By Forests Unlimited
Water scarce Joy Road near Bitner west of Occidental.
The California Department of Forestry (CDF) has filed an appeal of Judge Lawrence Antolini's 11/18/03 decision rescinding CDF's approval of Timber Harvest Plan 1-01-219 SON. Attorney Edwin Wilson who represented The Joy Road Area Forest and Watershed Association against CDF and Harmony Forest & Land Company in the original case (SCV-229850) received of the appeal on 1/14/04.
Antolini's order set aside CDF's approval on three grounds. 1) CDF failed to renotice the public when it made substantial changes to the plan, 2) CDF failed to evaluate cumulative impacts for the entire project (instead, illegally partitioning the project) and 3) CDF concluded that fog precipitation was not a significant contribution to ground water without substantial evidence in the record.
The residents of the Joy Road area, which is a County designated water scarce area, were seriously concerned that logging would further impair their water supply. Residents submitted scientific evidence that cutting of the trees would impair the water supply. CDF was unable to find credible evidence to challenge that fact but still concluded that there was no significant effect.
Rick Coates, Executive Director of Forest Unlimited, commenting on the appeal said "Once again, CDF is wasting the taxpayers money, trying to subvert the public trust, property rights, and the clear intent of the law. It's part of a pattern that we have witnessed for many years."
Kellogg Creek, a watercourse listed by the State as impaired for silt under the federal Clean Water Act, may be further damaged by this clearing on the steep slopes adjacent to Mt. St. Helena. Kellogg Creek is a tributary to the Russian River and a steelhead bearing stream.
According to fire marshals, the Neuman Property was the origin of a fire in August that burned about 250 acres of forest and chaparral and some nearby vineyards. Neighbors contend that the fire resulted when the Neumans attempted to burn slash from a clearing on a non-burn day.
Forest Unlimited took action only after the CDF inspectors failed to cite the Neumans for obvious and serious violations, claiming that the area cleared was not technically timberland. Photographic evidence in the possession of Forest Unlimited and available to the media upon request, clearly shows otherwise. Many large trees of both commercial and non-commercial species were cut down and uprooted, then bulldozed into slash piles. According to Rick Coates, Executive Director of
Forest Unlimited, "This is only the latest in a series of failures by CDF to enforce the law regarding conversions. CDF inspectors have some explaining to do to the public, and we intend to have them do it in a courtroom under oath."
For further Information Contact:
Rick Coates, Executive Director, Forest Unlimited 707- 632-6070
Pam Davis, President, Forest Unlimited 707-523-4861
Edwin Wilson, Esq. 707-433-4871
Carl Wahl, Joy Road Area Forest and Watershed Association 707-874-
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