, they agreed to allow an extra two weeks in the approval process if Fish and Game, Water Quality, or other interested parties need more time to make on-site inspections or gather more information on a particular plan.
And fourthly, they agreed to withdraw 1000 acres from harvest this year. This will reduce the percentage to be logged this year from approximately 78% to less than 50%. While this doesn't really stop anything in the long run, it will give those 1000 acres and the North Fork Watershed a bit of a breather. Besides, who knows what might happen between now and then.
Speaking personally, this was quite an experience. If we had approached this lawsuit in the usual adversarial manner, I don't think we'd have gotten this settlement. It's to everyone's credit, especially the attorneys, that somehow or other we stumbled onto a method of dealing with one another that worked. Instead of concentration on our differences, we started with what we agreed on. I think this was possible because R and J really sees itself as different from other logging companies. Through Jack Monschke, their watershed consultant, they are dealing with the issue of watershed protection. Given a set of prejudices developed and honed over the years by L.P., et all, it is a bit disconcerting to find myself talking to loggers and big equipment drivers about the fragility of the earth and how we are all in this together; but that's what happened to me recently.
Yes, it's hard to say what's going to happen: The whole thing could blow up tomorrow. At this point in my life, nothing would surprise me. That is, if the whole thing turned into shuck and jive it wouldn't surprise me. But then, maybe it will be just what it appears to be: an example of how two traditionally distrustful sides of a volatile issue somehow avoided the traditional trap and opened the door just a crack to a better way to protecting the earth and logging at the same time.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2003
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