Jackson Forest Forum

Jackson Advisory Group
Recreation Committee Meeting
Regarding the Proposed Hare Creek Area Harvest Plan

December 6, 2008
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Site Visit: 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Presenters: Vince Taylor, JAG
Craig Pederson, JSDF/CDF

Attendees: Approximately 30 members of the public (see Appendix); Vince Taylor, Peter Braudrick, and Forest Tilley, the Jackson Advisory Group (JAG)Recreation Committee; Craig Pedersen, Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF)

Purpose of the meeting: to provide feedback to JDSF and the JAG regarding issues and concerns relative to continued recreation use after the logging has occurred.

Note: You can enter your comments and concerns by clicking in "Comment" at the end of this post. Your comments are valuable. Please take the time to enter your concerns and desires.

Meeting Notes

Vince Taylor:

§ provided background to the participants in attendance (about 30 – 35 people) and distributed maps of the proposed harvest area

§ oriented everyone to the location of the proposed logging

§ described the problems within the area including damage from erosion and illegal OHV activity

§ explained the purpose of the JAG and roles of the JAG and the Recreation Committee

§ Reviewed positive action by JDSF on various requests from the recreation community, including printing of a new map, resolving conflicts between campground users and equestrians, transferring initial trail information to electronic mapping database, and revising signs on Road 500 to clarify that public access is allowed.

Craig Pedersen provided information on the harvest plan:

§ The nature of the Timber Harvest Plan: Currently in a very preliminary stage, It will be available to the public when it has been completed and filed

§ Tree removal criteria:

o Single-tree selection

o No more than 25% - 30% of basal area removed

o Average tree diameter maintained or increased

§ Tree removal from the Hare Creek area will be via Roads 450 south to Road 500. No timber will be removed via Simpson Lane.

§ Method of harvesting – by cable and tractor

Participants (see Appendix) introduced themselves and stated their interests and concerns. Numbers in parentheses represent the number of people expressing that concern or desire :

1. Trail development, enhancement, maintenance, etc.

§ Enhance hiking/biking/horseback-riding opportunities (9)

§ Trail marking & preservation (2)

§ Name the trails, providing staging areas and parking access, add signage and publish maps and information (2)

§ Trail vandalism

§ More trails with more advance planning (2)

§ Begin trail marking & erosion prevention prior to harvesting

§ Development/restoration of small forest trails (pathways)

§ Enhance established trails before and after harvesting of trees

§ Integrate planning for enhanced recreation with THP planning; so both can be implemented together. (3)

§ Off-Road-Vehicle (ORV) damage to trails and sediment in streams

2. Harvesting methods, management of process, protecting forest during harvesting, revenue from harvesting

§ Impact of timing of forestry activity on nesting birds (2)

§ Visual impact of logging on forest

§ Stream protection follow-through

§ No clear cutting

§ Continued use of area for recreation during logging work stoppages

§ Cost/benefit of harvesting given current economy

§ Forest harvesting and revenue generation (2)

§ Potential conflict of interest for JSDF between revenue generation activities of harvesting and restoration/recreation activities

§ Oversight by CDF of the harvest company to insure it adheres to plan and follows through with final clean up

3. Problems/potential problems

§ Current erosion problems (2)

§ Address the issue of dumping at the entrance to Road 450 (4)

§ Establish an emergency escape route/fire department entry in the event of fire in the Simpson Lane area (2)

4. General comments

§ A good sense of the overall ecosystem and how to preserve it and make it accessible to the public

§ Equestrian use (3)

§ Focus on multi-use approach to recreation plans for forest/achieve equitable use plan (3)

§ Educational signage along streams and other ecological areas of interest

§ Balanced approach to recreation and harvesting – all interests balanced including ecology, recreation, signage, stream maintenance and harvesting

§ This process is a good one

§ Mushroom preservation/protection – mushrooms encourage tree growth, are a major attraction

§ Potential to convert staging area of harvesting to use as access or parking areas by recreation users

§ Expand access by developing a cadre of volunteers responsible for opening closed gates on weekends ala Marin County’s open space volunteer patrol group

§ Will it be possible to combine ORV use with harvesting, maintenance of the ecology and other recreational uses?

The group then dispersed to meet at Road 440 on Highway 20 for a tour of the area. We drove down road 440 about a mile and then hiked up to Road 450 and along it to various spots to view the proposed temporary road and staging areas as well as the slide that occurred in 2005.

Appendix: Public Members in Attendance

First
Last
Interests

Mike
Aplet
Hiking

Nancy
Banker
hiking, trails

Nancy
Barth
hiking, trails

Joyce & Jerry/Juriaan
Blok
hiking, biking, OHV, equestrian, camping

Karen
Bowers
Tourism

Stacey
Bradley
equestrian, shooting, camping, OHV

Peter
Braudrick
All

Chris
Calder

Elaine
Charkowski
Biking, hiking, trail map

Julia
Conway
hiking, biking

Noel
Daniels
Equestrian

Ray & Lorraine
Duff
trails, equestrian

Stephen
Dunlap
OHV

Valerie
Frey
hiking, biking

Marianne
Gerssing
Equestrian

David
Guerney
Hiking, salmon

Paul
Hanson
Media

Pam
Huntley
Education

Bruce
Knaus
Equestrian

Ron
Lear
equestrian

Annie
LeBus
hiking, biking, mushrooming

Linda
Leitner
hiking, no ORV

John
Loomis
Hiking

Terry & James
Lyon/Cook
Nature

Bruce
Moore
All, balanced

Verna
Oliver
More public use

Craig
Pedersen
all, Cal Fire

Rick
Riley
biking

Lari
Shea
equestrian

Allen
Stevenson
hiking, biking

Vince
Taylor
All

Forest
Tilley
JAG

Judy
Whiting
bike, hike, signs