April 4, 2005
In midsummer 2004, Kathleen Teague, a resident of the Cummings Creek watershed near Carlotta on the Van Duzen River, learned that the California Department of Forestry (CDF) was reviewing a timber harvest plan (THP 04-144) on adjacent private lands above her property. She had good reason to be concerned: in 1997 a landslide on the slope between the proposed THP and her residence had stopped just short of her home. Kathleen immediately contacted CDF and asked them to visit her property, to evaluate the risk that the THP might trigger slide movement. Her requests were ignored, and CDF approved the plan at the end of November. So she called EPIC for help.
EPIC Forestry Advocate Richard Gienger worked with Kathleen, sending her a sample lawsuit from a Francis Creek case. She used this to begin modeling a potential legal challenge in the event that CDF refused to revise the THP. This got some attention and resulted in two California Geological Survey (CGS) geologists and a CDF forester making a long-overdue site visit. Another site visit has been scheduled for a CGS geologist from Sacramento. In the meantime, Richard has provided Kathleen with information and contacts that could help her stabilize the 1997 landslide on her property. EPIC hopes that CDF will make adequate revisions to the THP to protect Kathleen's home--and that the agency will stop approving illegal or unsafe plans while ignoring reasonable requests from citizens.
For more information:
707/923-2931
www.wildcalifornia.org
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TOC for Forest & River News, Winter 2005