Participants in the EPIC/ Sierra Club Review of the Pacific Lumber HCP/ SYP
EPIC/ Sierra Club Pacific Lumber HCP/ SYP Aquatic Review Team
Thomas N. Lippe, Lead AttorneyTom Lippe is one of the foremost authorities on the California Forest Practice Act and its implementation. On behalf of Sierra Club and EPIC he successfully argued at the California Supreme Court that state agencies could require Timber Harvest Plan (THP) submitters to provide all reasonable information necessary to determine the environmental effects of proposed operations, rather than be limited to information specified in regulation. Lippe specializes in environmental law, particularly land use, timber and water resources, and endangered species. He also has substantial experience in landslide, erosion and other property development issues.
Mr. Lippe's other clients include the East Bay Municipal Utilities District, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Planning and Conservation League, the Wilderness Society, California Public Interest Research Group, and numerous local and regional environmental organizations.
Read
Thomas N. Lippe's comments
Dr. Peter Moyle
Dr. Peter Moyle is Professor of fisheries biology in the Department
of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at the University of California,
Davis. He is one of the foremost authorities on Pacific salmon. He has
been studying factors affecting the decline of native fishes, including
salmon, in California for nearly 30 years. He has published widely on the
subject. His work led to an evaluation of the overall status of coho salmon
in California, and the status study in which he participated was cited
extensively in the documentation provided by the National Marine Fisheries
Service to support its decision to list the coho salmon in California and
southern Oregon as a threatened species.
Read
Dr. Peter Moyle's comments
Dr. Louis Botsford
Dr. Louis Botsford is a fisheries biologist and Professor in the Department
of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at the University of California,
Davis. His particular focus is population dynamics and quantitative analysis.
He is a principal author of the Recovery Criteria for California winter-run
chinook salmon. His 1998 article in the journal Conservation Biology focuses
on the interaction between paucity of data, uncertainty regarding future
conditions, and the extinction of species. His population analysis was
instrumental in the 1998 listing of the Sacramento spring-run chinook salmon
as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act.
Botsford is currently engaged in a project for the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara, a project in part funded by the state of California, regarding ways to assess the probability of extinction in salmon populations for which there are few data.
Dr. Robert
Curry
Dr. Robert Curry is Research Professor at the University of California
Santa Cruz and Research Coordinator and Senior Scientist at California
State University Monterey Bay, Watershed Institute and Adjunct Professor.
He is also the Principal at Watershed Systems in Soquel, California. He
has participated widely in panels and commissions, including those organized
by the National Academy of Science/ National Research Council, the Geological
Society of America, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
California Department of Forestry, and the U. S. Forest Service. He has
published extensively in books, journals and monographs, and maintains
an extensive research schedule. Recent research includes studies of estuarine
and freshwater stream restoration projects.
Read
Dr. Robert Curry's comments
Jerry Barnes
Jerry Barnes was a fisheries biologist for the USDA Forest Service
at Six Rivers National Forest near Eureka, California, for 26 years until
his retirement in 1998. He holds a B.S. in Geology from UC Berkeley and
completed graduate work in fisheries at CSU Humboldt. He was a member of
the Klamath River Technical Advisory Team for 14 years.
Patrick Higgins
Pat Higgins is a consulting fisheries biologist in Arcata, California.
He has done field work and research on California salmon and steelhead
restoration for more than a decade. Higgins has written the fisheries element
for restoration plans on a number of northern California rivers including
the Klamath, South Fork Trinity, Garcia, and Gualala Rivers.
In the last four years Higgins has turned his interest to assimilating and interpreting fisheries and water quality data through the creation of charts, photographs, bibliographic resources, and maps, and publishing the information on CD. His most recent product, KRIS Coho, is focused on the watersheds of the Pacific Lumber Company ownership and is based on the software he helped develop for the Klamath Resource Information System. One thousand CDs were distributed and 500 people were trained to use KRIS Coho as part of the public comment effort for the PL HCP/ SYP.
Read
Patrick Higgins' comments
Dr. David R. Montgomery
Dr. Dave Montgomery is Associate Professor of geomorphology in the
Department of Geological Sciences of the University of Washington, Seattle.
He received his Ph.D. in 1991 from U.C. Berkeley. His research interests
center on tectonic, hillslope, and fluvial geomorphology, with particular
interests in applications of GIS to geomorphic problems, landform evolution,
and relations to ecological systems.
