Published by the California Forestry Association monthly. Address questions or comments via our cfa e-mail link or to: 300 Capitol Mall, Suite 350, Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 444-6592, FAX 444-0170, e-mail: cfa@cwo.com

August 1996

What's Inside:

Lead Story

Balance of Power - Stops With The President?

Guest Articles

Shunning Conflict, Humboldt Takes Strides in Fishery Work

Words that Close the Mind

California Red-Legged Frog: Issues and Solutions on Private Forest Lands

State News

Hayden Urges Increase in Renewable Energy Investments

Industry Affairs

Western Sawmill Production Hits 13-year Low, Closures Continue

Balance of Power - Stops With The President?

The founding fathers of the U.S. Constitution guarded against tyranny and dictatorship through the separation of powers, equally divided among the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches. Creative interpretation of the laws by the courts can be corrected through new laws passed by the Congress. Over-zealous laws can be vetoed by the President. But today, never envisioned by the founders, are large multi-executive branch agencies - interpreting laws and writing regulations that ha ve the full force and effect of law - at the exclusive direction of the Executive Branch. The potential for abuse is evident by recent directives from the Clinton administration.

On July 27, 1995, the President signed the Emergency Salvage Law. The legislation directs federal forestland managers to expedite the harvest of dead and dying trees, curb the risk of further mortality by thinning the most diseased and fire-damaged forests and complete long-overdue harvesting contracts authorized in Section 318 of the 1990 Appropriations Act. The law's provisions apply to all federal forests where timber harvest is legally permitted, except in roadless areas of Montana. Immediately after signing the legislation, the President directed his administrative agencies to severely restrict the expedition of timber sales. Now, one year later, President Clinton, without congressional action or court order, has gutted implementation of the emergency law. Such direction effectively negates the intent of the legislation enacted under the authority of the U.S. Constitution.

The presidential flip-flop has triggered numerous examples of forest policy blunders. One such case affects the Dillion watershed, located in the Klamath National Forest in northern California. The Dillion watershed is a roadless area (although a few roads exist) that the President designated in 1993 as two forest reserves, while allocating the balance of land in a “matrix,” where some timber harvest is scheduled. The President's plan was reviewed and approved by the Judicial Branch. The area also has an extensive fire history and excessive build-up of dead and dying trees and debris. The most recent fires, in 1994 and 1995, burned 62% of the watershed. The U.S. Forest Service, with the concurrence of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to salvage only 2,000 acres of the 29,000 acres burned, while reducing miles of existing roads. The restrictive harvest directive from the President prevents the timely salvage of dead trees from the Dillon watershed and seriously questions whether the President is prepared to honor his own forest plan.

The recent events surrounding the California Spotted Owl Environmental Impact Statement (CASPO EIS) offer additional evidence that the Executive Branch has usurped the balance of power. Three administrative agencies, after receiving over 4,000 public comments in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), reviewed and approved a new management plan for the national forests of the Sierra Nevada, written in compliance with all environmental laws. Disregarding the process and conclusive plan, the Clinton administration apparently gave in to environmental extremists and halted the release of the promised revised draft EIS, even though the plan is more than two years overdue. Meanwhile, forest management in the Sierra Nevada will continue under the 1992 Interim Guidelines, excessive regulations which fail to address sick forests, catastrophic fire problems and provide adequate protection for species such as the California spotted owl, red-legged frog and the California condor. Apparently, the Executive Branch considers election year politics more important than the environment, economy and public safety in the Sierra Nevada.

The Executive Branch is responsible for making the political appointments to key cabinet and agency positions. Agencies are responsible for upholding the laws enacted by Congress and signed by the President of the United States. Orders or encouragement by the President or his staff to ignore codified laws is unacceptable, shameful and more than likely illegal. We call upon President Clinton to ensure that his administrative agencies fully implement the laws of the land, not abuse the precious balance of power guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution by ignoring or changing the parts of the laws he does not like.

Shunning Conflict, Humboldt Takes Strides in Fishery Work

It's been said before, but people in this region deserve to keep hearing it. Where others have failed, Humboldt County knows how to get things done. The adage was proven again this month when a top official of the National Marine Fisheries Service came to visit.

Hilda Diaz-Soltero, the agency s southwest regional director, witnessed first hand what can be done when groups that are traditionally at odds decide to put their best energies forward for the greater good.

At the end of a one-day visit, Diaz-Soltero hailed at the breadth of local cooperation she had just witnessed — in this instance, work undertaken to rebuild the region's dwindling salmon stocks.

Spotlighted for the visiting official were two projects - one in Freshwater Creek and one in southern Humboldt Bay - where fishermen, timber interests, ranchers and other groups have teamed up to restore degraded fish habitat.

Both projects are yielding impressive results.

