Letter to the Editor: Management of forests by tribes has stood the test of time

Dear Editor:

Our hats off to Mendocino County Supervisors Haschak, Williams and Mulheren: a visionary path forward with their leadership. Their recent vote in support of AB2494 redefines the management goals for Jackson Demonstration State Forest and all of our California State Demonstration Forests.

This bill is a breakthrough in a process that has been frustrating for the public and the tribes, and unproductive for many years. Introduced by State Assemblyman Chris Rogers and co-authored by State Senator Mike McGuire, this bill gets to the heart of the impasse.
It mandates co-management between Cal Fire and the tribes in recognition of the latter’s stewardship that has stood the test of time—tens of thousands of years. And while it will still allow for logging, it would prioritize preserving ancestral and cultural sites, environmental stewardship, ecological restoration, water, wildlife and research that is more than an excuse for more logging. It would shift the “demonstration” from logging to tourism, recreation and carbon sequestration.

We know that our coastal redwood forests are so awe-inspiring that people come here from around the world to experience them. We believe that the recreational and spiritual value of JDSF is far more important than the value of its commercial timber. We also believe that the economic value of recreation in JDSF already surpasses the economic value of timber sales under the current mandate, which represent only a tiny fraction of the timber revenue for the county.

While the current mandate supports commercial logging as the highest use of state forest land, which includes clearcuts and taking trees up to four feet in diameter, AB2494 would shift the primary source of funding for California Demonstration State Forests from timber to tourism and recreation.

The public is overwhelmingly in support of changing the mandate for managing California’s Demonstration State Forests. We invite our other supervisors, Cline and Norvell, to support AB2494 in recognition of the vastly greater benefits from recreation, tourism, carbon sequestration and water retention. We also invite the Fort Bragg City Council and other Mendocino County cities to enthusiastically support this bill.