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| March 2002 Newsletter | ||
Lompico Headwaters “Islandia” THP is Denied on Appeal Before the CA Board of Forestry
June 2004 Newsletter of the Lompico Watershed Conservancy
The long dispute over Redwood Empire’s Lompico headwaters logging plan (THP) finally reached the stage of a County appeal of plan approval to the California Board of Forestry. The THP was approved on October 30th, 2003 by the California Department of Forestry (CDF). This happened after 25 months of stalling and 43 extensions of a “directors decision”. Santa Cruz County appealed that approval to the California Board of Forestry. The public testimony portion of the appeal was heard at the February meeting of the Board of Forestry. At the April 7th meeting, the Board rendered a decision on the appeal. The action the Board of Forestry took was ground-breaking. So much so, that as of the date of the printing of this newsletter, the staff of the Board of Forestry has still not released a written version of the Board’s decision. They were stunned.
This win is the result
of coordinated community action and County support. The Lompico Water Board,
many, many community members and the Conservancy working together made this
happen. This is the power of grass roots activism. Thanks to you all!
The THP was “disapproved” on the grounds that the department (CDF)
did not justify its conclusion of “insignificant impacts” from
the logging plan relative to the total of cumulative impacts on the entire
watershed. CDF has never dealt realistically with the issue of cumulative
watershed impacts as required in State law. They have tended to look at each
THP independent of all the other negative effects that watersheds are subject
to, such as previous or current logging plans, existing road networks, gravel
mining, pollution from residential areas and so on. This violates a basic
principle that underlies much of the California Environmental Quality Act
and the intent of Environmental Impact Reports. The principle is that a “project”
such as logging or development must take into account the combined effect
of various negative impacts on a resource, such as forest dependent wildlife
or water resources, to which the “project” will contribute additional
negative impacts. That is the meaning of cumulative impacts.
CDF and the forester simply claimed that the effects on water quality from the logging plan would be minimal. Their justification for this claim was that helicopters would “yard” most of the logs, that the plan would observe the Forest Practice Rules, and in some small ways, presume to exceed the rules.
We always disputed these conclusions in the first place. For instance, helicopters were going to be used simply because the land is so steep and erosive, and the terrain is so complex that helicopters were the only way to get at the trees. The construction of a road network in this terrain was illegal by the terms of the Forest Practice Rules. This does not in itself make helicopter yarding a “mitigating” factor. Roads and skid trials are not the only sources of erosion from logging. Removing trees from steep slopes and inner gorge stream corridors also causes erosion as does a general reduction in tree canopy on land with sandy soils and this type of terrain. Helicopters are also very disruptive to the people and wildlife living near the THP area because they produce intense noise for weeks on end.
Recent changes to State law have made the Regional Water Quality Control Boards responsible for regulating soil pollution from logging operations. CDF is no longer able to claim that it has primary authority for regulating soil erosion pollution. CDF did this for decades while California streams were damaged and salmon have gone extinct or declined to remnant runs of fish. Coho salmon are on the verge of extinction. Public advocacy is curcial now.
The transition from CDF “regulation” of water pollution to Regional Water Quality Control Board regulation will be a slow process. Regulating pollution from logging plans is a new task for them. The Regional Water Quality Control Boards do not have the staff to do their job. The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is attempting to work out a practical means of monitoring for soil pollution from logging and the Lompico Watershed Conservancy is participating in the development of this process. Monitoring, or judging the extent of “non-point-source” pollution, is much more difficult than monitoring pollution from manufacturing etc. It is one thing to measure the concentrations of pollutants coming out of a pipe and quite another to gage the rate of soil erosion off of a logged landscape. This process is also under way for agricultural water pollution, and for urban and suburban street runoff (stormwater). These are huge problems that are not likely to be solved any time soon. It is unknown whether our salmon and the general health of our watersheds can survive until these pollution problems are effectively dealt with. Advocacy for solutions to these problems is one of the reasons that organizations like the Lompico Watershed Conservancy exist.
The denial of the Islandia logging plan is a big victory. Santa Cruz County has not won a THP appeal hearing before the Board of Forestry for many years. The Board decision for the Islandia appeal was ground-breaking in the way it addressed the Forest Practice Rules. However it must be remembered that Redwood Empire still owns Islandia. They may again try to log the Lompico Creek headwaters. We must continue to look for a solution to this dilemma. Purchase of this land is likely to be the only permanent solution. This was the original reason for the formation of the Conservancy and we hope you will continue to support us. This task is not over! It is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Our legal and science expenses for this campaign were high and have put a strain on our resources. We hope that you will again make a donation to the Lompico Watershed Conservancy so that we can continue our work.
Stream Restoration this Summer
This Summer, the Conservancy will carry out a stream restoration project at the old Lompico Pool site to improve adult steelhead migration passage. We will be asking for volunteer help during this project. The primary funding for this project will come from the California Department of Fish and Game. This concreted section of streambed has needed correction for many years.
People are surprised to learn that large migratory fish spawn in Lompico Creek. There are few adult fish and they come up Lompico Creek during and after winter storms when the Creek’s flow is higher than normal. You are very unlikely to see an adult and they prefer to move at night. The wild Steelhead Rainbow Trout that return to our creek come in from the ocean after 2 or 3 years at sea. They lay eggs in Lompico Creek and then try to return to the ocean. These fish are in the salmonid family but do not die after spawning. The condition of the creek, especially during the Summer and Fall is critical to the survival of their young. Please be conservative with water use and do not disturb the creek or flush pollutants into the water. These remarkable fish are listed under both the State and Federal Endangered Species Acts and it is illegal to molest them in our creek. We all are the protectors of these splendid animals.
The Conservancy is all volunteer and donations from community members are
very important to us. We are a non-profit charatible organization. All donations
are tax deductable. You can contact us at 831-335-8136. Send emails to <bats3@cruzio.com>.
We have a web site at www.lompicocreek.org
The Raptors of Islandia
Before the Lompico THP was filed a “raptor survey” was conducted on the property. This survey reported the presence of every hawk and owl species that is found in Santa Cruz Mountains forest habitats. The birds discovered were Coopers and Sharp Shinned Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Saw Whet Owls, Northern Pygmy Owl, Great Horned Owls, and Western Screech Owls. These surveys are not often required for THPs by CDF or Fish and Game. CDF rules require “buffer zones” around raptor nests but this rule is poorly enforced and it is generally entirely up to the landowner and the forester. The proven presence of wildlife on their lands is usually not of interest to logging companies but it is of interest to scientists and to the public.
These birds are usually very shy and sensitive to disturbance. If you see a large stick nest in a tree near your house please try not to disturb it or make noise in the vicinity. The nesting period for these birds generally runs from March to early July but is variable. Owls often roost (sleep) in large old trees during the day. The smaller owls use holes in trees where branches have sheered of and left a void that they can use or where a woodpecker has already chipped out a cavity. This is one of the reasons that snags (dead trees) are so important to birds. If a dead tree is not likely to fall onto your house or on an area where it might injure people, please leave these dead trees in place and let them fall naturally when they finally weaken from normal deterioration. On the ground, fallen trees are also important for wildlife, soil building and erosion control. Raptors are splendid birds, beautiful and inspiring to watch. We are lucky to have so many species of these birds that live in our area.
