MENDOCINO Co., CA, 8/10/22 — A Jackson Demonstration State Forest Advisory Group (JAG) meeting this month will include tours of multiple timber harvest forest sites and will offer an opportunity for public comment, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced in a news release Tuesday.
JAG is a board of members of the public who are appointed to their positions by the director of Cal Fire and confirmed by the Board of Forestry; the advisory group then counsels those entities, providing insight on management plans, policy matters, and implementation issues.
The daylong meeting will take place at the Camp One Day Use Area on Friday, Aug. 19. Items on the agenda include updates on timber harvest plans (THPS), forest management, research, tribal relations, and recreation in the forest.
Logging crews will collect already-cut timber from the forest this month, but no new trees have been cut since January, Mary Callahan reported for the Press Democrat last week. Cal Fire also withdrew three contentious THPs at the beginning of the summer, following outcry by activists. State Senator Mike McGuire also told the paper that discussions are underway to develop a new interim management plan toward a forest mission around climate mitigation and wildfire resilience (despite the 10-year tenure of the current plan instituted in 2016).
Those who wish to submit comments in advance pertaining to the meeting agenda can send them by email to [email protected] with a subject line containing “JAG Meeting Comment” before 12 p.m. Aug. 17.
Here’s the day’s schedule, as laid out in the release:
- 9 a.m. – Call to Order and Introductions
- 9:10 a.m. – Review/Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Ex Parte Communication Disclosure
- 9:20 a.m. – JDSF Operational Updates (Administration, Forest Management, Research, and Recreation)
- 10 a.m. – Logging Operations – Modifications to Active THPs
- 10:20 a.m. – JAG Subgroup Updates (Tribal Relations and Public Outreach)
- 10:45 a.m. – Public Comment
- 11:15 a.m. – Depart for Bear Gulch THP
- 11:30 a.m. – Lunch
- 11:45 a.m. – Bear Gulch THP post-harvest
- 12:30 p.m. – Depart for Parlin 17 THP
- 12:45 p.m. – Parlin 17 THP post-harvest and shaded fuel break
- 3 p.m. – Adjourn
The full meeting agenda and a map of the day’s activities can be found here. In a separate, unaffiliated event on Sunday, Aug. 28, youth from the Save Jackson Coalition and Mendocino County Youth for Climate will rally in the forest in Caspar.