Recent publications include articles in Geology, the Journal of Geophysical Research, the Journal of the American Water Resources Association, the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Landscape Ecology, Geological Society of America Bulletin, and Nature. Other recent publications include chapters in the Encyclopaedia of Geomorphology. He was a contributor to Forest Ecosystem Management: An Ecologic, Economic, and Social Assessment, Report of the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (1993), commonly referred to as FEMAT.
George Pess
George Pess is a Stream Ecologist. who holds an M.A. in forest hydrology
from the University of Washington. At the time he undertook the review
of the PL HCP, Mr. Pess was an independent consultant who was also on staff
with the Tulalip Tribe. Since late November, he has been employed by the
National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle as part of its newly formed
Watershed Research Program.
He was a contributor to modules of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Watershed Analysis process. He has reviewed many HCPs, including the currently stalled Weyerhaeuser Willamette HCP.
Dr. Chris Frissell
Dr. Chris Frissell is Research Associate Professor at the University
of Montana, Flathead Lake Biological Station. His principal fields of interest
include the cumulative impacts of human activities and natural processes
on stream habitat and stream biota; the conservation biology of fishes
and aquatic biota in relation to landscape change; and geomorphology and
landscape ecology in the design of integrated conservation reserves.
Recent research projects include the Ecological Working Group for the Columbia River Basin Multispecies Framework for the Northwest Power Planning Council; Stability of Streambed Spawning Habitat in relation to Watershed Disturbance in southwest Oregon for US EPA; Effects of Recent Storms on Watershed Processes and Salmon Habitat in the Snake River Basin for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission; and the Petition for Status Review of Coho Salmon Under the Endangered Species Act for the Pacific Rivers Council.
EPIC/ Sierra Club Review of aquatic-related HCP/ SYP Topics.
Gravel Mining - Aldaron LairdAldaron Laird is a Planning Commissioner for the city of Arcata and an environmental consultant. Laird's clients include the California Attorney General, Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, National Marine Fisheries Service, California State Lands Commission, Humboldt County, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Hatchery and Restoration Projects
- Tom Weseloh
Tom Weseloh is the Northern California Manager for California Trout.
Weseloh has designed and implented restoration projects on Pacific Lumber
lands since 1987. He is current Vice President of the Humboldt Fish Action
Council. In conjunction with the California Department of Fish and Game
he has completed extensive aquatic habitat typing in the region.
EPIC/ Sierra Club Pacific Lumber HCP/ SYP Marbled Murrelet Review Team
Brian Gaffney, Lead AttorneyBrian Gaffney is a solo practitioner in Oakland, California with a focus on endangered species protection, forestry, CEQA/ NEPA compliance, clean water, and public access to information. In addition to his work on the PL HCP/ SYP, he has reviewed HCPs for San Bruno Mountain, the Stephen's Kangaroo Rat, and the Arcata Redwood Company.
Harry Carter
Harry Carter is a seabird biologist who has surveyed, studied, and
monitored seabirds on the west coast of North America for over 20 years,
including 15 years in California. He has worked on contract for federal
and state governments as well as for private research and environmental
organizations. At the request of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, he has
served as a member of the Marbled Murrelet Recovery Team since 1993 and
helped prepare the Marbled Murrelet Recovery Plan (USFWS 1997).
S. Kim Nelson
Kim Nelson is a Research Wildlife Biologist and Senior Faculty Research
Assistant with the Oregon Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit at Oregon
State University and leads the unit's marbled murrelet research program
in Oregon. She has been conducting research specific to the marbled murrelet
in western Oregon since 1988. Her research on murrelets has focused on
their behavior, nest-site characteristics, breeding biology, and habitat
associations. In addition, she helped to develop survey techniques for
this species and is an author of the Pacific Seabird Group Survey Protocol
for marbled murrelets in forests. She has visited most known murrelet nests
in Washington, Oregon and California.
EPIC/ Sierra Club Pacific Lumber HCP/ SYP Northern Spotted Owl Review Team
Tara Meuller, Lead AttorneyTara Meuller is the Director of the Biodiversity Legal Program at the Environmental Law Foundation in Oakland, California. She was formerly a staff attorney at the Natural Heritage Institute in San Francisco. Tara is one of the nation's top experts on endangered species and habitat conservation planning issues. She is the author of the Guide to the Federal and California Endangered Species Laws, published by the Planning and Conservation League Foundation, as well as numerous articles on habitat conservation planning and other endangered species issues.
