Humboldt County Forest Monitor

been busy...

noreply@blogger.com (John Doe #86) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:30:00 +0000

I have been unable to keep up with this blog due to being very busy with forest activism and other hard work. There is no lack of loggin plans to report on but I'm overworked. Hopefully at some point I can resume posting here but until then I will leave this up as an archive and reference source.

Maxxam/Palco Going Hog Wild

noreply@blogger.com (John Doe #86) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:28:00 +0000

Though Maxxam/PL is in bankruptcy, the liquidation logging has not stopped.

Bear Creek
In Bear Creek and Jordan Creek where logging was halted over a year ago by the local Water Quality Control Board, PL has continued to file new logging plans. Water Quality is demanding a plan be in place to clean up and protect streams from logging future activities before more logging can happen. There are now multiple logging plans stacked up and ready to cut as soon as Water Quality gives the go-ahead. This is a growing problem that needs to be addressed but is beyond the scope of this update.

Clearcut Plan Approved

Golden Bear THP was approved on June 28th.

New Oldgrowth Logging Plans

Plan Name: "More Shade" THP #1-07-070

Unit 3, a 38 acre portion of this logging plan, contains "sporadically spaced" trees "left over from the initial harvest in the early 1940's". These trees are up to "about 100 inches" in diameter at breast height (DBH). 100 inches= 8.3 ft.

Plan Name: "Hog Wild" THP #1-07-094

This plan encompasses 114.75 acres in Bear River just over the ridge from the Mattole River watershed.

Unit 3 ( 20.5 acres) is un-entered oldgrowth Douglas Fir. Unit 4 (38.5 acres) is residual Oldgrowth Douglas Fir.

New Maxxam Oldgrowth Logging Plans

noreply@blogger.com (John Doe #86) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:57:00 +0000

Maxxams Pacific Lumber has several new oldgrowth logging plans. One in Eel river, one in Larabee and one in Bear River. I will write a detailed post asap, which may not be until tommorrow.

Pacific Lumber "Golden Bear THP" in Bear River

noreply@blogger.com (John Doe #86) — Sat, 05 May 2007 01:46:00 +0000

KMZ file for use in Google Maps and Google Earth.

see more on this plan at SAF Blog

Plan Name and Number
Golden Bear THP 1-07-071

Company/Land Owner
Scopac, subsidiary of Pacific Lumber.

Registered Professional Forester (RPF writes the plan)
Mark Distefano

Watershed/Region
Bear River on the north flank of Rainbow Ridge 1/4 mile from the boundary of Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

Size in Acres

130 acres total

123.1 acres to be clearcut under the euphamism "rehab"

2.1 acres road building "right of way"

0.9 acres "non-timbered"

Forest Description
"10% Douglas Fir and 90% Hardwoods"

Originally logged in the 1950s for trees to be used for plywood. Current Douglas Fir diameters range from 14 to 30 inches diameter at breast height (DBH). Some "residual" Douglas Firs remain from before the original logging. The plan does not specify the size or age of the hardwood trees.

Plan Submission Date
5-1-07

Issues-Concerns

- "Rehab" ( a euphamism for clearcutting). The rehab "prescription" is used to replace hardwood groves of Oak and/or Madrone with Douglas Fir or Redwood seedlings. This is due to the higher monetary value of softwood boards.
The plan states “Forest Products to be harvested: Conifer and hardwood trees for saw and chip logs, fuel, split products and burls.”

-The plan states that no "even-age regeneration" (aka clearcutting) units are over 20 acres which is the maximum allowed by law. However the very next table states that Unit 2 is 26.1 acres and Unit 3 is 42.6 acres.

- In some past "rehab" logging units, the company has cut only the Douglas Fir trees and later applied herbicide to kill the remaining hardwood trees utilizing the "hack and squirt" techinque. There is no mention in the plan of herbicide use but it commonly follows "even aged management" like clearcutting and rehab. This is in order to reduce competition for planted conifer species. If the company plans to use herbicides they need to disclose this to the public.

- Clearcutting (and burning) on geologically unstable slopes, especially on "mass wasting areas of concern" or MWACs. (pronounced em-wak, usage: "This plan is hella MWAC")

- Road building on unstable areas. The plan proposes approximatly 2,000 ft. of road construction and reconstruction on MWACs.

-"Tractor Yarding"- Bulldozers dragging fallen trees to the log decks.

-"Mechanical Site Prep"- Pulverizing the clearcut areas with bulldozers.

-Broadcast burning, AKA Napalm. This method is not unlike the slash and burn technique used in the Amazon rainforest.

