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Redwood logging plan criticized By Robert Salladay EXAMINER CAPITOL BUREAU Wednesday, December 2, 1998 SACRAMENTO - A respected federal scientist says the environmental plan designed to protect the Headwaters Forest from loggers is inadequate and will cause more mudslides and the probable elimination of a run of endangered coho salmon. Leslie M. Reid, who works for the U.S. Forest Service, warns in a report to be made public Wednesday that logging of the Humboldt County forest by Pacific Lumber could strip away vital vegetation that protects streams from erosion and provides cool waters for the dwindling numbers of coho. Reid's report, which was requested by U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, is being touted by environmentalists who want to scuttle an agreement with Pacific Lumber over the fate of the Headwaters Forest, the last privately owned, pristine, old-growth redwood forest in the world. Along with Reid's report, environmental groups have gathered some allies in their fight: Humboldt County residents worried that continued logging by Pacific Lumber will cause ruinous mudslides and foul their drinking water. Some Stafford residents have already sued Pacific Lumber over a New Year's 1997 mudslide that crashed down a clear-cut hillside and destroyed 10 houses. "We have been trying to say, "Stop, already,' " said Nona Kraus, 69, who lives near Eureka on 15 acres across a road from the north fork of the Elk River. "(Logging) is really doing a lot of damage to the stream. It has absolutely destroyed the fishery in the north fork. They have slide after slide after slide. The value of our property is declining, along with the water quality." The hard-fought Headwaters deal calls for taxpayers to spend $480 million to buy and permanently preserve about 10,000 acres of redwood groves owned by Maxxam Inc., which owns Pacific Lumber and is controlled by financier Charles Hurwitz. Wrapped up in the deal is an environmental plan covering about 180,000 acres surrounding the new Headwaters preserve. That plan is being scrutinized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, but it has powerful supporters, including President Clinton, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Gov. Wilson and the Legislature, making it unlikely the plan will be altered. Now comes Reid's report, which is highly critical of the environmental protections the plan promises. Reid, who prepared the report for Miller and the Environmental Protection Agency, is an expert on logging erosion and has worked for 20 years with fisheries biologists. In a letter to Miller, she wrote: *The Pacific Lumber environmental plan is not strong enough to prevent logging-related landslides, particularly near small streams. The plan will "decrease the likelihood of survival of any coho salmon migrating through" erosion-choked streams. *The agreement does not allow for sufficient amounts of woody debris to collect downstream. For coho salmon and other species to survive, cooling shade is needed to cover streams and filter debris as it travels. *Unless the plan is changed, mudslides will cause "increasing damage to downstream properties and infrastructure, destroying salmon (spawning grounds) and newly hatched fry, and increasing rates of downstream bank erosion and stream-side landsliding." *Because the plan protects Pacific Lumber from liability, "American taxpayers would become fiscally responsible for addressing" any problems that come up after the plan is approved. But Pacific Lumber questions Reid's fairness, and points to other scientists who have praised the environmental plan. Company President and CEO John Campbell said Pacific Lumber had agreed to study and find ways to correct erosion problems over the next five years and, in the meantime, will not log within 100 feet of large streams and 30 feet of smaller streams. "We recognize Dr. Reid is a good scientist," Campbell said Tuesday, "but we're disappointed she appears to have abandoned her scientific objectivity in this review. . . . I think on this particular review, it's important to understand that this is the opinion of just a few scientists." Reid did not immediately return a message left at her Arcata office. Environmental groups hope that by enlisting Humboldt County residents they can persuade federal authorities to reconsider Pacific Lumber's environmental plan. The logging company, which has been cited by state forestry officials for 134 violations since 1996, was cited again in September for continually running heavy logging equipment through a large stream, said Karen Terrill, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Forestry, which recently suspended Pacific Lumber's logging license until at least Jan. 1. Residents and environmentalists worry about additional violations under the new Headwaters agreement. "It's very real," said Paul Mason, president of the Garberville-based Environmental Protection Information Center. "The claims that logging doesn't have an impact on watershed are hollow. People who have lived at the bases of these watersheds for 50 or 60 years have seen the shape of the stream change from being a narrow, deep channel to being filled with silt." Nona Kraus' husband, Ralph Kraus, 71, says he's seen the Elk River rise significantly in just hours when it used to take days, and their water quality decline. "Our domestic water supply has been ruined," said Kraus, a 40-year Eureka resident and former science teacher. "Even in the winter, it has a distinct taste of rotting vegetation." Get a printer-friendly version of this article ©1998 San Francisco Examiner Examiner Hot News Feedback The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) P.O. Box 397 Garberville, CA 95542 (707) 923-2931 Fax 923-4210 http://www.igc.org/epic/ Contact us at epic@igc.org to join our listserver
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