Does CDF ever acknowledge even the possibility of cumulative effects in a watershed? -- Well, yes, although only very reluctantly and only if they're very hard pressed on the matter.
After an occasionally rancorous but still civil two+ hour Haupt Creek 2nd Review yesterday, the Review Team's recommendation on THP 1-00-484 was for denial -- on the grounds that inadequate information was disclosed in the plan to determine what the environmental impacts would be. The Review Team, led by CDF, was also composed of representatives from Water Quality and the Dept. of Fish and Game. Both WQ and DFG insisted that insufficient scientific data was disclosed in the THP (after 3 years of the agencies' having asked for it) for them to assess the impacts.
This was the third 2nd Review of this THP. Each review has been well attended by the interested public and environmental groups, who have made significant comment.
CDF, in general, is in the business of approving timber harvest plans; denials are very, very rare. The California Department of Forestry says: "C.D.F. reviews an average of 1,200 THPs each year... Approximately 1,200 THPs are approved each year." (Source: "Timber Harvesting in California," a C.D.F. Fact Sheet). Somewhat more common is the withdrawal of a THP by the submitter, but then the plan often returns in similar form after public attention wanes.
The good news is that the Review Team insisted on having more scientific disclosure before proceeding with a THP that would clearly have had very serious impacts to threatened and endangered species.
"This land has never been harvested and is a Late Seral redwood and Douglas fir forest. The forest is evenly distributed from ridge top to stream corridor, which gives it a distinct character different from inland redwood forests that are concentrated along river bottoms in alluvial flats. As with all forests of this type, there are pockets where the redwood is in a high basal area percentage component of the forest with a mix of small hardwood understory. Large Douglas fir is mixed lightly throughout this forest. The Late Seral stand characteristics of this property should receive complete evaluation as any loss will have a serious effect on “listed” salmonids as well as Marbled Murrelet, Spotted Owl and other rare animals, plants." A WQ PHI Report.
"Information presented in the THP on certain biological resources is insufficient for the Department to adequately evaluate the potential for significant adverse impacts to occur to these resources, and to develop adequate mitigation measures." A DFG Memo.
The bad news is that the THP will likely be back, in one form or another. The only thing, in the long run, that's going to help with such THPs is some beneficial changes in the Forest Practice Rules, and with their enforcement.
"... photos taken within the bounds of the ancient forest are of beautiful old trees and a pristine creek, with clear water bubbling over rocks and past mossy, fern-covered banks. Other pictures - taken in adjacent logged-over areas - depict the sad effects of cutting these huge trees from their steep slopes; landslides have occurred and there are gullies a dozen feet deep. Both have contributed so much sediment to the creek that it has gone underground. The photos show, instead of a creek, only a 'road' where vehicles now drive. " Linda Perkins, Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter
See also: http://www.rrraul.org/1-00-484SONb.html http://www.gualalariver.org/ http://redwood.sierraclub.org/articles/April_03/OldGrowthForest.html http://redwood.sierraclub.org/Campaigns/ForestProtection/Index_Forestry.html
For pertinent forestry science, see: Aquatic
ecosystems of the Redwood
Managing
Redwoods
Terrestrial
Fauna of Redwood Forests
From Noss, The Redwood Forest.
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