A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 8, 2008
3. Watersheds –
Los Gatos Creek watershed logging showdown comes to a head
Letter to Editor:
Other Voices: The 'wildness' of
Grass Valley Union
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Los Gatos Creek watershed logging showdown comes to a head
San Jose
By Paul Rogers
After three years of hearings, debates and studies, a plan by San Jose Water Co. to log redwood and Douglas fir trees over 1,002 acres in the Los Gatos Creek watershed along Highway 17 is facing its day of reckoning.
The state Board of Forestry is scheduled to hold a hearing today on whether to allow the plan to go forward, or to deny it, as the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has recommended.
The showdown — a culmination of the most contentious logging battle in decades in
If the company owns more than 2,500 acres of timberland, under state law it does not qualify for the open-ended logging permit it is seeking. The company says it owns 1,971 acres with commercially harvestable trees. State forestry officials say it owns 2,825 acres that either have — or could grow — such trees. Both sides, along with logging opponents, have stacks of aerial photos, GIS maps and ground-based reports to buttress their arguments.
It's up to the board, a nine-member panel appointed by the governor, to decide on what the definition of "timberland" is.
The battle lines have been drawn since 2005.
San Jose Water, a privately held company that provides drinking water to 1 million people in
"We were very lucky this summer. The
"In light of the damage from that fire, it bolstered our resolve that this project is the right project for us to reduce the fire hazard and to protect water quality and improve water reliability."
But neighbors in forested communities nearby, like
They have fought it vociferously, hiring scientists, and employing high-tech tools like Google Earth mapping software and detailed aerial photography.
"It's the wrong plan in the wrong place. Cutting large trees increases fire risk to homeowners,'' said Kevin Flynn, a Cisco Systems manager who lives in
"There's also a significant landslide issue. Geologists have documented it as unstable. And it is taking place next to schools, and literally thousands of residents."
The acreage issue will decide its fate, however.
The company has applied for a "non-industrial timber management plan,'' which is designed to help small landowners avoid the red tape of having to apply for multiple timber harvest permits every few years.
The plan calls for dividing the area into nine zones of about 100 acres each, and logging each once every 15 to 20 years for six weeks at a time. Timber crews wouldn't clear-cut the forests, but would remove 40 percent of the trees over 24 inches in diameter and 20 percent of trees 12 inches around.
The water company is seeking to remove 15 million board feet over 15 years — enough to build 1,000 houses.
But last year, the state forestry department denied the permit after it concluded that San Jose Water owns 2,825 acres of timberland — more than the 2,500-acres allowed under the non-industrial permit.
In legal briefs filed last month, Ginevra Chandler, the forestry department's chief counsel, argued that "timberland" is defined in the state Forest Practices Act as any "which is available for, and capable of growing, a crop of trees of any commercial species used to produce lumber and other forest products, including Christmas trees."
That means, she wrote, that "timberland" includes not only big trees, but also lands with small sprouts, stumps and even soils capable of growing trees.
Bob Berlage, a spokesman for Big Creek Lumber, the
"I don't believe the Legislature intended there to be restrictions where there are no trees," he said. "Timberland? It's inherent in the word itself."
Opponents argue the rules are clear, and say they will sue if the board approves the plan, or if San Jose Water loses then tries to sell some land to get under the 2,500-acre limit.
"We plan to fight it tooth and nail," Flynn said.#
http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_10662252
Letter to Editor:
Other Voices: The 'wildness' of
Grass Valley
By
Gary Reedy, fisheries biologist,
The
Central Valley Chinook were phenomenally abundant despite being at the southern edge of their range. Prior to 1850, one to 2 million salmon returned to the rivers of the
Virtually every river not isolated by natural barrier falls would have been stinking with salmon carcasses in the fall season, and salmon were immeasurably important for
The wildness of
Spring-run Chinook salmon are different from Fall-run Chinook because they've spawned for thousands of years in habitats upstream of where Fall-run salmon spawn. In snowmelt rivers, like the three forks of the Yuba, spring-run salmon ascended falls and rapids during the high flows of the snowmelt period, held in cold pools until early Fall, then spawned in the same season as Fall-run, yet up to 5,000 feet higher in elevation.
The Yuba River Spring-run was thought to be extinct, but recent monitoring has revealed a very small self-sustaining population. Restricted to the lower
The
The Upper Yuba River Studies Program has produced reports indicating that partially restored flow below hydro projects could provide enough habitat for viable salmon and steelhead populations above Englebright. The National Marine Fisheries Service has contracted an engineering firm to develop fish passage alternatives. The relicensing of all major hydroelectric facilities in the basin will occur in 2013 and 2016. Native Americans have resurrected their ancient Calling Back the Salmon ceremony and gathered with many friends on the
We just might be acting fast enough, and thoughtfully enough, to benefit from the wildness that remains in
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