Coopers Hawks are in the sub-family Accipiridae with the species name accipiter cooperii. Accipiters are very fast smaller hawks. Coopers Hawks hunt robin sized birds within the forest. They only occasionally take rodents or other prey. They can careen through the forest with amazing agility as they race after prey. They appear and vanish in a heartbeat. Coopers hawks will sometimes be seen soaring high in the air but are much harder to see than Buteos like Redtailed Hawks which often hunt over open country by soaring all afternoon. Male Coopers Hawks are from 14” to 16” inches long with a wingspread of 27” to 30”. Females are larger with wingspreads of up to 36”. The backs, top of the wings and the top of the heads of these birds is gray to blue-gray. Their under side and chest have a brown barred pattern. Coopers hawks, like all Accipiter hawks, have short broad wings and long tails. Coopers have a rounded end to their tail which is an easy way to distinguish them from Sharp Shinned Hawks. These hawks have a wide array of calls, especially those sounds used between breeding pairs. Some researchers have noted between 20 and 30 distinct sounds. These birds are popular with falconers. Hawks have tremendous eyesight and can see much farther and with higher resolution than humans. Imagine a Coopers hawk veering through trees and brush at high speed. They have to re-focus and image their surrounding at high rates of speed to avoid crashing into trees and being injured. They also have very acute hearing which they also use for locating prey, finding mates and defending their home ranges.
Sharp-Shinned Hawks are also in the Accipiter sub-family. These smallest of the hawks are very fast. The males are 10 to 12 inches long and have a wing span of from 20” to 23” inches. The females are 2” or 3” inches larger. This characteristic of larger size in females is true of most hawks and owls. It is called sexual-size dimorphism. Why this is the case is a matter of conjecture. Sharpies are grey on their backs and have undersides that are white with finely detailed bands and streaks. The end of their tail usually looks straight in flight rather than curved as in the Coopers Hawk. They are very lightweight, slender birds and they prey almost exclusively on small birds in forests. They zip through the forest with a speed that must be terrifying for the small birds that they hunt. Sharp Shinned Hawks fly in a fast and direct manner and are not often seen soaring overhead.
The third accipiter in California is the Northern Goshawk. This bird is rarely seen south of San Francisco Bay and is very rare and endangered. However, one was spotted attempting to take a pet cockateel in the window of a house along upper Lompico Road last year. Goshawks are the largest accipiter with females ranging from 22” to 26” in length and males being about 4” inches shorter. Their wingspan is from 44” to 47”. Goshawks are dark grey on their backs and the top of the head. Their undersides are pale with grey streak marks. They have a white bar above the eye. Goshawks are fierce powerful birds that will vigorously attack people who disturb their nests. They are more likely to eat small mammals than the other accipiters. When hunting other birds they have been known to crash into brush and branches knocking out their prey which is hiding inside. These birds are very rare and dependent on mature conifer forests for suitable habitat. Old growth forests in the North Coast, Sierras, Cascades, and Klamath and Trinity mountains are their last best refuges in California
Red-tailed Hawks
are in the sub-family Buteonina or Buteos. These are robust birds with broad
tails and round ended wings. They usually hunt by perching in open areas or
by soaring on thermals using their acute eyesight to spot prey. They hunt
small mammals like rodents, other vertebrates such as snakes and lizzards,
and even insects. The sight of a big Red-tail holding a heavy writhing snake
in its talons is impressive .Red-tailed hawks are commonly seen but have many
color variations in their plumage and are difficult to differentiate from
other large hawks. Often people mistake other large hawks for Red-tails. Generally
speaking their backs are dark brown with a pattern of bars. Their underside
varies from nearly white to brown and has a pattern of brown streaks on the
chest. Their tail is reddish brown with a narrow white tip. The underside
of their wings is often lightly colored with dark wingtips. The females are
larger than males with a length of 21” to 25” and a wingspan of
from 48” to 58” inches. These are big birds. The call of the Red-tail
is in the soundtrack of virtually every movie with a wilderness scene. Red-tails
form tight pair bonds and display together by acrobatic flying high overhead.
They sometimes spar with Golden Eagles in impressive territorial disputes.
The Red-tail is no match for the more powerful eagle but two hawks can drive
off an eagle very effectively. Smaller birds that feel threatened by a Red-tail
can harass the hawk by diving on it from above. However many a crow or grackel
has been killed by a Red-tail which flipped over in flight and grabbed the
crow with its powerful talons.
end to their tail which is an easy way to distinguish them from Sharp Shinned
Hawks. These hawks have a wide array of calls, especially those sounds used
between breeding pairs. Some researchers have noted between 20 and 30 distinct
sounds. These birds are popular with falconers. Hawks have tremendous eyesight
and can see much farther and with higher resolution than humans. Imagine a
Coopers hawk veering through trees and brush at high speed. They have to re-focus
and image their surrounding at high rates of speed to avoid crashing into
trees and being injured. They also have very acute hearing which they also
use for locating prey, finding mates and defending their home ranges.
Red-sholdered Hawks are a little smaller than Red-tails and are more common in forest areas where they nest along creeks and river bottoms. However they are Buteos and hunt in much the same way as Red-tails and for similar prey. The males are from 17” to 23” long and have a wingspan of from 33” to 44”. The females are several inches larger. These hawks are often confused for Red-tails but there are distinct differences. They are reddish brown on their backs with a ruffus (reddish) patch at the bend of the wing (sholders). Their tails are black with several narrow white bars.
Northern Harriers and other hawks, eagles, vultures, Osprey and falcons are native to our area and may be seen occasionally, but these birds require habitats different from deep forests and are not “generalists” as are Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks.
The Canyon’s Owls
Owls are in the order Stringiforms. There are several fascinating and beautiful owls living in our area. They are principally nocturnal and have very acute hearing and eyesight. Their heads are large with facial disks and large eyes facing forward. The facial disks have complex patterns of feathers which act to focus sound into their ears. In fact the entire face of an owl is designed around their hearing and the face acts like a parabolic dish amplifying sound. Their ears have adaptations which allow the bird to locate prey in three dimentional space with astonstonishing accruacy. Like all raptors, their eyesight is very acute and they have huge eyes for their size to capture the faint light after nightfall. They can hunt in almost complete darkness! The ear tufts which some owls have are not associated with hearing but are species markers.
Except for the Pigmy Owl which hunts during the day, all
owls have tiny frilled edges on their wing feathers which create micro-turbulence
and make the flight of owls silent so that their prey can not hear them comming.
They are silent steath hunters.
