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JACKSON FOREST
CAMPAIGN UPDATE |
| Issue 1,
Volume 1 This is the first of electronic update of news and events related to Jackson State Forest. A lot is going on with the Forest. To keep this update as short as possible, some items have been abbreviated and contain a link to more extensive information elsewhere on the website. INDEX OF TOPICS Thanks! Thanks to all of those that responded to our newsletter request for donations. Eighty people donated $3,000 to the Campaign. This impressive outpouring of support will multiply itself many fold when foundations, all of which heavily weigh local support, respond to our grant applications. Thank you! JACKSON STATE TO SELL TIMBER HARVEST PLANS The Campaign has learned that Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) is planning to put out for bid the timber contained in two Timber Harvest Plans (THPs) approved last year. These two plans, Brandon Gulch and Camp 3 are both in the central recreation area of the Forest and haven’t been logged since the virgin trees were cut over eighty years ago. Photos and a description of these areas can be seen at http://www.jacksonforest.com/logging_plans.htm. The attempted sale of these two THPs exemplifies JDSF’s disregard for recreation and habitat values of Jackson State. The Campaign is pursuing two separate actions to get this sale halted until JDSF completes its long-overdue new management plan: One, we are preparing to file for an injunction against the sale (see below), and two, we are attempting to get our local state legislators, Representative Virginia Strom-Martin and Senator Wes Chesbro to request the California Department of Forestry (CDF) to delay the sale. We will keep you updated on this important development. WEBSITE UPGRADE FOR ACTION ALERTS We are in process of revising our website to connect to the Action Network. Action Network makes it easy for you to e-mail state officials and legislators on specific issues. As soon as our connection is complete you will receive an "Action Alert" e-mail on the pending THP sales, with a link that will let you send a letter automatically to your state legislators (wherever you reside in California). This is a powerful capability that we will be using more in the future as the Campaign progresses. CAMPAIGN TO FILE FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION The THPs that JDSF plans to sell are the subject of lawsuits that the Campaign brought last year against Department of Forestry and the Board of Forestry. The Campaign will soon file a request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the sale of the Brandon Gulch and Camp 3 THPs, as well as a pending THP in Parlin Creek. Our request argues that any further logging in Jackson is illegal until the expired 1983 Management Plan is replaced by a current plan. It documents JDSF’s ongoing destruction of large areas of old second growth after the expiration of the 1983 Management Plan. The pending sales would continue the destruction of the increasingly rare and valuable stands of old second growth. We ask the court to prevent this illegal destruction from going forward. More information on the lawsuit is at: http://www.jacksonforest.com/lawsuit_top.htm. BILL INTRODUCED TO CHANGE FOREST MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES Representative Virginia Strom-Martin has introduced a bill, AB 1226, that if passed will greatly aid the Campaign. The Bill would revise the purposes of state forests, including Jackson State. Instead of timber production being the primary management goal, this bill would define ‘‘management,’’ for state forest purposes, as management of forest land for multiple public values, including protection of water quality, fish, wildlife, and biological diversity; demonstrations regarding the sustainable production of timber, other forest products, and the restoration of natural forest conditions; public education, recreation, and aesthetic enjoyment; and community economic and social benefits. View the full text of AB 1226. We will be letting you know how to express your opinion on this bill through a future Action Alert. CAMPAIGN RECEIVES $25,000 GRANT The Conservation Alliance has awarded a $25,000 grant to the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Redwood Forest. The Conservation Alliance is a coalition of 70 companies working in the outdoor industry that work together to fund conservation projects. The Alliance includes leading outdoor companies, such as Patagonia, North Face, Marmot, and Sierra Designs. The Campaign grant was only one of four awarded by the Alliance in 2001. The grant process is highly competitive, with the final determination made by a vote of all participating companies. In announcing the award to the Campaign, Conservation Alliance spokesperson David Jayo said, "The Outdoor Industry Conservation Alliance is committed to protecting the outdoors, and your work both closely matches our goals and resonates with our membership." The grant will fund our efforts to make all of the people of California aware of Jackson State and its potentials, to develop recommendations on recreation in the Forest, and to lobby lfor changes in legislation (in cooperation with the Mendocino Environmental Center, which will receive and administer the lobbying funds). For additional information on scheduled hikes, bike rides, and camping, together with maps of the forest, see: http://www.jacksonforest.com/recreation.htm We are delighted to announce the beginning of guided monthly bike rides in Jackson Forest, beginning April 22, 2001. Off-road bike enthusiasts are invited to come and enjoy the gorgeous trails and redwoods of Jackson State Forest. Local bikers are generously sharing their knowledge of its many miles of biking trails -- both single and double track, some moderate, some challenging, some difficult climbs, and some very rutted descents. They will be happy to take up to 15-20 bikers on rides appropriate to their skills -- beginning, intermediate, and/or advanced rides, depending on who shows up. For the first ride, meet on Sunday, April 22 at 9:00 a.m. in Fort Bragg at the Headlands Coffee Shop, Laurel Street. We will drive from there to a starting point. For more information call Stanley Miklose at Down Home Foods at 707-964-4661 or the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Redwood Forest at 707 964-5800. The Campaign leads hikes in Jackson Forest every third Sunday of the month: April 15 -- a walk along upper Hare Creek on Easter Sunday. Participants will meet at 10:30 am in the southwest corner of the Boatyard parking lot at the intersection of Highways 20 and 1. From there, we will car pool to the trailhead, several miles east on Highway 20. This is an easy, fairly flat 8-mile walk that is within view of this delightful creek at all times. Bring a sack lunch and water. May 20 -- Trestle Trail runs along the North Fork of the South Fork of the Noyo River for four miles, following the ruins of the a railroad trestle of the Caspar, South Fork, & Eastern Railroad, built in the 19th century, to haul logs to the Casper Lumber Company in Caspar. We will see some signs of current logging, but it still remains one of the most beautiful areas in the forest. This is a moderately difficult trail (you ford a creek several times) and is eight miles round trip. Meet at 10:30 a.m. at the southwest corner of the Boatyard Shopping Center (at intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 20). We will carpool from there. May 18-20 –a weekend of hiking, biking, and camping in Jackson State Forest conducted in cooperation with chapters of the Sierra Club in the Bay Area and Mendocino. The Trestle Trail hike is part of the weekend events. This is a great opportunity to learn about the great recreation Jackson State offers. You and your family are invited to join the campout at Wagon and Forest Tilley campsites in Jackson State, beginning on Friday afternoon May 18. Camping is free. Local musicians will play on Saturday evening. For more information, call the Campaign office at 707 964-5800.
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