April 5, 2006
Responding to the Winter Rains
The record-setting rains of December were beneficial to salmon and steelhead migrating to spawning habitat high up in the watersheds, but detrimental effects such as silting in or scouring of redds (gravel spawning "nests") likely occurred as well. Abundant steelhead were observed during rare breaks in the rain in the upper Mattole River. Honeydew got more than 50 inches of rain in December. Many places had over half their average annual rainfall during that month. There was a lot of soil liquefaction--areas that were problems became bigger problems and areas that weren't problems became problems, sometimes big problems real fast. A family had to flee their home in the Salmon Creek watershed, tributary to the South Fork Eel River near Miranda, when a large slide started taking their home apart in the middle of the night. Other people reported mass movements that toppled outbuildings and jeopardized houses and roads. Many roads that were considered to be in good shape, with years of improvements, were able to remain passable only through emergency work between heavy storms.
Past watershed restoration work, especially new work done in 2005, was severely tested. Specific problems developed on some sites, and impacts ("adjustments") were more significant than what occurs in a milder winter. I was in the right spot (or wrong spot, depending on how you look at it) to video "adjustments" as they happened. One site in particular, a crossing removal site, was adjusting with liquefaction of soil blocks displaced by slumping from subterranean water piping that could not have been foreseen during summertime work. In another instance, a road fill failure and debris slide happened in front of our eyes and cameras--shaking then crashing several hundred feet into a stream which was temporarily blocked by the displaced soil, rock, brush, and trees. Whew!
There's a lot of work to be done to adequately respond to this winter's impacts. Soil remains close to saturation, and this situation could continue into June if there is a repeat of last year's big late rains. And, of course, we always hope that there's no significant earthquake during periods of soil saturation....
Moving on to Coho Recovery
The Coho Recovery Team worked arduously with the Department of Fish & Game on the Coho Recovery Strategy that was approved by the Fish & Game Commission (F&G Commission) in February 2004. The hundreds of recommendations for coho recovery need millions for implementation. In the meantime people are trying to do what they can. The Recovery Strategy may be reviewed and downloaded at: www.dfg.ca.gov/nafwb/CohoRecovery/RecoveryStrategy.html
All these efforts, potential and realized, are hampered and complicated at every turn. The Fish and Game Department (DF&G) has failed to come up with rules to prevent jeopardy to coho. The California Forestry Association and others are litigating to overturn the state listing of Coho; a court date is set for March 16, with California Trout (CalTrout), the Northcoast Environmental Center, and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations intervening in support of the listing. At stake are the "Threatened or Impaired Rules" of the Board of Forestry, initially made effective in July 2000 to protect listed salmonid species and which currently are scheduled to "sunset" on December 31, 2006. These rules are the baseline for protection of coho during the candidacy period and effectively still afford the best protection in place until DF&G acts on the rules prompted by the listing.
Board of Forestry Update
On April 3, in Sacramento, at the Forest Practice Committee of the Board of Forestry (BoF), formal "jousting" over the extension and content of the Threatened or Impaired Rules (T&I Rules) begins with interested parties bringing forth their favorite science to support, weaken, or toss out the T&I Rules. The issues around the T&I rules will be heatedly argued all this year with an October (or so) deadline for the BoF to extend adequate protection past the end of this year. Supposedly the Board has five members representing the public, but this in no way ensures that the Board will "do the right thing." Your input could make the difference.
On May 3, near Lake Tahoe, the BoF and F&G Commission are holding a joint field trip, with a joint meeting May 4. They have a Joint Policy on Anadromous Salmonids which obviously hasn't been working too well. Their joint get-togethers are usually pretty useless. It needs to be different this year. Your written input and/or personal presence are important if action will be taken to actually protect and recover coho salmon and other jeopardized salmonids.
The Board of Forestry, by the way, has had a full complement of members for the last couple months, and word just arrived that Chairman Stan Dixon and Industry Member Gary Rynearson have been reappointed. As of March 15 the five Public Members are: Chairman Stan Dixon, Vice-Chair Kirk Marckwald, David Nawi, new appointee Bruce Saito, and Ron Nehring (yet to be confirmed--Vice President of the California Republican Party, a "revenge" replacement for unconfirmed ex-member Nancy Drinkard). Industry Members are: Mark Bosetti from Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), Jim Ostrowski from Timber Products Company, and Gary Rynearson who was from NRM Associates, but now is Green Diamond's (was Simpson) government lobbyist. Rynearson doesn't seem to think that lobbying government for rules or laws conflicts with him being on a Board that makes rules. The new Ranching/Rangeland representative is Pam Giacomini, who was with the Farm Bureau.
The Board and/or its committees will be facing a new Road Management Plan rules package, a "streamlining" rules package from the California Licensed Forester's Association, a Board Policy Statement, the above-discussed T&I Rules, the Stewardship Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan, and other issues in the coming months. A Monitoring Study Group subcommittee is getting ready to unveil a pilot project this summer as part of an Interagency Mitigation Monitoring Program. The pilot will have two interagency teams monitoring Timber Harvesting Plans (THPs) that have high-risk watercourse crossings. This is good. A subcommittee of the Forest Practice Committee is making good progress on consolidating all the pertinent rules for roads, lands, and crossings into an easy-to-follow rule guide. Yours truly and others are going to present a short and simple rule package to the Board in April to require project proponent monitoring of key protection measures on logging plans before, during, and after the rainy season--and before the currently required Completion Report is submitted. It's going to be an interesting, crucial, and tension-filled year. Oh, joy.
