Last fall a landowner adjacent to Montgomery Woods State Reserve, Jonathan Cook, began opening his Right of Way through the Woods by cutting some old-growth logs that lay across the trail along Pruitt Creek, in preparation for building a road. The creek is a fish-bearing stream that runs through the reserve and into Big River. Cook holds an easement that dates back to the creation of the reserveÑnow designated as critical habitat for the marbled murrelet and a refugium for the federally protected steelhead trout. The logs extended into the creek where they provided fish habitat. (See MEC Newsletter #44, Winter 2003).
Cook, having commenced his work without getting the requisite permit from the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to assess environmental impacts, was stopped by a DFG warden. CookÑand his lawyersÑthen insisted he needed no permit. At this point, when it looked as though DFG might back down and not require proper environmental review, the public demanded to be part of the process and began making calls to State Senator Wes Chesbro. This public pressure resulted in a hiatus of a few months that allowed the agencies to consider the situation.
Out of their ruminations have come two reports, issued in March. The DFG report was a compromise, reiterating that Cook was operating in an area under DFG's jurisdiction and did need a permit, but that he would not be issued a citation for having cut the old logs. The second report, by the National Marine Fisheries Service, provided technical data supporting DFG's position by showing that the proposed road route was within flood-prone areas of Pruitt Creek.
The ball is now in Cook's court; to continue he must apply for a permit and undergo the necessary public review. If you want to be notified if Cook moves forward, call the MEC at 468-1660 and they will take your name and phone number; you will be notified at the next step in the process, whatever that may be.
The Albion community is handing around a petition asking for a ten-year moratorium on logging on industrial land in anticipation of Hawthorne Timber filing a 1,000-acre plan!
This is Assemblymember Patty Berg's bill to designate the Albion and Gualala Rivers as (recreational) Wild and Scenic, in order to prevent water grabs such as Ric Davidge's recent attempt to bag water from these rivers and tow it for sale in San Diego. Contact Berg to show your support: P.O. Box 942849, Rm. 2137, Sacramento 94249, (916) 319-2001, e-mail Assemblymember.berg@assembly.ca.
The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Code Section 1603 regulates water diversions or any work done in the bed, channel or on the bank of a streamÑif such projects have the potential to adversely affect aquatic animals or plants, including riparian vegetation.
Jonathan Cook's road along the bank of Pruitt Creek in Montgomery Woods State Reserve, described above, is an example of a project that DFG has the authority to regulate under this Code Section. Cook and his high-powered law firm tried to dispute that the road was part of the bank of the creek. High water marks and sediment deposits in the area where the road was to go proved them wrong. Cook's proposed road falls within DFG's jurisdiction.
For years, DFG considered their 1603 authority to be ministerial, handing out 1603 permits upon payment of fees (like getting a bicycle license) and (almost) never denying one. A lawsuit in the late 1990s, in which the MEC was lead plaintiff, resulted in the court ruling that DFG must do environmental reviews before issuing these permits.
Code Section 1603 provides a weapon for environmentalists; the public is part of the process of the review of these projects.
There is proposed legislation regarding these permits, Senator Byron Sher's SB 418. The MEC opposes this bill, which would both limit public input and lessen environmental review while also extending the life of the permitsÑa bad combination for the environment! Please let Sher know this: State Capitol, Rm. 2082, Sacramento 95814; (916) 445-6747, e-mail Senator.Sher@sen.ca.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2003
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