- Gualala Redwood Timber Inc. proposed a 330-acre harvest plan on land it acquired last year in northwest Sonoma County at the mouth of the Gualala River; California regulators granted the plan final approval in early July.
- Second-growth redwoods are among the trees slated to be felled, though the 13 largest trees on each acre of land will be left standing, according to the plan.
- Environmentalists have said they are already raising the funds necessary to file a lawsuit to stop the plan from going through, however, though they have not said definitely whether or not they will file suit.
Regulators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) approved a timber harvest plan earlier this month that includes the logging of redwood trees that are a century old.
Environmentalists have said they are already raising the funds necessary to file a lawsuit to stop the plan from going through, however, though they have not said definitely whether or not they will file suit.
Gualala Redwood Timber Inc. proposed a 330-acre harvest plan on land it acquired last year in northwest Sonoma County at the mouth of the Gualala River. Instead of clearcutting the forest, the company’s plan involves selective cutting at close to 20 sites along an eight-miles stretch of the Gualala River. Second-growth redwoods are among the trees slated to be felled, though the 13 largest trees on each acre of land will be left standing, according to the plan.
The plan went through three rounds of public review and comment before Cal Fire declared it in full compliance with state rules and gave Gualala Redwood Timber final approval to begin logging operations. Henry Alden, a spokesman for the company, told The Press Democrat that logging would begin this summer, assuming a lawsuit doesn’t prevent that from happening.
Environmental groups Forest Unlimited and Friends of the Gualala River are spearheading the opposition to the harvest plan. They argue that even though Gualala Redwood Timber isn’t proposing to cut down old-growth redwoods, the trees that will be cut are just as ecologically important.
The groups are threatening a lawsuit on the grounds that the plan violates state rules meant to protect forests in critical watersheds. “It’s not just about the age of the trees or the size — it’s also about the landscape they are on,” Peter Baye, a coastal ecologist with Friends of Gualala River, told TakePart. “These redwood trees they are targeting aren’t located on hillsides — they are mostly along flatter floodplain terrain, some of the most productive and biodiverse habitat in the forest.”
The forests help protect the riverbank against floodwaters, Baye said, while the root systems and shade cast by the canopies of the 100-year-old redwoods improve water quality for salmon and steelhead by limiting soil erosion. The trees are also the preferred habitat for endangered northern spotted owls.
Baye added that this is one of the largest logging plans proposed within a floodplain on the California coast since the state put in new rules to protect that specific type of habitat. “Cal Fire has basically granted the plan and given exceptions here that sets a bad precedent moving forward. … Cal Fire is supposed to make exceptions to its environmental rules if it is justified or mitigated for. Not just at the convenience of the landowners.”
Henry Alden, the Gualala Redwood Timber spokesman, disagrees with that assessment of the situation. “We and the agencies feel this is an entirely appropriate level of harvest and type of harvest,” he said.