Public Comment
Open for comment. End date not yet posted.

you can send comment letters on this logging plan to the California Department of Forestry at;

santarosapubliccomment@fire.ca.gov

or

California Department of Forestry
attn. forest practice
135 Ridgeway Ave.
Santa Rosa, Ca. 9540

Pre-Harvest Inspection (PHI) Date
N/A- plan returned

2nd Review Date
not yet posted

Date of Decision
Earliest possible approval date May 16th (but unlikely).

Maximizing Forest Productivity by Hans J. Burkhardt

noreply@blogger.com (John Doe #86) — Tue, 01 May 2007 19:23:00 +0000

Download pdf file here.
Maximizing Forest Productivity by Hans J. Burkhardt
Resource Depletion and a Strategy to Resolve the Crisis.

A highly educational read. It was written in light of the liquidation logging practices of the Georgia Pacific and Louisiana Pacific logging corporations in Mendocino County.

Oldgrowth Logs From SPIs "Windmill" Logging Plan

noreply@blogger.com (John Doe #86) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:54:00 +0000

submitted

Though there have been many sightings of trucks carrying "one log loads" out of Sierra Pacific land near Petrolia this winter and spring, this is the first picture that documents this. These were seen coming down the wildcat (road from Petrolia to Ferndale) last month. To learn more about the Oldgrowth logging plan near Petrolia, Ca. and Sierra Pacific Industries check out these links.

SPI Oldgrowth Logging
Sierra Pacific Info.

note: this is a public road with two way traffic.

Marbled Murrelet Surveys Required In 90 Acres Of Oldgrowth In SPIs "Windmill" Logging Plan

noreply@blogger.com (John Doe #86) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 22:17:00 +0000

Update: Download KMZ file for use on Google Earth. It shows the units that are now off limits.

Wildlife surveyors working for the proposed Shell wind energy project have recently been looking for Marbeld Murrelets in the Bear River ridge area of Cape Mendocino, north of Petrolia, Ca. To do this they use portable radars. They found many more Murrelets at the mouth of Bear River than had been reported in 1994 after widespread audio/visual (AV) surveys at that time. Apparently Sierrra Pacific Industries was relying on these same surveys from 1994 to claim that there where no Murrelets using the forests in Davis Creek where much of thier "Windmill" logging plan is located.

The Department of Fish and Game now says that 87 acres of forest needs to be surveyed for Marbled Murrelets who are rapidly approaching extinction due to loss of habitat and food. These stands are in logging units numbered 08-88 and 08-90.

7 acres needs surveying of a Golden Eagle nest that has already been located. Unit number 08-91.

This plan has already been approved for logging and operations are currently underway. The Dept. of Fish and Game has now told SPI not to cut in these areas until surveys are completed. Will SPI go ahead and log, or will they wait the usual 2 years that are required for the Murrelet surveys to be completed?

PL/Scopac-Larabee Creek-"Granny Smith 2"

noreply@blogger.com (John Doe #86) — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 18:35:00 +0000

UPDATE
Plan Returned to Sender

Briefly-

"Granny Smith 2" #1-07-053

211.4 acres total.

149.6 acres clearcutting

Conifer average age in excess of 100 years in three of the six logging units.

Class D and C Marbled Murrelet stands.

Plans to contruct "Layouts"- using a bulldozer to create a pile of branches that cushion a giant tree when it hits the ground.

Located on the Chalk Mountains near the crest between the Van Duzen and Eel Rivers.

Tractor Yarding and Mechanical site prep for most of the plan area. This will damage the topsoil.

Fort Baker Ranch Company - Black Butte THP - Mad River and Yager Creek

noreply@blogger.com (John Doe #86) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:47:00 +0000

UPDATE: Black Butte THP went to second review today (Thurs. March 29th). The public comment period will end 10 days after the RPF responds to the recommendations from regulatory agencies. That response generally comes within a week after second review.

______________________________________________

Plan Name and Number
Black Butte THP #1-06-203

Company/Land Owner
Fort Baker Ranch Company

Registered Professional Forester (RPF writes the plan)
Chris Carroll

Watershed/Region
Showers Creek, a tributary to Mad River. Near Showers Pass road. Adjacent to Stapp road.
Also in the Yager Creek drainage, a tributary to the Van Duzen River.
THP area partially covers Black Butte, a large outcrop of vocanic rock 4,132 feet above sea level.
8 miles northeast of Bridgeville.