The Western Screech Owl is a small bird with a length of only 6.5” to 10” and a wingspan of 20” to 24”. Their head has conspicuous ears or horns and they have two color phases, a brown color and a grey color. Their feather patterns are very complex with a lighter breast. Their eyes are an intense yellow. The eat small rodents, birds, and insects. Their call is distinctive but is very hard to describe. It is more like a quavering whistle which may be repeated several times. Generally speaking owls are relatively quiet and do not call often. It takes time to hear them. They usually nest in the hollows of trees which is why older forests are so important to them. When owls feed their young they do not usually tear up the food like hawks and other raptors do. Owls swallow animals whole and regurgitate a pellet of feathers and bones.
The Northern Pigmy Owl is the smallest owl species in North America. It is a beautiful little bird. They are from 6.5” to 7.5” long and have a wingspan of between 14” and 15” inches. They have no “horns” or ears, are slate gray to brown on their backs and have whitish undersides which are striped and spotted. They nest in abandoned woodpecker holes or natural cavities. This owl often hunts by daylight and preys on small birds, rodents, insects and other small prey. Unlike other owls, the Pigmy Owl’s flight is not silent and the bird does not have frilled feather linings intended to quite wing beats which other owls use for stealth. Like all owls the Pigmy’s flight is direct and without any soaring or display. Their call is soft and musical. One common call is several notes at an even pitch, a pause and then last note.
The Northern Saw-whet Owl is also very small with a length of 7 to 8.5” and a wingspread of 18” to 22” inches. It has no ear tufts, is dark brown on its back and has a complex and beautiful pattern of stripes against a white background on its underside. This owl prefers conifer forests and nests in cavities. It has several calls, one of which sounds like the filing of a saw with a few similar notes in sequence. It also makes a whistle and other sounds. The Saw-whet’s flight is silent. It generally hunts at night and prefers mice and other small rodents, bats, and ocassionally small birds.
The Great Horned Owl is a large widespread bird that makes the characteristic call that people associate with owls, the hoo-ho-hoo sound. This owl makes many sounds including barks, screams, and other quieter sounds. Great Horned Owls are from 18” to 25” inches long with a wingspread of between 48” and 58”. It has large ear tufts which give it its name but these “horns” have nothing to do with hearing. They are feathers for display. This powerful bird eats a variety of prey and sometimes takes on surprizingly large animals. This owl is fearless and powerful. If you ever encounter one that has been injured by a collision with a car, or other accident and is on the ground, be very carefull. Handling this bird is like picking up an eagle. Cover it with a cloth before trying to lift it with its wings folded up against its body. Sadly owls are often injured in collisions with cars because they take their prey from the ground and when flying away may not be able to get high enough to avoid being struck by a fast moving vehicle.
The Lompico Creek Headwaters THP (1-01-170 SCR) is in its 41st extension of a director’s decision to September 1, 2003. This logging plan closed public comment on September 20, 2001 after the largest attendance at a Timber Harvest Plan (THP) public hearing ever seen in Santa Cruz County and the biggest pile of letters opposing the plan that the Santa Rosa Regional Office of the California Department of Forestry has ever had to deal with for a single THP. It appears that CDF will make their move on this THP whenever they decide that it will be in the landowner’s interest. There is no other practical reason for the continuing delays. This has been clear for some time.
It is important to understand that CDF is a near perfect example of a regulatory agency which has a mutually cooperative relationship with the industry that it has the responsibility to regulate. This is obviously not the ideal way to protect the public interest, but it is a long-term structural problem. A recent court order in Northern California, which found that flawed information was used in preparation of the Pacific Lumber Sustained Yield Plan (SYP), is an example of how such a relationship can produce tainted results. This SYP was part of the 1999 “Headwaters” deal. The following edited press report from the Eureka Times Standard is a perfect example of how this problem is revealed.
Late Tuesday afternoon July 22nd, Judge John Golden issued his statement of decision, in which he writes that the state erred in drafting the company’s logging guidelines, and that they must be rewritten.
The Environmental Protection Information Center and the United Steelworkers of America brought the twin suits four years ago. Golden ruled in the groups’ favor on all counts.
Golden found that CDF’s director at the time, Richard Wilson, didn’t follow state forest rules when he approved PL’s (Pacific Lumber) Sustained Yield Plan, which guides PL’s timber harvest over 100 years.
He also ruled that the state Department of Fish and Game abused its discretion when it issued a so-called Incidental Take Permit, and a Streambed Alteration Agreement.
‘The decisions challenged in this proceeding are so extensively flawed that it cannot be determined that there is any part of the project which they are intended to support which can be severed from the remainder in order to allow the severed part to proceed while the remainder is remediated,’ Golden wrote.
Individual plans based on the permits may harm fish, wildlife and long-term timber production, he wrote. The Sustained Yield Plan was agreed to as part of the 1999 Headwaters Forest agreement. The state and federal government paid PL $480 million for the 7,400-acre Headwaters Forest and two other groves, and PL agreed to stricter logging rules. EPIC did not challenge the federal Habitat Conservation Plan, which remains valid.
“He’s basically said that because the violations are so inherent and so flagrant that all the permits are so fundamentally flawed that they must be thrown out and the entire process begun anew,” said Cynthia Elkins of EPIC.”
In another court case brought by the Campaign for the Jackson State Forest, the state’s largest “demonstration” forest which is on the Mendocino Coast, Vince Foster wrote a press release. The following is an excerpt. 2
“Judge Henderson found very significant deficiencies in the treatment of both the regional setting of Jackson State Forest and analysis of cumulative impacts. Correcting these deficiencies will be a major task and will not be quickly done.
The implications of the decision are far broader and profound than the requirements to correct the deficiencies in the EIR. Judge Henderson strongly condemned CDF for its complete disregard of the clear legislative directives requiring consideration of the regional setting and cumulative impacts. He said that CDF failed to prepare an EIR that complies with the minimal statutory requirements and CDF ignored the relatively clear guidelines and conducted a deficient environmental review.
Taken as a whole, Judge Henderson’s decision amounts to a strong indictment of CDF’s disregard for the public, the environment, and the law. The state administration and legislature cannot ignore this criticism, which comes not from an environmental organization, but from a judge who has demonstrated a strong concern for the well-being of the timber industry.
CDF is charged with enforcing the environmental laws designed to protect the state’s forest resources. Its failure to perform an even minimally adequate environmental review of its own timber operations is scandalous. It raises fundamental questions about CDF’s ability and desire to enforce forestry environmental laws, as well as its fitness to manage the state forests.”
Both of these cases are
indicative of the arrogance of CDF when it comes to addressing the concerns
of the public regarding environmental harm. In both cases, it was only through
the persistent efforts of citizen activists, working through the courts, that
the public interest was given equal consideration.
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The Lompico THP sums up nearly every type of hazard and conflict with the
public interest that can be associated with private land logging. In the broad
sense, this is why CDF is continuing to delay ruling on the THP. It is also
why the land subject to the logging plan sold for so little back in 1995.
This land is known locally as “Islandia”. A house built in the
1930s, stood on it until it was burned and finally demolished around 1998.