Meuller represents environmental organizations throughout California and works closely with the national Endangered Species Coalition in Washington, D.C. She prepares legal analysis for staff and members of the California Legislature, has drafted state and federal legislation, and has litigated state and federal ESA cases.
Dr.
Alan Franklin
Dr. Alan Franklin is a Research Associate with the Colorado Cooperative
Fish and Wildlife Research Unit of Colorado State University, Fort Collins,
Colorado. Formerly he directed research on the population biology of northern
spotted owls for the Humboldt State University Foundation. On behalf of
the US Fish and Wildlife Service National Education Training Center, he
taught Endangered Species Act Recovery Planning and Implementation. He
has conducted numerous workshops for the US Fish and Wildlife Service,
the US Forest Service and the National Park Service regarding various species
of spotted owls and management strategies for them. He has published extensively
on California, northern, and Mexican spotted owls.
Read
Dr. Alan Franklin's comments
Peter Carlson
Peter Carlson is Research Associate for the Humboldt State University
Foundation, Arcata, California. He is currently the Assistant Project Leader
for a study of the demography and ecology of northern spotted owls in northwest
California which is focused on population trends and the dynamics of reproductive
success. He has also conducted field research on the demography of spotted
owls in southern California.
EPIC/ Sierra Club Pacific Lumber HCP/ SYP Silviculture Review Team
Sharon Duggan, AttorneySharon Duggan is one of the foremost authorities on the California Forest Practices Act. On behalf of EPIC, she established, in EPIC v. Johnson, that Timber Harvest Plans are subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. She has actively litigated in federal and state court and represents a broad spectrum of clients on timber and other environmental issues. In addition to her private practice, she is the staff attorney for EPIC.
Paul V. Carroll, Attorney
Paul Carroll has been practicing environmental law since 1990. In the
past two years, he represented the petitioners in Friends of the Old Trees
v. California Department of Forestry (1997) in which a court of appeal
held for the first time that CEQA's alternatives requirement applies to
the approval of logging operations in California. He persuaded a court
of appeal that San Mateo County's approval of an amendment to the San Bruno
Mountain HCP failed to satisfy CEQA. Currently he is involved in a lawsuit
challenging the Department of Fish and Game's failure to apply CEQA to
streambed alteration agreements.
Dr. Reed Noss
Dr. Reed Noss is a conservation biologist, forest wildlife ecologist
and co-director of the Conservation Biology Institute, Corvallis, Oregon.
He has published more than 140 papers and two books on biological topics
and is President-Elect of the Society for Conservation Biology, the largest
professional organization in the field. He is currently serving as science
team leader for Save-the-Redwoods League in their master planning process.
In that capacity he is editing a book on redwood forest ecology and conservation,
to be published in 1999 by Island Press.
Dr. Robert Hrubes
Dr. Robert Hrubes is a registered professional forester and forest
economist. He has been a forester for 25 years, having spent the first
15 years of his career with the USDA Forest Service and the last 10 years
as a private consultant. He has extensive experience in assessment of forest
practices and in the advancement of standards and techniques of responsible
forest stewardship. He is a world-recognized leader and practitioner of
third party forest management certification. He served for four years on
the Board of Directors of the Forest Stewardship Council and is presently
Chair of the Board of Directors of the Forest Stewards Guild, a US professional
forestry society.
Read
Dr. Robert Hrubes' comments
Dr. Shawn Smallwood
Dr. Shawn Smallwood's career has encompassed his wide ranging interests,
including range management issues, the interaction between wildlife and
farming, as well as a focus on sustainable development. In 1996 Dr. Smallwood
joined Consulting in the Public Interest, a consortium of consulting scientists.
He has been both an Editorial Board member and an Associate Editor of the
journal Biological Conservation. He is an Associate of the Department of
Agronomy and Range Science Department at the University of California,
Davis. He has conducted original research on the ecology of biological
invasions, and is the developer of the California mountain lion track count
which is a technique to identify individual mountain lions from track measurements.
Dr. Smallwood has recently turned his attention to the scientific foundation
needed to making listing and take decisions, pursuant to the ESA.
