Forests Forever Action Alerts
Management plan holds key to future of Headwaters Preserve
Posted
8/02/02
The
federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released its long-awaited
draft management plan for Humboldt County's Headwaters Forest Preserve,
now recognized as California's icon for ancient forest protection.
The plan includes several management alternatives for elements such
as restoration and recreation. Although the BLM's preferred alternatives
are in many respects ecologically sound, the environmental community
differs from the agency on several important points noted below.
Your voice is needed to help ensure that the forest we fought for
so long receives the protection it deserves as wilderness and wildlife
habitat. The 90-day public comment period will end on Sept. 6, 2002.
The final Headwaters plan will dictate which types of activities can take place in the Preserve, such as research and restoration projects and public access and recreation. Ecosystem preservation has been established as the plan's number-one management priority. Environmentalists have worked hard to create this refuge for old-growth-dependent species such as the Marbled murrelet, Northern spotted owl and Coho salmon.
Over half of the Preserve has been subjected to industrial logging in the past. Forty miles of logging roads are being decommissioned within the area, and specific trailheads are proposed for public use.
Under the BLM's preferred alternatives, access to the Preserve would be limited while sensitive habitats are recontoured, revegetated and restored, with the ultimate goal of returning characteristics approximating old-growth to the forest. The agency, however, would allow entry into some areas that Forests Forever believes should remain untouched.
Background:
Headwaters Forest gained national fame over the course of a 12-year struggle between environmentalists, corporate timber interests, the California legislature and other players. MAXXAM Corp. bought out Pacific Lumber Co. (PL) in a leveraged buyout in 1985. From that point on, MAXXAM CEO Charles Hurwitz clear-cut PL's lands and tripled the rate of logging in Headwaters.
Forests Forever coalesced around the fight to save Headwaters in 1989. In 1990 the "Forests Forever Initiative" was placed on the ballot and came within two percentage points of winning, despite being greatly outspent by the timber industry. Following the initiative, Forests Forever generated crucial public pressure for saving Headwaters, through tens of thousands of citizen letters, phone calls and other messages to decision-makers.
As a result of that public outcry, the California legislature in 1999 secured the necessary funds to transfer the forest into public hands. The forest was not yet fully protected, however, and a series of environmental assessments on restoration and public-access proposals went forward the same year. The BLM worked in conjunction with the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to prepare the draft plan now before the public.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Write the BLM and tell the agency you support its preferred alternatives, with the following exceptions:
• Recreation:
We support Alternative 3C, which would prohibit access in the sensitive
southern area of the Preserve. BLM's preferred alternative allows
some access in these areas.
• Trail System: Support Alternative 4C, which would prohibit
public entry into old-growth groves. BLM's preferred alternative
allows entry into some of the groves.
• Special Area Designation: Support Alternative 7A, which would
establish 80 percent of the Preserve as a Wilderness Study Area
(WSA). BLM's preferred alternative would establish only 60 percent
of the Preserve as a WSA.
• Special Area Designation: Support Alternative 8A, which would
recommend all eligible streams in the Preserve for inclusion in
the national Wild and Scenic Rivers System. BLM's preferred alternative
would not recommend that any streams receive the designation.
• Entry Fee: Support Alternative 10D, which would include no
fee for entry into the Preserve. BLM's preferred alternative would
charge a fee for visitors participating in guided hikes.
Mail your comments to:
Headwaters
Forest
P.O. Box 18867
Sacramento, CA 95818-8677
Or
e-mail your comments to: headwaters@jsanet.com You also can call
the BLM with your comments at: (916)737-3010 ext. 4326.
Don't forget– the deadline for public comment is Sept. 6.
This is our opportunity to provide input and ideas about the kind
of Preserve we want Headwaters Forest to become. It is up to each
and every one of us to take action today to make the difference.
Thank you.
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