Islandia was largely clear-cut before the end of the 19th century but there
are still old growth redwoods on the property, and the forests are again tall
and protecting a very steep, sandy set of headwaters gorges, the source of
the creek.
The community of Lompico
depends heavily on the creek for drinking water. The terrain of the creek’s
headwaters is highly erosive, unstable, and supports rare wildlife. To refer
to the beauty of a place is sometimes regarded as quaint or unimportant in
the broad scheme of what we consider practical or commercially expedient.
However Islandia is indeed beautiful. It is so steep and complex that it can
only be accessed for logging by helicopters. It is not appropriate as a tree
farm and belongs in protected status.
The Conservancy formed in 1997 and promptly contacted the landowner to inform
him of our interest in purchasing the land. Over time, two appraisals were
commissioned, but the results of these appraisals apparently did not satisfy
the landowner’s interests. Neither the Conservancy, the Lompico County
Water District, or another large land trust were able to arrange a purchase.
County Supervisor Jeff Almquist attempted to assist in negotiations, but the
landowner demanded a price which was so high as to make a purchase impossible.
We are still quite willing to arrange a sale and would obviously prefer to
work to pay Redwood Empire for Islandia rather than continue an endless dispute
over a logging operation
We have to assume that
the CDF Santa Rosa Regional Office will make a decision on the Lompico THP
within the next weeks or months. There are a few other THPs in California
which have been stalled since 2000, so nothing is certain. If CDF approves
the Lompico THP, Santa Cruz County will request an appeal hearing
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before the Board of Forestry. The County appeal will be an important opportunity for citizens to again voice their objections to this logging plan. When this happens the Conservancy will notify all its supporters of the appeal and explain how to help.
Lompico Creek Restoration
The California Department of Fish and Game approved a grant to the Conservancy to improve steelhead fish migration passage through the Old Lompico Pool area. The permits for this project, which have all been filed, are so complex and numerous (there are at least 7, County, State, and Federal), that it very difficulty for us to tell what has become of them, especially the federal permits. It is becoming unlikely that the work can start in time to be finished before October 15th. We will probably have to delay this project until next summer. Before this job starts we will contact the community to ask for volunteer help. This will be an interesting opportunity for people to learn about stream function, fish habitat, and restoration.
Steelhead successfully spawned in Lompico Creek last winter and spring. There are many small young fish in the Creek. Please be conservative with water usage this summer. It is important that everyone on the Central Coast understands the link between water usage and stream conditions. Late summer and fall are the most difficult times for juvenile fish survival, and water flows and water quality are critical. Last summer, during a drought year, many older juvenile fish died before they had a chance to migrate to the ocean. We are responsible for the survival of wildlife in our beautiful canyon.
Central Coast Water Quality Control Board
The Conservancy has been
working with the Sierra Club and Citizens for Responsible Forest Management
to send a proposal to our Regional Water Quality Control Board for improvement
in the way that the Regional Board deals with the control of soil pollution
into our streams from commercial logging operations. Until
January of this year, the Regional Boards across all of California granted
a categorical, industry wide waiver of the requirement to report waste discharges
from all timber operations. Absurdly, the State had left the control of pollution
from logging operations to CDF, with predictable results.
Our Central Coast Regional Board was the only one to not re-establish similar “blanket” waivers this year. At present, logging plans in the Santa Cruz Mountains must apply for individual waivers. The Conservancy and its partners agree that the industry should be required to file for waste discharge permits just as other industries are expected to do. This is very complex, but it has bearing on the situation in Lompico, because our Regional Board’s staff issued a non-concurrence on the Lompico THP. This non-concurrence may be a reason for the reluctance of CDF to approve the Lompico THP.
Agriculture has a waiver similar to the one which was issued to logging plans. For agriculture, this means that, for instance, a farm can flood irrigate a field and then return the used, chemical and fertilizer contaminated water back into the river which was its source, without a requirement to test the water for contamination levels, and report this to water quality agencies. Obviously is would be preferable for the agencies themselves to test the water. If you have ever noticed the radical decline in water quality in the Sacramento River between Redding and Sacramento, now you have some idea how it happens.
The Conservancy works with other organizations to address problems. The dispute over the Lompico THP is a unique situation, because Islandia and its relationship to Lompico are unique. No one intends to stop agriculture any more than we expect to end logging. What we are working toward is a more effective and equitable sharing of responsibilities and costs, and a world where “sustainability” is not just a public relations buzzword. Clean water should not be a commodity to be abused. Everyone who lives in Lompico or the Santa Cruz Mountains can understand that we are all responsible for the condition of our streams and the wildlife which depend on them.
Water Quality and Stream Conditions
The health of Lompico Creek and all the Streams of the San Lorenzo Valley is of primary concern to the Lompico Watershed Conservancy. The health of a stream can be defined in several ways. Water quality is the most broad consideration. The State of California describes this as the level of water pollution and water temperature. The list of pollutants which affect our streams is very long but they can be reduced to:
• sediments from soil erosion,
• nitrates and pathogens from human and animal wastes and fertilizers,
• oil, paints, and various chemicals from, vehicles, households, agricultural and industrial sources
• excess algae growth from nitrates, fertilizers, excess sunlight hitting the stream, high temperatures and stagnant water
All of these forms of pollution make water unhealthy for us to drink. In Lompico the majority of the water we drink comes from Lompico Creek. San Lorenzo Valley Water uses a more diverse but similar source of water including wells. The Lompico County Water District has some wells that they use when the stream is too polluted with sediment to process during and after rain storms, and when stream flow becomes inadequate in late summer. Well water can also be polluted with excess minerals and polluted infiltration from surface water. This is a condition which is monitored by water purveyors, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, and EPA.
Water Quality and Wildlife
Problems with water quality which make water dangerous for human use are much the same as those that are problems for aquatic life. Salmonids (salmon and steelhead trout) are very vulnerable to chemical pollution, sedimentation, high temperatures, some types of algae growth, and low levels of dissolved oxygen Oxygenation is part of water treatment for human use.
Stream temperatures that are to high for the health of salmon and steelhead are often treated as a type of “pollution”. Stream temperature is adversely affected by the removal of tree canopy from logging and development, and the diversion (or pumping) of water from streams for human uses. The diversion of water in the San Lorenzo Watershed is a major negative impact to stream health. In the late summer and fall this impact can cause fish kills and make fish more vulnerable to attack from predators such as birds (kingfishers and mergansers), and raccoons and other mammals. Wildlife predation is a natural process but human alteration of the environment often disrupts the balance between predator and prey. Steelhead can hide in deep pools, and under woody debris and other structure in streams. Low stream flow makes it difficult for steelhead to escape predators. Pools that are filled with sediment from excess erosion, provide nowhere for juvenile and adult fish to hide. Stream flow can fall so low that fish cannot swim up or down stream to escape attack. In small streams like Lompico Creek pools can become “disconnected” in the fall even without water diversion.
