| Action Alert: INCLUDE tribal and public voices & environmental protections in overhaul of Jackson Forest Management –> Tell CalFire: You Cannot Shut Us Out!” <– |
| At the next meeting in September of the Jackson Advisory Group (JAG), the citizen body tasked with advising the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) on the management of Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF), CalFire will ask the JAG to approve the consultant job to conduct the revision of the JDSF management plan. We are at a crossroads with the Jackson Forest. Faced with the opportunity to transform this public land from a demonstration of industrial forestry to demonstrating environmental restoration, indigenous ecological wisdom and real climate solutions via carbon sequestration and storage. Instead, CalFire is proposing an “update” of the Management Plan that is essentially business as usual. CalFire’s action squanders the chance to reinterpret what a demonstration forest could and should be in the 21st century. Make no mistake: revision of the Management Plan is needed. The current plan is outdated and out of step with the times in that it does not consider concerns of the indigenous people whose homeland this forest is, nor Sacred Sites, nor does it adequately consider the crucial role Jackson’s redwoods play in mitigating the climate crisis enveloping us. At present, Jackson Forest operates under a mandate for commercial timber harvest. Tribal co-management agreements have only been given lip service, despite a clear directive for their development by California’s governor. See our colleague EPIC’s overview of the need to overhaul the management plan here. CalFire agreed to begin this revision a few years ago, in response to community pressure, tribal consultation, and pressure from elected officials. Even CalFire has admitted, “JDSF management needs to be modernized.” There’s a big problem with the way the scope of work is defined for the initial revision proposal. Somehow, CalFire decided it could skip environmental review for the JDSF management plan revision. But under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), environmental review is required for all projects approved by the State of California. However, CalFire has decided NOT to perform CEQA review as they rewrite the management plan, effectively limiting public and tribal participation and oversight of how this forest will be managed into the future, despite the fact that it is public land. Environmental review under CEQA is essential. Now 40 years old, CEQA is the foundational tool for environmental assessment when projects like development, extractive projects—or new forest management—are proposed. CEQA law requires government agencies look at ecological consequences of their actions when approving projects or plans. Firstly, the environmental review process gives specific leverage to local tribes to ensure that their cultural resources are protected. By skipping a CEQA review, CalFire makes many of those considerations optional. Secondly, environmental review gives the public a better understanding of the full impact of the forest’s overarching management objectives. CalFire insists that environmental impacts can be considered on a case-by-case basis under each individual timber harvest plan (THP). But such environmental review, limited to one THP at a time, does not capture the broader cumulative environmental impact of CalFire’s misguided goals for forest management. An overhaul of the Management Plan is too important a juncture in protecting the cultural aspects and ecology of this coastal redwood forest to give it short shrift by eliminating tribal, public and CEQA review. According to CalFire, the forest management plan is “the document that guides all the management activities for the forest.” That document deserves a thorough environmental review to ensure that this public forest is managed according to best environmental principles and science. But they are only giving lip service to stated lofty goals if they shut out tribal, public and CEQA review. This our golden opportunity to correct the process! Please write to CalFire’s JDSF team today and tell them the revised Jackson Demonstration State Forest management plan requires environmental review. Click here to take action. ********************************* For more information and to plug in, see the Coalition to Save Jackson Forest and BACH’s website. (Note: The above”take action” link takes you to EPIC’s comment letter that you can sign and send to CalFire. You can also use this alert, and their letter to write your own letter, or add to EPIC’s form letter. Also, the box for receiving updates is for EPIC, not BACH. We both have alert lists. Please also sign up for our (low volume) Bay Area alerts here!) |
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