For nearly nine years there has been no logging in Jackson Forest, and for even longer no logging plans have occurred near the residential areas of Fort Bragg and Mendocino. That is about to change. Whether this change works out for the better or the worse is up to the community.

The first logging plan on the west side of Jackson State Forest is scheduled for the Hare Creek watershed to the east of the end of Simpson Lane (map). The Timber Harvest Plan (THP) adjoins private land along its entire western boundary. Within the plan are a number of forest roads used for hiking, biking, and horse riding. They are also used illegally by off road vehicles (ORVs).

The harvest area is located primarily between the western boundary of JDSF and Roads 450 and 454. Recreation use in the THP area and on Roads 450, 454, and 400 will be affected.

Other timber harvests in Jackson Forest near Fort Bragg and Mendocino are in the planning process. (map shows the Hare Creek plan, "J,H,I,J,K", and other pending harvest plans).

People who live further west on Simpson Lane or to the north on Highway 20 may recall another Hare Creek Jackson Forest timber plan in 2000 that paid no attention to the use of the plan area by local residents for recreation. Many trails and destinations were made unusable or not worth using.

This does not have to happen again. The new management plan for Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) mandates that recreation shall be an important value in the forest. The staff of JDSF is serious about fulfilling this mandate, and the independent Jackson Advisory Group (JAG) is equally determined to see that recreation is a priority.

This Saturday at 10:00 a.m., the Recreation Committee of the JAG will hold a public meeting to consider how recreation and neighbor concerns and the desires of the community should be incorporated in planning for the Hare Creek timber harvest. The meeting will be held at JDSF headquarters at 408 North Main St., Fort Bragg. JDSF staff will show detailed maps and explain the expected operations of the plan. Recreation Committee members will lead an open discussion about protecting and expanding current legal recreation opportunities. Problems of illegal ORV use will also be discussed, with the emphasis on finding constructive, win-win solutions.

Hare Creek is only the first of a number of harvest plans on the west side that are in the works. As the first, it provides an opportunity to set a model precedent for integrating recreation and neighborhood desires into harvest planning and operations. An accompanying article in the newspaper provides more details on the harvest plan, the upcoming meeting, and a tour of the harvest area following the meeting.

I and many others have worked for almost nine years to safeguard Jackson Forest for our community and the public at large. Our work has created a great opportunity for a new way of managing Jackson Forest. Now it is up to you and your friends. This is the time to step forward to work with the staff of Jackson Forest. Otherwise, the opportunity will be lost.

More information is at www.jacksonforest.org.

[This is an expanded version of the article appearing in the December 6, 2008 editions of the Fort Bragg Advocate and Mendocino Beacon.]

One issue remained unresolved – what was to happen with the two timber harvest plans (THPs) filed in 2000, for Brandon Gulch and Camp 3. These plans were subsequently halted by the legal actions of the Campaign. The state contended that the THPs were still valid, although they were long past the 5-year expiration limit in the statutes. With the approval of the management plan, these plans could go forward.

The Campaign was unalterably opposed to allowing the plans to go forward. The THPs were located within the central recreation area of the forest, where numerous campgrounds and recreation trails are located. The stands of forest are exceptional. They were last logged one-hundred years ago, and in the century since, the redwoods and firs have completely restored a high canopy, shading out the brush and creating the play of light and shadow that make redwood forests seem like ancient cathedrals. Such stands on public land are rare to the vanishing point.

Although agreeing with the new management plan, the Campaign pressed the Board of Forestry and Cal Fire to renegotiate or terminate the contracts. The Board and the Campaign agreed to extend the time for filing a legal challenge to the management plan and environmental report while the parties to the THP contracts attempted to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The threat of legal action, which all parties wanted to avoid, created strong pressure for reaching agreement.

Finally, after numerous meetings among the parties (Cal Fire, the Campaign, and the THP contract holders), the general outlines of a settlement emerged. A key point for the Campaign was to shift the purpose of the harvests from revenue generation to restoration toward old-growth conditions (technically called “late-seral” conditions). Restoration of the forest has been a key element in the platform of the Campaign. A key element for the contractors was an agreement by Cal Fire to provide substitute timber from other harvest plans to make up for the reduction in harvests in Brandon Gulch and Camp 3 that would occur because of the shift toward restoration.

For me personally, one of the most wonderful parts of the agreement was the removal of about 150 acres within Camp 3 from the harvest plan, to be set aside as a “control” (Cal Fire’s view) or, in my view, as a preserve. This preserve is right next to the central gathering point for campers and recreationists. A recreation trail – yet to be built – will allow hikers to explore through this beautiful forest stand, knowing it will be allowed to continue to heal and grow, undisturbed by logging.