Life in the Legislature
Many significant issues face the California Legislature. These include
the fight over the Governator's Infrastructure Bond Initiative. The Legislature is trying to, among other things, meld Senator Chesbro's Bond Act SB 153 (sort of a "natural infrastructure" Bond Act) with the "human infrastructure" Bond Act. This is very critical because whatever bond gets put before the voters is likely to be the last bond for ten years. Legislators are actually trying to include funding to take out the Klamath Dams, while others are trying to increase the number of dams and reservoirs in California.
Senator Wes Chesbro is also carrying SB 1125, which would enable the use of $12 million per year for fisheries and watershed restoration from the Tidelands Oil Revenues; this bill would continue the restoration program started and carried out by former Senator Mike Thompson's SB 271. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year.
Senator Sheila Kuehl is carrying SB 1310, which would make some needed reforms of Sustained Yield Plans--for instance, requiring that there actually be a document that constitutes the Sustained Yield Plan (SYP). An SYP would be required for all timberland ownerships of more than 50,000 acres.
Senator Chesbro is carrying SB 1342 which would increase the base period for all-aged timber management THPs from three to five years. Two one-year extensions would be possible, as under the current three-year base period THP. All-aged management basically requires management for all age classes of trees with various modes of selection cutting, and prohibits clearcutting.
Pilot Projects Launched
The hoped-for pilot project of a Program Timberland Environmental Impact Report (PTEIR) for the Mattole River Watershed continues to move toward implementation. Currently sponsored by the Mattole Restoration Council (MRC) with strong support from landowners, agency personnel, and the public, this pilot project would include watershed cumulative impacts processes reform. Chris Larson, Executive Director of the MRC, is providing steady leadership in the evolution of this vision into reality. In exchange for higher standards of stewardship and overall environmental protection, landowners would be able to tier much less cumbersome and expensive Program Timber Harvesting Plans (PTHPs) to the PTEIR. Fire hazard reduction, watershed restoration, restored timberland productivity, and cooperation amongst landowners to achieve these goals are among the highlights of the pilot project.
Speaking of pilot projects: The Garcia River Project of the Conservation Fund and the Nature Conservancy, with support from the Wildlife Conservation Board and the Coastal Conservancy, has just finished its draft Management Plan for the roughly 24,000 acres they acquired in the Garcia River watershed. Requests for copies of this draft plan and questions about the project can be made to Jenny Griffin of the Conservation Fund at 707/962-0712. This is the first large-scale "working forest" project in the region meant to maintain truly sustainable forestry while having conservation easements and other measures to protect vital riparian, fishery, wildlife and related values. Incorporation of long-term community interests is part of the mix. The Redwood Forest Foundation, Inc. (RFFI) is working in partnership with the Conservation Fund and others to achieve similar ends. By June it is hoped that projects similar to the Garcia will be underway in parts of Salmon Creek and Big River along the Mendocino County coast. Other projects elsewhere, maybe even in Humboldt County, may be possible. Pacific Lumber as a Community Forest? Check out the RFFI website: www.rffi.org. Get involved.
Water Quality, Anyone?
Now for some highlights in the Water Quality/Pacific Lumber-Maxxam (PL) saga. PL has finally submitted its draft Watershed-Wide Waste Discharge Requirements (WWWDRs) for Elk River and Freshwater Creek. Hearings/workshops in front of the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB) have been set for April 24 and 25. A decision could be reached at a hearing on May 8. The superior court lifted PL's Temporary Restraining Order that had held this process up. Check the NCRWQCB's website for fairly complete information regarding process and pertinent documents: www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast.
It should be also duly noted (underline, underline) that the California Supreme Court confirmed the Appeal Court Ruling that Water Quality has the right and authority to require monitoring measures on THPs. The start of this issue focused on the Hole-In-Headwaters THP 1-97-520 HUM. PL said WQ had no authority to independently require monitoring and was backed by a local Superior Court judge. It was appealed by WQ. The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) brought suit on that THP in 2000.
| ||||
The Sinkyone Wilderness State Park (SWSP) Draft General Plan: It's still on its way, we are told. From recent conversation with Parks and Recreation (P&R) officials, I'm told it will be out for public review by the end of April. They're having to make changes to accommodate completion of the extensive (and often controversial) road decommissioning and some other details. The Needle Rock Road, the section from Needle Rock to Orchard Creek, Wheeler Road for emergency use only, and motorized access to the south end of Usal Beach are some issues they are paying attention to. Legislation from 1980 requires that Sinkyone Wilderness State Park become part of the California Wilderness System when the General Plan is approved. P&R tentatively is scheduling the P&R Commission meeting, which has to be within 100 miles of the state park, for its decision on the Draft General Plan in September 2006. It seems that such a decision by the Commission made on a draft that won't be heard prior to the decision-making meeting is unwise at best. It is appropriate that the Commission hold a workshop this year, visit the Sinkyone Wilderness Coast prior to next summer, and hold its decision-making meeting in mid 2007.
Get in touch with EPIC at 707/923-2931 and Humboldt Watershed Council at 707/822-1166 for the latest information on many of the above topics and other issues. Please get involved in ways that are effective for you, and that contribute to real solutions.--rg
More Information About
Restoration Leadership Project
More Articles...
TOC for Forest & River News, Spring 2006