The latter THP, which describes a plan to harvest all trees in strips, called the Blendersaumschlag 94, is a prescription for clearcutting strips of land of about 200 feet by 1000 feet. The total acreage of the Caspar Creek watershed is approximately 5200 acres, of which 750 have been clearcut. CDF is now proposing to cut 1/3 of the remaining watershed in just one year. The THP insists these are not clearcuts and will not result in even-aged stands. However, they most clearly are just that. This prescription will result in 927 acres to be clearcut at intervals yet to be determined.
There are a number of reasons to be alarmed about these THPs. The North Fork of Caspar Creek is a disaster area. At least 750 acres in this watershed were clearcut since 1986 and all were "treated" by Garlon herbicide to control brush and other so-called competing elements. There is an eerie silence as you walk on the land. There is no sound of birds, no scurrying of rodents. The place feels dead. It is an ecological desert. All around you see the beginnings of what is surely to be massive slumping. The slopes are very steep and the soils highly erodable.
I was curious about the cumulative effects and sensitive species' statements in the THP. What I found was even more astounding. The Coho salmon population in the Caspar Creek Watershed had declined since 1986 and crashed since 1989. However, this was not mentioned in the wildlife section of the Blendersaumschlag THP. I found it in a report attached to the already approved THP for the Middle Fork of Caspar Creek. There were no surveys done or alluded to for many other sensitive species.
Another astounding find was that none of the soils in question had a high erosion hazard rating. Something was very wrong here. Either CDF does not know how to calculate soil erosion hazard or tried to make it look better than it is?
CDF plans to spray Garlon on at least another 240 acres in Caspar Creek to control the spread of Blue Gum Eucolyptus. I agree that this tree has no place in Jackson Forest. They were planted a long time ago as a windbreak and have since spread. However, there are probably better ways to deal with this problem. CDF could issue firewood permits instead of herbiciding the lot. Herbiciding not only will harm the environment and the Coho but will render the Eucolyptus useless for firewood as well.
Jackson State Forest is a public resource. In addition to the production of timber, folks go there for recreation, to pick mushrooms in fall and winter, and just to hike around. However, CDF has other plans which will make this public forest anything but recreational. Hundreds of acres will not be producing mushrooms for a long, long time. The extensive use of Garlon kills mushrooms outright. Many of the edible mushrooms we pick are mycorrhizal (literally root fungus) and live in a mutually beneficial relationship with trees. Mycorrhizal fungi are a very crucial and beneficial element of the forest ecosystem. The fungus is like an extension of the roots of the trees and supply the trees with nutrients they need, such as phosphorus, and other minerals. In turn the fungi are supplied with carbohydrates from the trees. They both benefit from this relationship and live better together. A forest without mycorrhiza cannot regenerate well and grow healthy trees. Mycorrhizal "mushrooms" are an integral part of the forest ecosystem. For example: the Matsutake mushroom depends on the Tan Oak, among others, and vice-versa. Examples of mycorrhizal mushrooms are Matsutake, Bolete, and Cocorra. Matsutake mushrooms have sold for as much as $400 per pound. It is unfortunate that 10,000 acres of Tan Oaks (a tree that the Matsutake lives with) have been destroyed with Garlon in Mendocino County.
We have many reasons to be concerned. CDF is abandoning good forestry practices in Jackson State Demonstration Forest in order to produce wood fiber as quickly as possible. The undeniable fact that this practice leads to structurally weak and inferior wood does not deter them. The fact that Coho salmon may be lost in the process does not deter them.
Redwood Sciences Laboratories in Arcata has been gathering data from the Caspar Creek watershed for 30 years. This year they'll summarize the data. Let's make sure that a proper evaluation is carried out before CDF approves any more THPs .
To show your concern about this THP or what is going on in Jackson State Forest write:
Lloyd Keefer
Chief, CDF
P.O. Box 670
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
...or show your support for Caspar Creek by calling the Caspar Community & Watershed Association at (707) 964-2292.
[Els Cooperrider is a botanist and ecologist for Big River Associates specializing in California native landscape design.]
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1995