In September, a plan to log 426 acres adjoining the Skunk Train line west of Willits moved closer to execution. The California Department of Forestry (CDF) completed a court-ordered report on the plan's likely effect on Skunk Train ridership and the businesses that depend on it, concluding that there was none. Judge Richard Henderson previously accepted CDF's environmental impact analysis, which said the mitigation measures in THP 1-99-412 were adequate.
Hawthorne Timber Company, which owns the property, has claimed that logging activity would allow train passengers to see history in action, since the train originally was used to haul redwood logs. Skunk Train officials have agreed that a view of the forest being logged would not be bad for tourism.
The property is in steep terrain, and encompasses fragile ecosystems in the upper reaches of the Noyo River, including some stands of old-growth trees. The Mendocino County Railway Society has expressed interest in purchasing the property, and last year Hawthorne indicated a willingness to sell, but a major fundraising campaign would be needed. Meanwhile, environmentalists are hoping that early winter weather will delay the chainsaws for now, at least.
California Department of Forestry released a Draft Management Plan and accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Jackson State Forest in June.
Despite CDF's efforts to restrict comments on the plan (by prohibiting e-mails and faxes, charging $75 for a copy of the EIR, and refusing to place free copies in the San Francisco area), 4,000 people wrote comments, almost all of which opposed CDF's plans to clearcut one-half of the forest, cut the oldest unentered second-growth stands, provide minimal stream protection, authorize use of herbicides, and defer development of a plan for recreation.
In addition to general public comment, a number of experts submitted comments documenting serious errors and omissions in the EIR and Management Plan.
The next step is for CDF to respond to all of the comments received. These responses will be contained in a proposed final EIR. If significant changes are made in the Plan or EIR, it must by law be circulated for an additional comment period. If CDF does not consider any changes significant, it can certify the EIR and request the Board of Forestry to approve its management plan.
The EIR can be legally challenged within 30 days after it is certified. The Campaign to Restore Jackson State Redwood Forest will carefully review the final EIR to determine if it meets the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.
For more information, visit www.jacksonforest.com.
by Dan Hamburg
The campaign to stop logging of old-growth trees in California, led by the Campaign for Old Growth (CFOG), continues. A statewide steering committee has hired a professional staff to build on the successes we had the first time through the initiative process. We are now aiming to place the Heritage Tree Preservation Act on the March, 2004 ballot.
While we fell short of the 400,000+ signatures necessary to place our measure on this year's ballot, we did enlist thousands of volunteers who carried petitions in 40 counties in California. We also obtained endorsements from over 30 environmental organizations (and lots of celebs) across the country.
In June, Bonnie Raitt performed at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland as a benefit for our campaign. Other major fundraisers are being planned throughout the state. Fundraising is being directed by a finance committee which represents every region of the state.
The Heritage Tree Preservation Act will preserve approximately seven million old-growth trees on non-federal forestlands within the state. To qualify for protection, trees must have been alive prior to the date of California's statehood (i.e., pre-1850) and meet certain minimum diameter requirements.
The need for this initiative has become even more pressing over the past several months as wildfires have ravaged damaged forests throughout the West and Pacific Lumber continues its assault on north coast old growth. President Bush's "forest initiative" will only mean more destruction of old growth on federal forestlands. Meanwhile, the apparent spread of Sudden Oak Death to the redwood forest is just one more sign of ecological breakdown that must be addressed, in part, by stopping the logging of old-growth trees.
Stopping old-growth logging is, in campaign co-chair Julia Butterfly Hill's words, "not only our right, but our responsibility."
Details about the initiative are available at www.ancienttrees.org.
Please stay tuned for the next phases of the campaign to stop old-growth logging in our state!
Scientists confirmed the worst fears of many people when they announced in September that Sudden Oak Death disease has been found on coast redwood and Douglas fir trees. Researchers from UC Berkeley and UC Davis isolated living cultures of the pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death on redwoods in Jack London State Park in Sonoma County and Henry Cowell State Park in Santa Cruz County. Infected Douglas firs were found in Fairfield Osborn Preserve east of Rohnert Park.
On both redwoods and Douglas firs, needles and very small branches turned brown, with fir branches wilting or dying. Only saplings appear infected, and the disease was not observed on trunks. "Since we have not seen evidence of disease symptoms or death from the pathogen in large, mature redwood or Douglas fir, we cannot say what the effects of the infection will be long-term," said UC Berkeley's Matteo Garbelotto, emphasizing the need for further study.
Sudden Oak Death, which has killed tens of thousands of oaks in the state, has been found in 12 counties, including Mendocino and Humboldt. Other known hosts in California are: coast live oak, black oak, tanoak, Shreve oak, rhododendron, manzanita, California bay laurel, California buckeye, big leaf maple, California coffeeberry, toyon and California honeysuckle. Scientists suspect the pathogen spreads through the air, infecting host plants other than oaks, and then is spread to oaks in rain splash.
The new finding means logging companies will face new restrictions under state and federal quarantines aimed at stopping the spread of Sudden Oak Death.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2002
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited