| |
Mattole Restoration Council
November 16, 2010
In the Mattole, it used to be that when you talked about timber issues, the topic was old-growth logging. Our concern for ancient forests led the Mattole Restoration Council to create the landmark 1988 map--based on aerial photo analysis and research in county archives--showing that 91 percent of the old-growth conifer forest in our watershed had been cut since World War Two. That map was a key tool in our work to protect the remnant old-growth groves, a goal we pursued doggedly for more than twenty years.
Now, the old-growth question is close to being resolved in the Mattole, and our forestry focus is shifting to sound management and stewardship of second-growth forests. Of the 13,200 acres of old growth identified in 1988, 8,300 acres gained permanent protection in the Mattole headwaters, Gilham Butte, King Range and adjacent areas, through purchases from willing sellers, and creation of reserves on public land. Painfully, some 1,400 acres were lost to logging, mostly on land which was then owned by Maxxam's Pacific Lumber. An additional 1,500 acres of old growth are now held by Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC), acquired through the Pacific Lumber bankruptcy. For the time being, they are safe from the saw because of the company's policy of preserving unentered old-growth stands--a voluntary and welcome commitment by HRC that has been a central tenet of company policy here and at its sister enterprise, Mendocino Redwood Company. Some details are still in play for the Mattole, such as the age beyond which trees are considered old-growth, and we remain in dialogue with company foresters about specifics.
In second-growth stands, little cutting has taken place, because the trees are just approaching maturity. In the Mattole, 72,000 acres were last logged between 1947 and 1962. The second-growth forests that replaced them are now between 48 and 63 years old--an age when they might be considered for harvest. The timber market has been in the doldrums for three years, but when it revives, we expect that more landowners will be interested in logging. In a survey, more than half of the 115 respondents--and about 80 percent of those owning 160 acres or more--said they would be interested in harvesting timber from their land.
When that day comes, it will put our previous stance to the test. During the controversy over old-growth logging, we said, in effect, "We aren't against all logging. We just want you to protect old growth, to steer clear of streams and unstable areas, to cut at a sustainable rate without clearcutting, and not to use herbicides."
 | A team assesses the scientific validity of the stream protections offered under the draft light-touch timber harvest permit proposed by the Mattole Restoration Council. Clockwise from lower left: Richard Gienger; forester Paul Harper; Redwood National Park geologist Greg Bundros; Redwood National Park hydrologist Randy Klein; Bureau of Land Management geologist Sam Flanagan; MRC forest practices advocate Ali Freedlund. | ![]() | | Photo: courtesy MRC archives |
| |
In anticipation of second-growth logging, the Council has developed the Mattole Forest Futures Project, which is aimed at promoting forest practices compatible with watershed recovery. Through a permit we are pursuing for light-touch timber harvest, known as a Program Timberland Environmental Impact Report, or PTEIR, we are creating a template for second-growth logging we can support. It aims to safeguard fish, wildlife, and clean water through no-cut buffers along streams; a system for identifying and avoiding unstable ground; limits on rate of harvest; prohibition on herbicide use during the term of the plan; and a requirement of selective harvest. Trees that pre-date 1850 will be off-limits, and where second-growth forests develop old-growth character, any logging would have to maintain those qualities.
We intend to submit this plan to CalFire this fall, and we invite you to our website at www.mattole.org/pteir to learn more.
More Information About
Mattole Restoration Council
More Articles...
TOC for Forest & River News, Fall 2010
Home /
Publications /
Forest & River News /
Fall 2010 /
|