When stream flows drop
and water temperature rises, the level of dissolved oxygen falls. Steelhead
and salmon need highly oxygenated cold clean water to survive. Steelhead can
handle warmer water if enough food is available but August, September and
October are when aquatic insects, the food of juvenile fish become more scarce.
Juvenile fish sometimes starve or weaken and die from predation before they
can make it through the season and migrate down river to the ocean where they
grow to adulthood. Steelhead are “sea run” rainbow trout. They
were the most famous sport fish on the west coast before their rapid population
decline began. Coho, or silver salmon are the salmon species that are native
to the streams of the Monterrey Bay region. They were extirpated (driven locally
extinct) from the San Lorenzo Basin by about 1986. Both of these fish are
strikingly beautiful animals revered by native Americans from California to
Alaska. Anyone who has had the luck to watch them jumping waterfalls during
their upstream migration to spawn will never forget the sight.
Stream Conditions and Habitat, What Can We Do?
All the new is not bad. The numbers of steelhead which biologists find in the river appears to be holding steady for the last few years. They are quite low from a historical perspective but we are learning to take better care of our streams and steelhead may be benefiting from this. One of the most important changes which we can make, is to stop pulling logs and other large pieces of wood debris out of streams like Lompico and Zayante Creeks. This Large Woody Debris, as scientists call it, is one of the most important components of good habitat. This cannot be over emphasized.
But it is now widely understood
to be a critical habitat factor. A conference was held in Ukiah this winter
called “Large Woody Debris in Coastal Streams”. There were a lot
of people at this conference and even the logging industry and CDF do not
dispute the need for large wood objects like redwood logs in our streams.
Now it is important for the general public and road maintenance crews to get
the message.
During high water events in the winter the presence of large logs and root
balls which are wedged into the stream channel is the single most important
factor in creating deep pools for juvenile fish to live. It is a complex process,
but to put it in simple terms, these large wood objects create turbulence
in the stream which scours out deep pools and keeps the pools working in spite
of sediment loads. This does not mean that sediment from watershed disturbances
like logging is not a problem. What it means is that without these large objects
in the creeks, the number of and depth of pools in a creek will fall dangerously
low. This process even creates the gravel spawning beds at the edge of pools!
It has taken biologists and fluvial geomorphologists a long time to realize
this.
When log jams form which threaten a section of road or a house which may be too close to a stream, the log jam can be pulled apart, but the wood should be left in the stream. The wood will move down stream and lodge or settle out somewhere else.
There are long stretches of our creeks which have no fish habitat because there are not enough large woody objects in the stream. Old logs eventually get washed out to sea or rot away so there needs to be a continual replacement. Many of the logs imbedded in Lompico Creek are there from the clear cut at the turn of the last century. New logs have to replace them for the creek to support fish. One of the reasons that logging companies are not supposed to log heavily near streams is because the trees which grow along streams will eventually die and fall into the creek thus becoming habitat for fish. If the trees are all cut and hauled away, then no habitat.
Sediment from soil erosion is still a big problem for many different reasons. It clogs water treatment facilities for people. It fills pools, buries the nests of fish and suffocates the eggs before they can hatch. To much sediment, and aquatic insects die or have no place to grow. Juvenile salmon and steelhead feed by sight and cannot feed when our creeks are brown with mud. Course sand sediment during flash floods even cuts their gills. How do they survive? It’s amazing.
We can bring our creeks
back to heath again. We can protect our drinking water. We can leave a world
our children will want to live in. We know how to do it. No one is going to
do this for us. It is our responsibility to work together to see that our
resources are protected. Only through citizen action is this possible.
Lompico
Watershed Conservancy
March 2002 Newsletter
Hello
neighbors,
The Timber Harvest
Plan (THP 1-01-170 SCR), which closed public comment on September 20, 2001,
is still on hold at the California Dept. of Forestry, Santa Rosa office of
Forest Practice. After six extensions, CDF now states that they will make
a decision on the THP by March 28th. From the experience of recent similarly
disputed THPs, we do not think that CDF staff can approve the THP, but there
are no guarantees and the landowner or forester can appeal a rejection to
the Board of Forestry. It is remarkable that we have been able to hold up
approval of this plan. It is rare for this to happen. Most years, virtually
every THP which gets through first review is approved.
There are several reasons that the Lompico Creek Headwaters THP has been held up. First, the people of this community spoke up in large numbers, voicing their opposition to the THP. CDF received nearly 200 letters (by their count) commenting on this plan. These letters make a file about 5 inches thick. The public hearing for the THP had the largest attendance of any such event in Santa Cruz County since the formation of the Forest Practice Act in 1974! Also, many people showed up for the Pre-Harvest Inspections at the CDF office in Felton. This made it clear to the State and Federal agencies involved that local citizens expected a rigorous examination of the environmental impact of this proposed logging operation. Four of these agencies wrote comments on the plan which requested or required changes to the THP. The Region 3 Water Quality Control Board (SWQCB) subsequently wrote a letter of non-concurrence on the plan after the forester refused to include a water quality monitoring plan for the THP. Santa Cruz County and the Lompico Water District also objected, The most influential comments came from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) which wrote a letter to CDF recommending significant changes to the logging plan. These changes required much wider stream side buffer zones, and these zones are absolutely no-cut buffers instead of the limited-cutting stream side buffers (or WLPZ) that are allowed by the Forest Practice Rules (the rules the CDF uses). The forester has refused to incorporate the NMFS recommendations. NMFS is a federal agency and the staff of state agencies do not have the authority to defy federal recommendations.
Roger Burch, who owns Islandia, has previously indicated his willingness to consider an offer for the sale of the property to the Lompico County Water District. Representatives of the Water District, the Lompico Watershed Conservancy and County Supervisor Jeff Almquist met with the landowner in August 2001 to discuss a sale. The Water District engaged an appraiser acceptable to the property owner to assess the fair market value of the land. This appraisal is now in the hands of the Water District. A purchase offer must be made to the landowner. Only then can we tell if a purchase is possible.
The Lompico Water District, which diverts water from Lompico Creek, surveyed its customers by mail to assess their willingness to help cover some of the costs of purchasing Islandia. This survey was conducted at the suggestion of Supervisor Jeff Almquist. All of you who receive water bills were mailed this survey. The response to this survey was very positive. One third of the 500 customers returned the survey and of those, 85% indicated their willingness to help pay part of the cost of acquiring Islandia through an increase in their water bills. The Water District has been under a State ordered moratorium preventing the release of any new water meters continuously since 1988 due to a lack of supply, and has been under previously instituted moratoriums going back to 1974. Nonetheless, the District periodically experiences water shortages due to lack of rainfall and increased demand from "second unit" expansion of existing dwellings.
