THP 1-10-001 in Maple Creek proposes Unit B as an oversized clearcut of 23 acres ground-based yarding.  This plan was approved on 3/26/2010 by CalFire with the oversized unit included as proposed.

THP 1-10-011 in the Headwaters of Little River proposes two oversized clearcut units.  Unit A proposes 22 acres of ground-based clearcut, while Unit D proposes 21 acres of ground-based clearcut.  Green Diamond justifies these oversized units by potentially utilizing the option of shovel yarding.  However, shovel yarding is still classified as a ground-based yarding operation in the rules, thus these units are oversized.  This plan is currently open for public comment.

THP 1-10-014 in the Headwaters of Little River proposes Unit B as a 33-acre ground-based yarding clearcut.  This giant ground-based clearcut unit constitutes over a third of the 88 total clearcut acres proposed in this plan.  This plan is still open to public comment.

THP 1-10-016 sits on Berry Ridge above the Mad River.  This plan contains two oversized clearcut units.  Unit A is a 22.5 acre tractor yarded clearcut.  Unit C is a 28 acre tractor yarded clearcut.  These units comprise 50 of the 59 total clearcut acres under this plan.  This plan is still open to public comment.

THP 1-10-017 in Maple Creek proposes Unit  C as  a 31.5 acre oversized clearcut to be yarded either by cable or shovel.  In either case, the unit is oversized.  This unit comprises more than a third of the total 77.7 acres of clearcutting proposed in this plan.  This plan is still open to public comment.

These oversized, mostly ground-based clearcut units pose a threat not only to water quality in the various watersheds, but also threatend to continue the Green Diamond trend of voraciously fragmenting the landscape.  Also these oversized clearcuts act to wipe out larger swaths of actual and potential habitat for species of concern in those watersheds, including Northern Spotted Owls, Pacific Fisher, and others.

Please comment to Cal Fire on these THP’s.  Let Cal Fire kow that clearcutting, and particularly oversized clearcutting is the most potentially damaging logging alternative available to Green Diamond. Tell Cal Fire to enforce the clearcut unit size limitations on all Green Diamond THP’s.

For comments, please email CalFire at santarosapubliccomment@fire.ca.gov.

EPIC and our allies look forward to hosting a public forum in February on the issue and will host a number of activities before the final Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Assessment publication, expected at the beginning of March. Once the final proposal is released, the agency has indicated it will not accept further comment on the plan. Charlie Fielder, Director of District 1 Caltrans, reported to EPIC that planners have made major changes to the original proposal. Last week Humboldt Supervisors Mark Lovelace and Cliff Clendenen attended a private tour of the proposed changes within the grove. These changes have not been made public and local southern Humboldt media coverage shocked even those close to the issue.

Stay tuned! Sign up on EPIC’s Save Richardson Grove Listserv here. You can donate to EPIC’s Richardson Grove campaign here.

We hope you enjoy the billboard.

EPIC wants to offer special thanks to all of the volunteers that made this project possible, including Aliana Knapp-Prasek, Jefferson, Bob Slayton, Bruce Edwards, Barbara Kennedy and local sponsoring businesses who supplied the materials.

We must now amp up the campaign to Save Richardson Grove, as the agency prepares to release their final plan in just six weeks. Even with widespread public outcry in opposition to the project, the agency plans to release their final proposal without time for additional public comment and with consideration to only the most destructive alternative to reach their transportation goals in this sensitive forest ecosystem.

In preparation for the release of these final documents and Caltrans refusal to host adequate public forum, EPIC and our allies are planning an independent public forum in Eureka and Garberville in early February, so that citizens of our region can get all of the facts. Enter your email address at the top of this page to get updates about the public forum and other updates on the project at Richardson Grove. We’ll also keep you updated with additional blog posts.

In addition to these events, EPIC volunteers in southern Humboldt are painting a billboard on Highway 101 reading “Save Richardson Grove”. The billboard will be installed over the next few days, just south of Standish Hickey State Park. In addition to the billboard, we also have Save Richardson Grove t-shirts, color posters and postcards that can be used to get the word out. If you’d like to get your hands on a t-shirt, poster or postcard email us at epic@wildcalifornia.org.

So far, EPIC has gathered over 2,000 postcards from individuals opposed to the project, and hopes to get many more signed during the critical weeks ahead. Please consider supporting our campaign by donating, getting involved, or taking action. Every voice counts!