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Redwood Forest Foundation Inc. (RFFI) has submitted an application to the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) to place a conservation easement on the Usal Redwood Forest, which includes 50,000 acres in Northern Mendocino County stretching from the Eel River to the Pacific Ocean.   RFFI bought the heavily logged land in 2007 from the Hawthorne Timber Company.  The unique property includes the Usal Creek watershed, and several important tributaries to the Eel River.

The WCB delayed funding for the acquisition of the easement in February 2011, ordering an independent review to confirm the appraised value of the easement.  The independent review makes findings that “the appraisal meets the high standards required by WCB and the professional standards that govern appraisers.” Now, the Wildlife Conservation Board will hold a hearing in late July to make a decision regarding the easement.  EPIC has submitted a letter in support of the independent review of the appraisal, but now we need your help to urge the WCB to make a positive decision supporting the easement as soon as possible.

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SPI clearcuts in Shasta County.

Over the last year, the rulebook on spotted owls and logging has changed substantially – at least as it applies to Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) and Roseburg Forest Products and a few other industrial timber companies in northern California. In an attempt to avoid boredom or confusion we will skip the mind numbing details of how this situation came to be.

Responsibility for the spotted owl has shifted from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to Calfire and Calfire’s version of owl protection is scientifically unsupported and…laughable. Under Calfire, the standards for owl protection have been reduced to a shadow of the former, despite ongoing decline in the population. Spotted owls living on these timberlands are facing a dramatic increase in logging of their habitat.

In recognition of the legal and scientific deficiencies of their rules Calfire had “strongly suggested” the use of FWS guidelines over the use of their own Forest Practice Rules (FPRs) for owl protection standards. In EPIC’s review of THPs proposing to log spotted owl habitat it was apparent that nobody was using the FWS guidelines and instead were defaulting to the FPR minimums while Calfire turned a blind eye. (more…)

Richard Gienger, veteran forest advocate from southern Humboldt county, has been working with EPIC for over 30 years to improve logging practices and fish habitat. Each season, Richard brings readers up to speed with Diggin’ In, the Gienger Report in his contribution to the Trees Foundation quarterly, Forest and River News. This spring, Richard’s report explores the history of an elemental concept in comprehensive forest managment, and EPIC’s history, cumulative impacts.

Diggin’ In:  The Gienger Report

In this issue I’ll be “recapping” some of the continuing sagas, like the bond funding freeze and watershed/fisheries restoration work. But first I’m going to try to summarize some of the elements of the so-called “timber wars” over the last three-plus decades and then focus on crucial current conflicts and opportunities. I’ll have to skim over years of fundamental detail in order to get to the here-and-now. For those who want to dig in deep, there are multiple sources to search out—you might be able to earn a PhD, or two, for your efforts. For a one-stop summary of a central aspect you might read and/or acquire Sharon Duggan and Tara Mueller’s Guide to the California Forest Practice Act and Related Laws. For a millennial overview I’d recommend A Forest Journey: The Role of Wood in the Development of Civilization by John Perlin. And while you’re thinking millennial, read King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon by David R. Montgomery.

My first experience of forestry in California came in the fall of 1971 in the Mattole Valley as I walked through battered landscapes ravaged by tractor logging after World War II and up through the 1960s—streams buried and skid trails disrupting hillsides with incredibly dense and damaging networks. I soon learned of the ad valorem tax brought to bear by the California legislature to make sure that the materials for the post WWII building boom were available. Landowners were taxed ON THEIR STANDING TIMBER until they cut 70% of it. This tax, which spawned the crazed gypo cat-logging frenzy, lasted into 1976. …
To read the full story download a PDF of Diggin’ In: The Gienger Report here.