'This is the way to go,' exuded Diaz-Soltero. 'We have to get beyond seeing it as fishermen vs. loggers vs. government.'

The Freshwater Creek project - just east of Eureka - has been particularly impressive. Salmon runs in the waterway had all but vanished 10 years ago. Then the Humboldt Bay Fisherman s Marketing Association teamed up with Pacific Lumber Co., which owns much of the land along the creek, and the recovery effort just snowballed, drawing in school kids, California Conservation corps workers and many others.

A great deal of work was done to restore the creek's habitat potential and to rebuild the fishery. Banks were stabilized, in-stream structures were adjusted to permit spawning pools and school hildren released fingerlings into the creek that they had raised in salmon-rearing projects.

The results have been astonishing. This year nearly 1,000 coho salmon returned to spawn. That stock is believed to be self-sustaining again, while work continues to restore chinook runs in the creek.

The work in Humboldt Bay has been another marvel. Under the coordination of Kevin Forester, director of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, decades of harmful agricultural policies have been reversed, gradually rebuilding the health of Salmon Creek.

Historically used exclusively for agriculture, much of the land adjoining the creek was dredged to encourage water runoff, dramatically changing the flow of the body. Gates installed to keep salt water from returning to the land also blocked fish passage.

Through extensive cooperation with the National Guard, the CCC, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others, Salmon Creek has been returned to its original, natural meandering form. Significant replanting of vegetation has occurred and woody debris has been strategically placed back into the waterway. As a consequence, an increasing number of juvenile salmon are showing up in the creek.

The lesson in both of these projects is that cooperation can often achieve far more than confrontation. Rather than view one another as adversaries, these disparate groups teamed up to create a couple of model projects.

By putting the spotlight on these efforts, the National Marine Fisheries Service - which manages ocean species - is making this region's successes a model for other coastal communities.

None of this could have been achieved without the willingness of many fine local residents to compromise and contribute cooperatively to make things work. Thankfully, such remarkable individuals continue to be one of the North Coast's greatest and most plentiful assets.

Words that Close the Mind

(Source: Sonora Union Democrat, Aug. 6, 1996. Permission to reprint granted by Harvey C. McGee, Editor and Publisher.)

A recurring theme on this page has been the failure of the urban press to report forest issues accurately. Either they're not listening or they re unwilling to risk banishment from Sierraclubland by casting doubt on the inbred assumptions their readers live by.

They repeat the myths embedded in self-righteous breasts by generations of bulletins, magazines and nature classes. And they restir the painful frustration of those who have so much to tell and whole future rests so heavily on being heard.

Certain terms are essential to a properly inflammable report. 'Clear cut,' 'old growth' and 'ancient growth' are among the favorites. They're apt to appear whenever forests are discussed, whether they're at issue or not.

The San Francisco Chronicle used chose [sic] such zingers in May, as noted here. Its editorial writers were back at it last month, and this time it s two congressmen, Wally Herger and Frank Riggs, who are crying foul:

The July 23 editorial, 'A Clear-Cut Mistake on Timber Harvesting,' claims that the U.S. Forest Service intends to clear-cut giant swaths of virgin old-growth forests under the timber salvage law. It also declares as gospel a report by the Western Ancient Forest Campaign (WAFC) citing 28 specific examples of the 'most egregious timber sales planned under the logging rider.' We were alarmed to hear of such allegations, so we investigated.

We learned that the Forest Service has not planned a single clear-cut in California under the salvage provisions in the law.

We then examined the first three timber sales in the WAFC report. The first was prepared under a full environmental impact statement, strictly complies with the president's forest plan, does not involve a single old-growth tree and was never advertised as a salvage sale. The second is a green sale prepared without using the authority of the salvage law and is scheduled to be offered after the salvage law expires. The third strictly complies with the president's plan, including stream buffers far exceeding normal requirements, would harvest a small number of dead or dying older trees and includes the thinning of small trees to reduce fire risk.

The Chronicle's claim that sales like these are 'wreaking damage to California's national forests' simply does not square with the facts. It is, however, consistent with the fallacious rhetoric of extreme environmentalists who would rather see our forests burn to the ground than harvest even a dead tree.”

It's good of them to set the record straight. It would be even better if anyone living below 1,000 feet were listening.

California Red-Legged Frog: Issues and Solutions on Private Forest Lands

The California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii) was recently listed by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) as a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). This brief article provides background on the listing decision and its implications for private forest land managers.

The California red-legged frog was once common from the northern Central Valley south to Baja California. Its current range is reduced, with most remaining populations occurring along the coast from Marin County south to Ventura County (see figure). Red-legged frogs breed in streams and wetlands and also occur in adjacent uplands and along intermittent drainages connecting wetlands. Recent declines are attributed to ongoing loss of lowland wetland and stream habitat (especially from dam construction and water management activities) and introduction of non-native predators, including bullfrogs and fish.