EPIC/ Sierra Club Pacific Lumber HCP/ SYP Unlisted Species Review Team
John Gaffin, CoordinatorJohn Gaffin was appointed in 1992 by the California Board of Forestry to the special committee for creation of a statewide HCP for the northern Spotted Owl and in 1997 was appointed by the Secretary of Resources to the Coastal Salmon Initiative policy panel. He was a petitioner for state and federal listing of the southern torrent salamander.
Richard Erickson
Mr. Erickson is a Biologist/Associate with LSA Associates, Pt. Richmond,
California. He is a recognized expert on birds of western North America,
especially their status and distribution in California. He is the current
Director and Chairman of the Western Field Ornithologists. He has published
extensively regarding birds of California and is co-editor of an Internet
web site showing the status of all bird species in all California counties
and offshore islands. He is a member of the Pacific Seabird Group Marbled
Murrelet Technical Committee.
Roger Harris
Mr. Harris is a Principal with LSA Associates, Pt. Richmond, California.
Harris has extensive experience in development of Habitat Conservation
Plans under the ESA and CESA, specializing in habitat restoration. His
research includes the nesting requirements of the pileated woodpecker.
Peter Bloom
Peter Bloom is a Research Biologist with the Western Foundation of
Vertebrate Zoology in Orange County, California. He is one of California's
leading raptor (birds of prey) biologists. He has conducted extensive field
research on the California condor, golden eagle northern goshawk, great
blue heron, red-shouldered hawk, and Swainson's hawk.
EPIC/ Sierra Club Review of Pacific Lumber Logging Violations
Brendan Cummings, AttorneyBrendan Cummings is a public interest attorney based in Berkeley, California. His focus is on environmental and civil rights law. Along with renowned trial lawyer Tony Serra, Mr. Cummings represents the plaintiffs in the civil rights litigation attempting to ban police use of pepper spray against nonviolent forest activists. He is currently co- or lead counsel for eight ESA-related cases in California and Arizona, representing species including the coho salmon, Peninsular bighorn sheep, and San Diego fairy shrimp. He is also counsel to EPIC's challenge of the legality of the Simpson Timber Company HCP currently under negotiation.
Cynthia Elkins
Ms. Elkins is on staff at EPIC. She reviews all Pacific Lumber Timber
Harvest Plans and selected THPs submitted by other industrial timber owners,
submits comment to the record, and assesses plans for compliance with state
and federal law. She has been instrumental in bringing state and federal
regulators' attention to violations of law, and maintains an extensive
record of Pacific Lumber Company THP violations. These violations have
recently lead to the suspension of PL's timber operator's license.
EPIC/ Sierra Club Review of the PL EIS/ EIR
Richard GrassettiRichard Grassetti is an environmental planner with over 16 year experience in environmental impact analysis, hydrologic and geologic assessments, project management, and regulatory compliance. He is a recognized expert on the CEQA and NEPA processes, and has served as an expert witness on CEQA, NEPA, and planning issues in both California and Federal court. He has managed the preparation of over 50 CEQA and NEPA documents as well as numerous local agency planning and permitting documents. Mr. Grassetti has prepared over 200 hydrologic, geologic, and other technical analyses for CEQA and NEPA reports.
As addition to his consulting practice, Mr. Grassetti serves as adjunct faculty in environmental studies and impact assessment at California State University, Hayward. He is past Director of the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Association of Environmental Professionals, and has presented papers on environmental impact assessment at statewide and international conferences. Mr. Grassetti is currently authoring a book on methods of environmental impact assessment for University of British Columbia Press.
Project Coordinators for the HCP/ SYP Review:
Paul MasonPresident
Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC)
Kathy Bailey
Forest Conservation Chair
Sierra Club California
Chuck Powell
Project Assistant
Other Reviewers of the HCP/ SYP whose comments will appear on the website:
Dr. Leslie M. ReidUS Forest Service
Pacific Southwest Station
Redwood Sciences Laboratory
Arcata, California
Dr. Nancy
Erman
Lecturer Emeritus
Dept. of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology
UC Davis
Davis, California
Read
Dr. Nancy Erman and Dr. Don Erman's comments
Dr. Don Erman
Professor Emeritus
Dept. of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology
UC Davis
Davis, California
Read
Dr. Nancy Erman and Dr. Don Erman's comments
Dr. Fraser Shilling
Dept. of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology
UC Davis
Davis, California
Dr. Hartwell Welsh
US Forest Service
Pacific Southwest Research Station
Redwood Sciences Lab
Arcata, California
Jill L. Ratner, President
Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment
Oakland, California