By Vesta Copestakes
Review #2 of the Pocket Canyon Timber Harvest Plan was held in the California Department of Forestry offices and was once again well attended by those most impacted by this plan. Water issues continue to dominate their concerns. There is no way you can harvest trees from a forest without some impact on the watershed and therefore the water system that the neighbors of this property depend upon.
Their focus continues to be on water because it’s the one element of this project that could impact their lives well into the future. The immediate impact will be the noise of chain saws and helicopters; the traffic of workers, trucks and inspectors; and the visual assault as the forest they have lived adjacent to gets thinned dramatically.
This is not the first time this forest has been logged for timber. It has simply lived in peace long enough for the trees to become tall, homes to be built nearby and creatures to make this their home as well.
It’s future is still uncertain. Originally George Benbow, the owner of the three parcels involved, was planning on converting the forest to a vineyard, but he has since decided to hold off on that decision. Being that there is a glut of grape juice around here, that’s probably a wise decision. Surely for the neighbors, it holds some hope that the forest can recover rather than be clear-cut for vines. In fact, this land could become home to more houses down the line.
The details of this plan are about five inches thick of paper and reports, regulations and directives. The agencies who have been involved in the decision-making process are the CDF, Fish & game, Water Quality, Sonoma County, the Army Corps of Engineers, and I believe a few other acronyms for federal agencies who have jurisdiction over these processes and projects. It’s amazing that these trees are worth so much money that after all the fees an owner pays to do all these studies and hire all these people, etc. to remove the trees, that there is still money to be made. But then, I don’t know how much public money is spent on the government side of these reports and inspections.
What I do know is that I’m grateful there are agencies overlooking these projects rather than owners just going in and logging the property without any concerns for anything or anyone, like they did only a short time ago. CDF takes care of the forest. Water Quality takes care of the water. Fish & Game takes care of the fish & birds…it goes on from there. Only a certain number of a certain size of tree can be cut in order to leave growth for a returning forest, giving the young trees enough sun, clearing enough hardwoods to leave growing places for the redwoods which otherwise would be overwhelmed by the more aggressive species of plants, etc. etc.
This is hard. If the forest could be left alone to grow old there would be no issue, no hearings, no inspections, etc. But it’s just not that way. These landowners sold their property to a man intending to log it. Other adjacent landowners are considering doing the same. The people who want to continue living there are left to protect their homes. Everyone has rights. Everyone has concerns.
The public has until March 8th to write letters that outline their specific concerns. It’s our last chance to stop this project. Any concerns that have already been brought up are already covered, so what CDF is looking for are new concerns. Because the future of this land is still uncertain, future concerns don’t really come into play. Present concerns are about it. If you think you have something new to say, please write to the people below. There is also an e-mail address: santarosapubliccomment@fire.ca.gov. Leslie Markham is the person who will make the final decision to let the project proceed or to turn it down.
ALL COMMUNICATION MUST BE TO THEM BY 5 PM, MARCH 8.
Info on the plan and its impacts at www.pocketcanyon.org
Letters regarding your concerns must include the plan # TIMBER HARVEST PLAN 1-02-216-SON
Address letters to:
Leslie Markham
California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection
Forest Practice Program
135 Ridgway Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
SEND COPIES TO:
Andrea Tuttle
California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection
PO Box 944246
Sacramento, CA
Cherie Blatt
Water Resource Control Engineer
50 "D" St. Suite 200
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Stacy Martinelli
California Dept. of Fish and Game
PO Box 2825
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
John Schlosser
California Geological Survey
135 Ridgway
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Kathi Jacobs, Planner
Permit and Resource Management Department
2550 Ventura Avenue
Santa Rosa, Ca 95403
Ken Hoffman
U.S. National Fish & Wildlife Services
1655 Heindon Rd.
Arcata, CA 95521
Charlotte Ambrose
National Marine Fisheries Service
777 Sonoma Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Sonoma Co. Board of Supervisors
Supervisor Mike Reilly
575 Administration Dr. Rm. 100-A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Paul Carroll
RE: Pocket Canyon Timber Harvest
5 Manor Place
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Pocket Canyon Protection Group
For the Record
PO Box 840
Forestville, CA 95436
(707) 869-3710
Above is the most important, but you can also send copies to:
Joeseph Lieber
Cal-Trans
111 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94612
Bob Cohey
California Dept. of Fish and Game
7329 Silverado Trail
Napa, CA 94558
Fred Curry
Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Virginia Strom-Martin
50 "D" St. Suite 150
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Lynn Woolsey
1101 College Avenue, Suite 200
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Barbara Boxer
1700 Montgomery St. Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
Governor Gray Davis
State Capital
Sacramento, CA 94104
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