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Press Release |
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October 7, 2002 Press Release For Immediate Release Contact Vince Taylor (707) 937-3001 |
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The California Department of Forestry (CDF) has attempted to hide its
clearcut-heavy management plans for Jackson State Forest under a banner of
"old growth forest restoration." CDF’s characterization of its plan for
management of Jackson State as old growth restoration is apparently in
response to the 4000 public comments it received on its draft management
plan and Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The overwhelming majority of
these comments requested that 50,000-acre Jackson State Forest be restored
to old growth for habitat, recreation, education, and research. In the September 30, 2002 announcement of the adoption of a final management plan for Jackson State Forest, CDF Director Andrea Tuttle trumpeted the plan as the cornerstone of a state commitment to "create for the future the largest block of old growth forest between San Francisco and Humboldt County." Secretary of the Resources Agency, Mary Nichols, said, "Our vision is to recreate a large, old growth redwood forest with habitat for endangered species, including coho salmon and the marbled murrelet, as a natural legacy for the future. We are committed to planning that considers the seventh generation." Despite the banner of old growth restoration, the final plan adopted by CDF was little changed from its draft plan, which met heavy criticism from forest professionals and the public alike. The final plan will still clearcut one-half of the forest, cut the oldest unentered second-growth stands, provide minimal stream protection, authorize use of herbicides, and defer development of a plan for recreation. In commenting upon the CDF announcement, Vince Taylor, Executive Director of the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Forest, said, "Mary Nichols has clearly stated the vision for Jackson State held by the Campaign and endorsed by the California public. We now call the state to make the management of Jackson State Forest conform to this vision. The reality belies the rhetoric. The Jackson State Forest management plan is a travesty of old growth restoration. Outside of legally protected areas, it gives highest priority to logging the oldest unentered second-growth redwood stands, exactly those stands that would provide the core of a restoration forest. It will apply various forms of clearcutting – the ecologically most destructive type of logging – to fully two-thirds of the forest where this is legally possible." According to the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Redwood Forest, over 11,600 acres of the 13-14,000 acres proposed by the state for restoration to old growth are in state parks, which are prohibited by law from timber harvesting. Only 2,500 acres of the restoration area is within Jackson State Forest (only 5% of the Forest’s 50,000 acres), and all of these acres are within the Mendocino Woodlands Recreation Demonstration Area and are protected from commercial timber harvesting by law. Commenting on this analysis, Mr. Taylor of the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Redwood Forest said, "CDF had been making profits of $15 million per year logging Jackson State until stopped by our lawsuit requiring an updated management plan, and it is determined to resume logging as soon as possible despite overwhelming public opposition. CDF is merely playing political lip service to old growth restoration, trying to repackage its large-scale commercial timber harvesting plans in green sheep’s clothing."
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