A  special note: Our greatest need now is to have more supporters. Please take a moment to join or if already a member to go to Tell Friends. There you can bring up (an all new) e-mail to send to friends asking them to join our Campaign. The biggest favor you can do us is to take a few minutes now to write your friends. Even if you’ve written before, a new reminder will be effective.

JACKSON FOREST CAMPAIGN UPDATE – August 2001

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 Campaign’s website.

INDEX OF TOPICS

Upcoming Events
    Town Hall Meeting
    Caspar Inn Benefit and Birthday Celebration
    CDF Rewrites the Law
    The Need for Reform
    Draft Management Plan Released
    What's Next
    Tides Foundation Grant Received

TOWN HALL MEETING

The Campaign’s first public meeting will be held on Thursday, September 13, 7:00 p.m. at the Fort Bragg Town Hall. As you will read below, CDF has made clear its determination to continue logging Jackson State on a massive scale. It is trying to circumvent the injunction that halted logging until a new management plan is approved. Its recently released draft management plan is worse than the old one: clearcutting is planned for two-thirds of the forest not protected by law! We need to demonstrate to our officials and representatives the strength of the support for restoration rather than logging of Jackson State.

The Campaign has recently acquired a computer projector, so we will be able to show you photos, charts, and maps. We’ll give you a clear picture of what CDF has done to our forest in the last ten years and what it plans for the future. We’ll show you how recreation has deteriorated – and how it could be enhanced. We’ll help you understand why CDF has treated the forest so badly. (The short answer is "Money.")

We’ll answer questions. And, we’ll start organizing to oppose planned logging operations in Caspar, Hare Creek, the Woodlands, and Brandon Gulch.

Most importantly, we will ask you to express your opinions. We’ve invited our supervisors, the city council, and our state representatives. We want them to know how you feel. The meeting will be video taped and copies sent to key officials and representatives including Andrea Tuttle, Director of CDF, Mary Nichols, Director of the Resource Agency, Assemblyperson Virginia Strom-Martin, and Senator Wes Chesbro.

The tape of the meeting will be shown on local television.

Help make this a success.

CASPAR INN BENEFIT AND BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

On Saturday, November 10 the Campaign is celebrating its successes and my noteworthy birthday with a music blast at the Caspar Inn. Great music and special attractions are in the works. Here’s a chance to support for the Campaign and have a great time in the process. Mark your calendars now!

CDF REWRITES THE LAW

The California Department of Forestry (CDF) has made a novel response to the court injunction issued in May that halted further logging in Jackson State until a new management plan is approved. Working cooperatively, CDF and the Board of Forestry in July amended state forest regulations to eliminate the existing requirement for a "current management plan." The lack of a current management plan (the last one was prepared in 1983) was the primary basis on which the court issued its injunction.

Having changed the law, CDF’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the injunction on the grounds that Board policies no longer require a current management plan. This seems a bit like Alice in Wonderland, but this is truly what has happened.

Having the ability to amend forest policies to make them whatever they want, gives CDF and Board of Forestry a decided legal advantage. But, while they may be able to nullify the lawsuit, they cannot change the facts.

Judge Henderson said in his decision, "Even a casual review of the [1983] Plan reveals that the conditions on which it was developed eighteen years ago have changed dramatically." Further, based on extensive evidence presented to the court, he found that logging under the outdated 1983 management plan was likely to result in "substantial and possibly irreparable harm" to the forest.

The plans that were halted by the injunction would log the oldest and most ecologically valuable second-growth redwood stands in the forest. They are in the section of the forest most heavily used for recreation. A premier hiking trail runs through the middle of one of them. Hopefully, a new management plan would not allow logging in these special areas of the forest.

We are opposing the motion to dismiss the injunction and expect to prevail. The action taken by the Board of Forestry lessened environmental protection of Jackson State. Such a change in regulation cannot be made without following requirements for public review and comment of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As these requirements of CEQA were not followed, the Board’s action was illegal.

For full details of the fascinating story of how CDF and the Board of Forestry cooperated in an attempt to circumvent the court and resume logging in Jackson State, see Evade Court

REFORM NEEDED

The determination of CDF and the Board of Forestry to log Jackson State despite the court's findings are powerful arguments for reform. The Board and CDF have shown that, in the current circumstances, they cannot be relied upon to safeguard the values contained in this major publicly owned forest.

What should be done? Two reforms seem necessary. First, the present financial incentives to log the forest need to be eliminated. Second, a broadly based advisory committee with mandatory review authority needs to be established.

For the full details of the reasons for and the contents of needed reform, see Reform Needed.

DRAFT MANAGEMENT PLAN RELEASED

In April, just before the court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order against further logging in Jackson State Forest, CDF released a draft of its long-overdue management plan for Jackson State.

Before the management plan can be adopted, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the plan and alternatives must be released, public comment allowed, and approval voted by the Board of Forestry.

You can comment to CDF on its draft plan and suggest possible alternatives. The Campaign is participating in this process and encourages its supporters to do the same. The plan proposed by CDF would clearcut over half of the forest and contains no plan for expanding recreation. Your comments can help get a better plan. Copies of the management plan can be borrowed or purchased at the Campaign office. The plan is also available for viewing on the web at http://www.fire.ca.gov.

Comments on the plan can be sent to Andrea Tuttle, Director, California Department of Forestry, PO Box 944246, Sacramento, CA 94244-2460

WHAT’S NEXT

Recent events have confirmed the need to pass new legislation to protect Jackson State Forest for recreation, habitat, and education. To accomplish this, we need to become a strong political force.

Realizing the need to become politically strong, in July we launched a drive to get for 10,000 members by September. This goal may have been overly ambitious under the best circumstances, but fighting CDF’s efforts to overturn the injunction took much of our time and energy. Our initial deadline for reaching 10,000 members was September. In the past few months we’ve increased our membership by 60% to 1300 still far from our goal.

We’ve rededicated ourselves to the goal of getting 10,000 members. Let’s see how close we can get by the end of September. Please try to get as many of your friends as possible to join. You can send messages to your friends easily by going to our website http://www.jacksonforest.com/tell_friends.htm. Check out "Join Us" on the website for the latest readings on our membership "thermometer."

We will be using direct mail, tabling, and media outreach in the months ahead. If you want to help with any of these efforts please call our office, 964-5800.

TIDES FOUNDATION GRANT RECEIVED

The Campaign has received a grant of $10,000 from an anonymous donor through the Tides Foundation. the Tides Foundation brings together donors and grantees that share a commitment to social change, innovation and responsible stewardship of resources. We sincerely thank the donor for his and/or her support of the Campaign.