Background Information
Lompico Creek, has been listed as impaired for sediment under the Clean Water Act 303(d) process for years and is one of the first watersheds in the Monterey Bay region so listed. The entire San Lorenzo River, its tributaries and lagoon were recently added to the list of impaired waterways by the Region 3 Board of the State Water Quality Control Board (SWQCB). It is the responsibility of the forester and CDF not to allow actions that further reduce the water quality in our streams. This legal responsibility is often ignored in practice by those responsible, but in the case of Lompico Creek this became an issue. Despite the fact that the THP involved helicopter yarding (moving the fallen logs to trucks by helicopter), Water Quality knew that, because of the extreme erosion hazard of area soils, reductions in water quality were likely from a logging operation. The soils in Islandia and nearly all of Lompico Canyon are cohesionless, which means that the soil grains have no tendency to stick together. This is a characteristic of sands and other types of sandy mineral soil. On top of this, much of our Canyon has very steep terrain, especially the proposed logging area, Islandia. Helicopters were proposed for the THP because it is impossible to build a road and skid trail network necessary to haul out the logs.
The National Marine Fisheries Service wrote their letter recommending significant changes to the THP pursuant to a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the listed salmonids (or fish in the salmon family), which are known to spawn in Lompico Creek. Coho Salmon have not been found in the San Lorenzo River since about 1982. This means that they have been extirpated, or driven into extinction, in the San Lorenzo. Ironically, these salmon have not even been listed as endangered (only threatened) under the Endangered Species Acts of the United States and the State of California. A few Coho are thought to still be returning to a couple of smaller streams between here and San Francisco Bay such as Scott Creek. However, Coho are disappearing rapidly across the entire Pacific Northwest south of British Columbia. Coho require clean cold water and fewer obstructions to their spawning migrations up stream such as old dams and other man made constructions in creeks. The low water years during the 1986 to 1993 drought may have been the final "straw" for San Lorenzo River Coho. Some biologists believe that the water flow was so low in the river, especially after the diversion of water by the City of Santa Cruz and others, that Coho could not get up the river to spawn.
Fortunately Steelhead Rainbow Trout are still spawning in the San Lorenzo River System and Lompico Creek, though their numbers are perilously low. Redwood Empire asked the State Dept. of Fish and Game to survey for Steelhead in Lompico Creek before they filed their THP, perhaps hoping to show that Steelhead were not present in the part of the creek near the logging operation. This move backfired because Fish and Game found Steelhead throughout the creek. When the THP was filed, it became a responsibility of the National Marine Fisheries Service to evaluate the effect of the proposed logging operation on marine animals listed under the Endangered Species Act . NMFS is responsible for Salmon and Steelhead because these fish spend much of their lives in the ocean. NMFS staff only have the time to attend a few Pre-Harvest Inspections in Northern California so we were fortunate that they decided to look into the Lompico THP. NMFS has been pressing CDF to improve the Forest Practice Rules so that salmonids are not harmed by logging but CDF has not made necessary reforms. The result has been that NMFS has started to oversee private land logging in California in order to prevent the extinction of our fish. When the forester (RPF) refused to implement the recommendations from NMFS staff, CDF staff were legally prohibited from approving the plan. That is where things stand now.
Other THPs have received recommendation letters from NMFS that are similar to the letter written in response to the Lompico THP. A THP in the Gualala River watershed (north of the Russian River) was rejected by CDF staff after NMFS formally objected to the plan. The Gualala River Watershed has been demolished by constant logging. California citizens groups have previously appealed to the Board of Forestry to halt logging in the watershed until it has time to heal. The Board of Forestry dismissed this appeal in customary fashion. The Board of Forestry is the governing body which oversees CDF. and is appointed by the Governor. Gualala Redwoods Co. appealed the rejection of their THP (because of a NMFS recommendations letter), but were not successful. The Board of Forestry voted to reject the appeal so that the THP died. It was a very close vote and the Board of Forestry may have been influenced by their fear of a lawsuit with a federal agency. This vote took place in early February. How this decision will affect us in Lompico is hard to tell.
The drainage of Lompico Creek, particularly the headwaters area which contains the Burch property, Islandia, is very steep, deeply incised and erosive terrain. The soils are sandy and prone to rain impact, sheet erosion, riling, and high stream flow induced erosion. There are many landslide systems which have their toes in the water courses, making the watershed prone to slope failures during high water events. Rainfall intensities are high in the coast ranges from this area northward. The Conservancy commissioned a geological report by a Ph.D. engineering geologist. This report, which used stereoscopic photographic analysis, pointed out that information in the THP document "systematically and significantly understated the area actually underlain by landslides." This geologist shared information with David Hope who attended the Pre-Harvest Inspections (PHI), representing the nearby residents. Mr. Hope video taped the THP area during the PHI. David Hope is an RPF and employee of the SWQCB, North Coast. Mr. Hope also worked for many years evaluating THPs for Santa Cruz County. A Ph.D. hydrologist wrote a letter for the nearby landowners quoting studies he conducted after the winter of '82-'83 which estimated that inner gorge debris slides in the watershed contributed sediment into Lompico Creek at about 11,000 tons per square mile. This respected scientist has also estimated the long-term average sediment yield in the upper Zayante Creek basin (an area including Lompico Canyon) to be about 3,000 tons per square mile. The scientific data that has been placed in the public record for the Islandia THP has been very important in convincing agency people that the THP is ill advised. This information refutes the disclaimer-like statements in the THP document which maintain that the timber harvest will have no significant environmental impact. Nearly all THPs include similarly absurd statements.
One of the interesting documents which appeared in the THP was a survey of raptors or hunting birds that occupy the logging area. This survey made about 75 sightings of eight species of hawks and owls, yet failed to note the location of a single nest even though the survey took place during the nesting period for most of these birds. This is a good example of the evasive nature of the THP document.
The Water District has been engaged with the Conservancy since 1998 when the landowner was considering donating Islandia to the District. This process failed. The Conservancy was formed in 1997 and has worked for the protection of the Islandia headwaters land as its most important task while at the same time pursuing other restoration work for Lompico Creek. After two previous attempts to interest the California Dept. of Fish and Game in assisting us in doing barrier removal, and watershed analysis on Lompico Creek, the Dept. is now involved in stream restoration with the Conservancy. The Conservancy was influential in convincing the Sempervirens Fund to attempt a purchase of the Islandia property in 2000. Sempervirens withdrew when another purchase drained their cash reserves, but they remain interested in the protection of this land. The Conservancy has made many contacts with State officials, other land trusts, and charitable foundations in an attempt to prepare for the opportunity of funding the acquisition of Islandia. If the landowner is willing to sign a sale agreement, the Conservancy and the Water District will work hard to find the remainder of the funding that will be necessary to complete a purchase of this beautiful series of headwaters canyons, Islandia. The structure and the costs of writing and enforcing a conservation easement are well understood by the board of the Conservancy , which has the legal council to perform these tasks. Because Islandia has been undisturbed for approximately 100 years, its forests are restored and wildlife is abundant. These features give the land added value from a conservation prospective. These attributes will be lost after a timber harvest takes place. If the current landowner conducts a logging operation on the property, it will become virtually impossible to ever again interest private donors in its protection, and repeated logging operations will produce a continuing soil erosion cycle.