In contrast, the northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora aurora), which occurs along the north coast of California, has not been listed. Thus timberlands within coastal drainages north of Marin County are not affected by the listing, although interior watersheds of the coast range (those draining to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta) may be potential red-legged frog habitat.

Under Section 9 of the ESA, parties are prohibited from unauthorized “take” of any listed species. Take is defined to include harass, harm, pursue, kill, trap, or collect. “Harass” includes actions that could cause injury by disrupting normal behavior patterns; “harm” includes actions that kill or injure species, including habitat modification. Thus, forest management activities that could cause direct take or reduce habitat quality of streams or other wetlands could be a violation of the ESA's take provisions. Authorization to take individuals of the species requires preparing and achieving FWS approval of a habitat conservation plan (HCP).

The listing could affect forest management projects in California within the current range of the subspeces (see map). Restrictions would apply primarily in coastal forest lands south of San Francisco; isolated populations may occur in some forested areas where the species was once common, including the interior coast range and the Sierra Nevada.

Activities that affect stream and wetland habitats, as well as adjacent upland areas, could result in impacts on the red-legged frog. The listing rule identified activities that, if conducted in suitable habitat, could result in take of the species; these include unauthorized handling of the frog, introduction of exotic fish or frog species, unauthorized destruction or alteration of habitat, violation of discharge permits, and untimely or inappropriate modifications of wetland or riparian vegetation. Thus, any forest management activities that could disturb or degrade occupied red-legged frog habitat may constitute a take.

Because the listing is so recent (June 24, 1996), there is little track record on which to assess how the FWS will respond to forest management in California red-legged frog habitat. Landowners with California red-legged frogs on their property should work with FWS (in their Sacramento and Laguna Niguel offices) to determine the need and specific requirements for protection. A key question is whether adhering to watercourse and lake protection zone (WLPZ) measures in the Forest Practice Rules will provide adequate protection for red-legged frog habitat. Another key issue is deciding when surveys may be required to determine the presence or absence of the species in areas of suitable habitat where the species has been largely eliminated.

Avoidance of direct and indirect impacts to suitable habitat is the best approach to prevent ESA entanglements. Where avoidance is not feasible within occupied portions of the range, surveys should be conducted to determine whether the species is present. If present, suitable mitigation may include temporary or permanent relocation of the species (for example, to avoid short-term direct impacts during bridge or culvert construction) or habitat creation or enhancement elsewhere.

An efficient strategy for addressing take issues would be for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to coordinate with FWS to gain take authorization for the entire forest practice rules program. Such an effort, however, may result in some forest practice rules changes and will take months to complete. v

(For a copy of Jones & Stokes Associates' recent Environmental Update, California Red-Legged Frog Listed as Federal Threatened Species: Strategies for Resolving Issues, call Ruth Letner at 916/737-3000. For further information on the species and regulatory process, contact Dan Airola, Ken Bogdan (ESA compliance strategy), or Stephanie Myers (field surveys, impact assessment, and mitigation planning and implementation).)

Hayden Urges Increase in Renewable Energy Investments

Senator Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), Chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, has called on Governor Wilson and members of the State Legislature Electrical Restructuring Conference Committee to increase investments in California energy efficiency and renewable resources such as biomass.

Senator Hayden warned that the recent massive failure of California s electrical system was a consequence of our failure to take energy efficiency seriously as a security issue. “In the current debate over restructuring the energy market, we are obsessed with price and forgetting safety and reliability,” Hayden said. “We are moving towards a dangerous dependency on the very system which just failed massively.” Senator Hayden contends that California needs to step up its efforts to increase reliable, secure, renewable in-state sources of electrical power and recommends that the Administration set a goal for state agencies to achieve 50% of their energy from efficiency and renewable resources by the year 2000. He also called for tax credits for producers and consumers of renewable power.

Western Sawmill Production Hits 13-year Low, Closures Continue

Western sawmill saw lumber production hit a 13-year low in 1995, according to the Portland-based Western Wood Products Association (WWPA). Reduced access to timber on national forests and lower lumber prices, forced additional mills to close forever.

At the end of 1995, only 357 sawmills were operating in the west, down from 702 mills in 1988. Almost two-thirds of those mill closures have occurred in Oregon, Washington and California, states the WWPA report.

"The industry's timber supply problems are directly related to actions by extremist environmentalists and a Clinton forest policy that has all but shut down productive federal forests," said WWPA President Robert H. Hunt. "Instead of managing our forests for all uses, the government and preservationists have managed to significantly erode the West s ability to supply the wood products this country needs."

Text of the full news release and state-by-state data on harvest levels and values can be accessed at WWPA's Internet site at http://www.wwpa.org/newsroom.html or by contacting Butch Bernhardt at (503) 224-3930.

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