Size in Acres
783 acres total

250 acres shelterwood removal (Unentered Oldgrowth Douglas Fir)

48 acres seed tree seed step (Residual Oldgrowth D. Fir)

376 acres commercial thin (young growth averaging 40 years old)

27 acres clearcut (Residual Oldgrowth D. Fir)

82 acres "non-timbered"

Forest Description
Upland Douglas Fir forest.
325 acres of Oldgrowth forest with a canopy of dominant trees ranging from 75 to 120 years old by the RPF. 250 acres have not been previously logged. 75 acres have been thinned.

Also present are Black Oak, White Oak, Tan Oak, Canyon Live Oak, Madrone, Bigleaf Maple and Willow.

There are scattered wetlands throughout the area.

Plan Submission Date
11-27-2006

Issues-Concerns

Geologic Concerns:
Harvest operations (including clearcutting) and road construction on, and adjacent to, steep slopes underlain by debris slide slopes and near the Eaton Roughs fault have potential to increase erosion and sediment delivery to nearby Class ll watercourses.
-From California Geological Survey (CGS) report on "Black Butte THP"

Loss of Oldgrowth Forest
This area is directly adjacent to an SPI oldgrowth logging plan, "Shower Head THP" #1-06-039.There are oldgrowth stands to be logged on both sides of the property line.

Public Comment
Public Comment period still open. Was set to end on 2-23-07 but was extended.

you can send comment letters on this logging plan to the California Department of Forestry at;

santarosapubliccomment@fire.ca.gov

or

California Department of Forestry
attn. forest practice
135 Ridgeway Ave.
Santa Rosa, Ca. 9540

Pre-Harvest Inspection (PHI) Date
January 23rd and 24th.

2nd Review Date
March 29th 2007

Date of Decision (earliest date the plan could be approved)
12-12-2006 (plan not yet approved)

Operation Start Up-Activation
This plan has not yet been approved.

To review the plan yourself go to the THP Library. Then open file "North Coast Region", then open file "THPs 2006" and look for plan #.
(will take a while on some computers.)

SPI-Redwood House THP-Yager Creek

noreply@blogger.com (John Doe #86) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:09:00 +0000

To review the plan yourself go to the THP Library. Then open file "North Coast Region", then open THPs 2007 and look for plan #.
(will take a while on some computers.)

Plan Name and Number
Redwood House THP #1-07-021

Company/Land Owner
Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI)

Registered Professional Forester (RPF writes the plan)
William E. Blackwell

Watershed/Region
Yager Creek and Owl Creek, both are tributaries to the Van Duzen River. North of Bald Jesse Mtn. in Yager Valley. One logging unit is adjacent to Bootjack Prairie near Owl Creek Grove, part of Headwaters Forest that was purchased by the Ca. State Parks system after the Headwaters deal. Approximatly 6 miles Northeast of Bridgeville.

Size in Acres
425 total acres to be logged

131 acres of clearcutting

70 acres of “rehab”(clearcutting and herbicide use to remove hardwoods)

160 acres seed tree removal

55 acres selection

Forest Description
Upland Douglas Fir forest and Oak woodlands mixed with sweeping prairies. Some Madrone present. Oldgrowth Douglas Fir- amount unclear at this time.

Plan Submission Date
2-13-2007 (Plan Returned, will have to be re-filed after changes)

Issues-Concerns
Use of clearcutting and "Rehab" ( a euphamism for clearcutting).

Herbicide use likely in Clearcut and "Rehab" areas to kill competition for tree-farming species.

Logging of Oldgrowth stands.

Red tree voles nest signs present (resin ducts) in unit 9d at four way road construction and 16a clearcut unit.
Both trees to be removed.

'Tractor Yarding"- Bulldozers dragging fallen trees to the log decks.

Why This Plan Was Returned
Main Reasons
1. Lack of current Archeological assesment of much of the THP (timber harvest plan) area.
2. Inadequate disclosure on the possible use of herbicides following logging.
3. Unclear mapping of property lines.
4. Unclear proposed skid trail mapping. (skid trail=bulldozer path for dragging logs.)
5. Discrepencies in logging unit sizes ranging from 1 to 4 acres. Maps don't match with tables.
6. Unclear silviculture maps. (silviculture=logging method.)
7. THP units are difficult to discern on the Northern Spotted Owl maps.
8. Plan is unclear on how many green culls (large trees), and snags (standing dead trees) will be left or cut. Plan states that snags may be harvested.

Public Comment
Strategic to wait on commenting until the plan is re-filed.

Pre-Harvest Inspection (PHI) Date
N/A- plan returned

2nd Review Date
N/A- plan returned

Date of Decision
N/A- plan returned

Operation Start Up-Activation
N/A, plan will likely be re-filed at some point.