Past experience in Lompico Canyon has demonstrated that area soils are remarkably erosive. This area, because of its steepness, high rainfall and poorly consolidated soils, is considered by geologists to be among the most erosive terrains in the world. Lompico Creek is an essential drinking water source and supports ESA listed species. The protection of Islandia has broad support from Lompico and both State and Federal agencies have expressed their concern for the potential negative impacts of timber harvesting on the beneficial uses of water in Lompico Canyon. Placing this land in protected status is the solution to these negative impacts. The present attempt to buy this land probably represents the last chance to accomplish this goal.
Coniferous Trees of the Santa Cruz Mountains
The forests of Santa Cruz Mountains have a unique group of conifers or cone bearing trees which give the area's forests a dramatic grandeur. This mountain range contains the southernmost large stretches of forest dominated by Redwoods or Sequoia Sempervirens. The northern coastal canyons of the Big Sur Mountains are dominated by Redwoods but in Big Sur, Redwoods can only grow down inside the cool creek canyons which descend to the Pacific Ocean. Here in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Redwoods grow in nearly all of the watersheds. The largest trees are found near water courses and in cool areas on the northern facing mountain sides.
Redwoods are remnants of an very old family of tree species. There are only three species in the Sequoia genus which have survived the ages, Coast Redwood or Sequoia Sempervirens, the Giant Sequoia of the western side of the Sierra Nevada Range, and a beautiful smaller tree from China called the Dawn Redwood. Redwoods were once much more widespread across the face of the earth and were munched on by dinosaurs during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. During this time the earth's forests were dominated by coniferous trees and ferns. Redwoods predate the appearance of flowering plants by millions of years. The Redwood forests of Coastal California and the isolated Sequoia stands in the Sierra Nevada are thought to be the last small remnants of this family of trees that have survived the ages and grow in areas where the weather mimics the conditions in which they evolved millions of years ago.
Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world. The tallest recorded tree is about 360 feet high and grows along Redwood Creek near the town of Orick. This is an astonishing height for a tree when you consider that the average height of the large second growth trees we are familiar with is about 150 feet. The Sequoias are more massive but do not get as tall probably because their wood is structurally weak and the crowns of the trees are broken off by wind and lightning strikes. Redwoods live for over 2000 years under the right conditions and are virtually never killed by disease (or fire when they are big), but eventually fall over in windstorms, or are undermined by flood erosion or landslides. There is only a small remnant of the original old growth forest that once spread across the Santa Cruz Mountains. Nearly all of the remaining old growth is protected in parks, but isolated small groups of ancient trees are scattered about our mountains and these few old trees are vital to the survival of many bird and bat species. There are stands of old growth in Islandia which were left behind by the loggers because they were to hard to get at or would have shattered when they fell and so were not of interest to the loggers.
About 3 to 4 percent of the original giant redwood in California still exists. Giant old trees are very valuable because the wood is of much higher quality than the wood of young trees. The qualities that made Redwood a highly prized lumber tree are not present in second growth wood. Young trees (less that one hundred years old) do not have wood that is as rot and insect resistant or as beautiful as do old trees. The new composite materials manufactured for decking, siding, and fences are a better choice for homeowners in terms of durability and long term economy than the Redwood lumber that is available today. Old growth redwood lumber is scarce, vary expensive and too important for conservation to use in our homes at this point in history. We should all refuse to buy it.
The second most common conifer in our mountains is the Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menzieii). It is also the second tallest after redwoods. This tree species is highly adaptable and the most widely distributed conifer in the American West. Douglas Fir grows from Mexico to Canada and from California to the Rocky Mountains. In our area, people are often surprised to learn that Douglas Fir can live for nearly a thousand years and reach giant sizes. The soils in the Santa Cruz Mountains usually are so sandy and cohesionless that Douglas firs are sometimes blown down in high winds. Their root systems are not as well balanced as redwoods. Unlike redwoods, Douglas Firs send out tap roots in search of deep moisture. This strategy works very well in mountains built from hard rock, but here, the circular shallow network of roots that Redwoods produce allow redwoods to stand up to high winds more successfully. Nonetheless, Douglas Firs reach giant sizes here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Trees eight feet in diameter can still be found and are just as important as old Redwoods to wildlife species such as marbled muralettes, rare bats, and owls. There is an Oregon specimen that is 329 ft tall and 11.5 ft. in diameter. Mycorrhizal fungi form a mutualistic relationship with Douglas Fir. The fungi and the roots of the tree grow together into a combined system with the tree's roots providing sugars and vitamins to the fungi and the fungi amplifying the ability of the tree's root system to absorb water and nutrients. There is actually more diversity of species below the ground, in the form of fungi, bacteria and invertebrates, than there is above ground. This is why the Santa Cruz Mountains are famous for their diversity of mushrooms which are the fruiting body of the mycelia, the underground system of filaments which is the bulk of the mass of a fungal organism. The Douglas Fir is the most important lumber tree in the west because of its strength and wide distribution, but we should avoid buying wood from old trees. It is easy to tell if lumber is from old growth trees. Look at the end of a piece of lumber. If the grain or growth rings are very close together, like the pages of a book, then the wood came from an old tree. Trees grow more slowly as they get older and their growth rings are more narrow.
There is another fir species that occurs here in limited numbers. It is called Grand Fir (Abies grandis). This tree is usually mistaken for Douglas Fir. Grand Firs grow to 200 ft. in height and seldom are found at elevations over 2000 ft. The trees are easiest to identify when young because young trees have thin, smooth, blistered bark that is grayish brown and chalky in patches. Our area is their southernmost range of this tree which grows in coastal forests, often near streams.
Ponderosa Pine, our tallest local pine, (Pinus ponderosa) grows in sandy mineral soils such as are found along the crest of Graham Hill Rd. and on the ridge above Quail Hollow. Much of our ponderosa habitat has been lost to sand quarries because the tree prefers the type of soil that is mined in the numerous quarries in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Lucia Range of southern Big Sur are the only Pacific coastal area where these beautiful pines are found. Ponderosa are wide spread in the west from California to British Columbia and east to the Rockies. Ponderosa grow tall and straight, sometime to huge sizes. There is a Ponderosa along the North Fork of the Kings River in the Southern Sierra that is ten feet in diameter. Our Ponderosas can reach several hundred years of age and are very important trees for wildlife because of the food and habitat that they provide. Old growth Ponderosa can be easily observed in Quail Hollow Park where several huge trees stand along the main trail. In the spring this is a great place to bird watch because the forest is more open and birds are easily spotted. Wood peckers use the deep bark to store acorns. The birds cut a small cavity into the bark and then hammer an acorn into place.
Knobcone Pine (Pinus attenuata) is a relatively short lived tree (usually less than 100 years) which grows on sun struck ridges in mineral or sandy soil. It is remarkably drought resistant and can grow in very poor soil which makes it the dominant tree on many high sandy ridges. It sometimes is found among equally drought resistant oaks, but is most likely to be surrounded by chaparral. It's life cycle is tied to fire because many of its cones will never open to disperse their seeds until charred by fire. Nonetheless it can reproduce itself without fire and because it can grow in the most inhospitable sites, it is relatively wide spread in California. This is one tough tree. It seldom grows higher than 80 feet. Because it does not have to compete for light with other taller trees, this is tall enough, and even so it is often blown over in high winds which are very fierce when they blow across mountain ridges during Pacific storms.