In early June, the last of the necessary signatures was affixed to the settlement agreement. In addition to agreeing to the changes in the timber harvest contracts, the parties agreed to forgo any rights to file legal challenges to the management plan or the timber harvest plans. The settlement agreement, thus, wrote the final chapter of the legal saga that began in 2000.

Still to come, though, are the chapters of the new volume being written by the independent Jackson Advisory Group. This group has until 2011 to design a long-term landscape and management plan for the forest that will provide an appropriate balance among the needs for wildlife habitat, ecological health, recreation, research and education, and revenue to support operations of Jackson Forest. It will be an interesting story. Stay tuned.

Vince Taylor
August, 2008

July 17, 2008

RECREATION – this is the single most important aspect of Jackson Demonstration State Forest to many in our community. Avid campers, bicyclists, equestrians, hikers, shooters, and hunters use Jackson Forest regularly.

But, the number of recreation users today is small compared to the potential. For example, I feel confident that most people living on the coast don’t even know that there are 16 beautiful, widely separated public camp sites, some along the South Fork of the Noyo River, near historic Camp One, only about 8 miles from Fort Bragg. You can stay in these camps for up to two weeks, at no charge! While camped there, you have access to lightly traveled roads that are perfect for you or your children to bicycle, and there are numerous hiking routes. When the coast is fogged in, the summer daytime temperatures at these camps usually range from 75 to 80 degrees.

There are also numerous cross-country trails that are used by the local off-road cycling community. Few visitors are aware of these, and even fewer city enthusiasts know about them.

Why is there such limited recreation in our 50,000-acre public redwood forest? What can be done change this? These are questions being addressed the Recreation Subcommittee of the Jackson Advisory Group (JAG), an independent advisory body established as part of the new management plan for Jackson Forest approved in January of this year.

The answer to the first question is pretty clear. In the past, recreation was a low priority for the managers of Jackson Forest, who were charged with managing the forest as a timber operation. Most money from logging went to Sacramento.

Few resources were made available to handle all of the problems associated with public use of the forest – illegal off-road vehicle use and dumping, alcohol, drugs, noise and trash at campsites and party sites, vehicles causing environmentally damaging erosion during the winter, etc.

Without resources to do the job right, management discouraged forest use by “hiding” recreation sites, omitting signs advertising their existence and providing no maps of hiking or biking trails. They established a system of locked steel gates, failed to maintain recreation trails, and appalling to many local residents, dug ditches and placed rip rap across community trails into the state forest.

The answer to second question, “What can be done to change this?”, is going to be determined largely by the local community. Under the new management plan, recreation is an important component of the forest’s mission, and the independent advisory group, the JAG, has a mandate to assist in the development of a recreation users group, a user survey, and a long-term recreation plan.

At its last meeting, the JAG gave its Recreation Committee, consisting of Peter Braudrick and I, the authority to assist in the formation of the recreation group, act as a liaison between the group and Cal Fire and the JAG, and to draw upon the group for guidance in the development of a recreation plan.

If you want to see more and better recreation opportunities in Jackson Forest, now is the time to get involved. If you live near the forest and would like to see good access, maintained recreation trails, and no dumping, get involved.

f you’ve lived here a long time, you justifiably may be skeptical, but this time really is different. Funds to support recreation will be available because new legislation ensures that a major portion of logging revenues will come back to Jackson Forest. Further, the JAG has powerful support; so its recommendations will not be ignored.

The next meeting of the Recreation Committee will be on Saturday, July 26 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Fort Bragg Senior Center, 490 North Harold Street. The first meeting was a great success, with 30 people attending. Five different recreation interests were represented: Hiking, Off Road Vehicles (OHV), Bicycling, Equestrian, and Shooting.

It was wonderful to see the respect, empathy, and mutual support expressed by almost everyone in the room. Everyone was excited by the obvious opportunity to see more and better recreation in Jackson Forest. Each interest group prepared a report giving its major interests, concerns, and goals.

At the next meeting, we will focus in on near-term priorities, assigning responsibilities, and setting milestones. We will also discuss how best to organize a Jackson Forest users group.

More information on the recreation meeting and the sub-group reports, as well as on recreating in the forest, is at www.jacksonforest.org .

Copyright Vince Taylor, 2008
Vince Taylor is a member of the Jackson Advisory Group