Monterey Pine and Monterey Cypress are both conifers which grow in the Santa Cruz Mountain region but these trees prefer areas close to the ocean and therefore are not found in the mountains unless they were planted there by gardeners.
We expect CDF to make a decision on the Lompico THP by the end of March. But there have been so many previous delays that it is hard to tell.The Santa Rosa Northern Region Office should be reminded that the community of Lompico is still strongly opposed to the logging plan. This THP closed public comment on September 20, 2001.
A brief letter reminding CDF of your opposition and pointing out that you expect public agencies to act in the public interest would be useful. We need to remind them that we have not forgotten about this threat to the community interest.
The Conservancy and the Water District are still trying to arrange a purchase of this land as an alternative to logging. No one wishes to deny the landowner a return on his investment. We are offering an alternative which will protect the overriding public interest of the community. Roger Burch purchased this land as a speculative investment for a low price before the Conservancy was formed and before the Water District was prepared to purchase it.
Sample Letter
The Date
CDF-Forest Practice Program
Mr. William Snyder
Deputy Chief, Forest Practice
Northern Region Headquarters
135 Ridgway Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Subject: THP # 1-01-170 SCR, the Lompico THP
I submitted a comment letter on this THP. My opposition to the plan has not diminished and my reasons for opposing it have not changed. I expect a public agency such as CDF to act in the public interest. This is a large industrial landowner with good alternatives to the plan he submitted. The recomendations of NMFS and Water Quality must be honored. The THP should not be approved.
Your name and signature
Your address
Please renew your membership in the Lompico Watershed Conservancy. Donations are tax deductible. Our mailing address is
LWC
P.O. Box 99
Felton, CA 95018
We are grateful for the consistent support we have received from the community. We would not have gotten this far without it.
We accept donations of any size but ask for a minimum of $15. WE have received a number of gifts from members of the community for $100. These gifts are particularly helpful
Those who make donations can be assured that your gifts are used wisely. With your help we have been able to submit reports from respected scientists which have had a important impact on the course of the effort to protect this land. The costs of insurance, the support of the web site and other expenses are on-going and must be paid.
We hope to begin a new effort to do restoration and fisheries enhancement work on Lompico Creek this summer. When this begins, we will seek volunteer help from the community.
You can contact us by
phone or fax at (831) 335-8136
or through the web site at
www.lompicocreek.org/
The circumstances surrounding the efforts of the Conservancy to protect the Lompico Creek headwaters land known as Islandia have entered a critical stage. The land owner, Roger Burch of Redwood Empire, has begun the preparation of a Timber Harvest Plan (THP). His contractors are surveying, flagging the creeks and paint marking trees for falling. At the same time he is talking to the Lompico County Water District in an attempt to persuade them to cooperate with his logging plans. It appears unlikely that the Water District will be of assistance to Burch in the approval process for a THP should he file one. There are also discussions concerning the possible sale of the property. The Conservancy and the Water District recently cooperated in the preparation of a grant request to the State Water Resources Control Board for Proposition 13 funding. Other ongoing fundraising efforts are continuing. However, without a "willing seller agreement" with Roger Burch, it is difficult to convince large funding sources to cooperate. Santa Cruz County records indicate that five years ago Burch paid $370,000 for the 425 acre Islandia property. He is demanding many times that amount to consider a sale. Burch appears to have unrealistic ideas as to the cash value of Islandia, and State and foundation sources are not willing to pay more than legally appraised value. Fortunately we have received help from Assemblyman Fred Keeley who is a major asset to this area. The Conservancy will persist in its efforts and stubborn persistence can be very effective.
The importance of the Islandia headwaters land to the community of Lompico cannot be over estimated. It is the highest elevation large area in the Canyon and as such, collects and stores more water than any other part of the Canyon's terrain. The ability of this land to store water in its soil mantel and deeper aquifers is why the Creek never dries up. Islandia is underlain with sandstone which is an excellent water storage rock. It acts like a sponge, unlike granite and other metamorphic rock which is largely incapable of absorbing and releasing water except from gravel-filled strata. The Creek becomes a continuously flowing fish bearing stream with less drainage area than many other San Lorenzo River tributaries. The forests of Islandia shadow and cool the Creek, protecting it from sunlight and soil erosion. During intense rain storms, the tall forests break the force of the falling rain, protecting the surface of the land from impact erosion. The forests also slow the progress of the rain in reaching the ground and allow the ground to absorb more water, water which would otherwise run off into the Creek in violent high-water events. In other words, the forests help the land to absorb water, thus helping the Creek to continue flowing all year. It is in August and September when we are most dependent on our healthy watershed. Without this beautiful maturing forest cover, the Creek looses it's ability to support the animals and native redwood-dependent plant communities that many of us enjoy as the most important reason we live in this wonderful Canyon. Tiger Lilies, Columbines and Globe Lilies do not grow where they are not shaded by tall trees.
It is not the position of the Conservancy that all logging should stop. Lumber is used by all of us. However, logging is not an appropriate use of all forested land. Some areas are simply too important as watershed and wildlife habitat to sacrifice to the timber industry. Many of us have heard the statements of the timber producers that they are stewards of the land and they even go so far as to claim that forests are healthier after they have been stripped of their large valuable trees. It may be comforting to try to believe this hooey, but these statements are ridiculous. Old mature forests are the most resistant to wildfire. Large old trees are hard to burn and are usually the only survivors of a wildfire. Old forests are absolutely indispensable to the survival of our wildlife heritage and the diversity of life. And these old trees form the beautiful riparian (stream side) corridors which are the single most important habitat in a forest. It is not true that a second growth forest such as Islandia is an unnatural forest which needs logging. These forest will once again become giant stands if they are left alone. Forests can restore themselves and Islandia is a perfect example of this. It has been left alone for 100 years and it is not in need of logging "management"!
Much has been said recently about forest fire danger and logging operators are trying to convince the public that logging is necessary to reduce fire hazard. This is a false argument. Loggers take the large, older, fire resistant trees and leave behind the smaller, more fire susceptible trees. Also left behind are large amounts of logging slash which dries out and represents a major increase in the amount of available fuel in an area which can accelerate the spread of fire. True fire hazard reduction is based on controlled burns which are probably too dangerous for this area. Returning second growth forests to old growth conditions is the most effective way to reduce fire hazard.
We are fortunate that the clear-cut, burn and herbicide logging practices that are common in northern California are not permitted in the Santa Cruz Mountains. These practices have created catastrophic damage to many northern California watersheds.
It is the goal of the Conservancy to protect crucial watershed areas, and with your support we will insist that our lands are maintained for the benefit of the entire community.
