Jackson Demo State Forest Draft Environmental Impact Report Alternatives Evaluation

By Thembi Borras

The Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has released a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed management plan for JDSF and seeks public input. JDSF is 50,000 acres and is the largest of the eight Demonstration State Forests that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) operates. Since 2001, timber harvest on JDSF has been suspended due to legal action; the DEIR for the proposed management plan is intended to move the status of management of JDSF from inactive toward active.

I evaluated the seven alternatives proposed in the DEIR based on silviculture, growth and yield and the use of herbicides, which I believe are essential issues.

Note: Uneven-Aged management includes prescriptions such as single tree selection and group selection. Even-Aged management includes prescriptions such as clearcutting, seed tree and shelterwood. Annual allowable harvest is projected out a minimum of 10 years.

Alternative A (minimal management)
Uneven-Aged Management/ Even-Aged Management: No harvest, no site preparation, no thinning, no planting.
Annual Allowable Harvest: Not applicable.
Herbicide Use: Limited for road maintenance.

Alternative B (continue 1983 plan)
Uneven-Aged Management: Yes.
Even-Aged Management: Yes.
Annual Allowable Harvest: 36 million board feet (MMBF)/year (nearly equal to the present estimated growth).
Herbicide Use: Yes.

Alternative C1 (CDF May 2002 DFMP, preferred Alternative by CDF)
Uneven-Aged Management: Yes, allowed on approximately 24,000 acres.
Even-Aged Management: Yes, allowed on approximately 11,000 acres.
Annual Allowable Harvest: 31 MMBF/year.
Herbicide Use: Yes.

Alternative C2 (CDF November 2002 Plan)
Uneven-Aged Management: Yes, allowed on approximately 22,500 acres.
Even-Aged Management: Yes, allowed on approximately 10,000 acres.
Annual Allowable Harvest: 31 MMBF/year.
Herbicide Use: Yes.

Alternative D (Citizens Advisory Committee proposal)
Uneven-Aged Management: Yes.
Even-Aged Management: No clearcutting. Other prescriptions restricted to limited demonstration.
Annual Allowable Harvest: 25 MMBF/year.
Herbicide Use: Herbicides would not be allowed in site preparation or vegetation control. There would be a three-year moratorium on chemical use for control of invasive species.

Alternative E (Late Seral Forests)
Uneven-Aged Management: Yes.
Even-Aged Management: No.
Annual Allowable Harvest: 8 MMBF/year.
Herbicide Use: No.

Alternative F (Older Forests Emphasis)
Uneven-Aged Management: Yes.
Even-Aged Management: No.
Annual Allowable Harvest: 19 MMBF/year.
Herbicide Use: Use herbicides only if other approaches fail.


Alternative D (Citizens Advisory Committee proposal), in my opinion, appears to have the greatest chance of successfully balancing environmental values, economic viability and public support. If there is enough public buy-in, then perhaps further legal wrangling can be avoided. Alternative D also best fits my vision of public forest management because it is strong on building inventory, strong on selection prescriptions and does not suggest incorporating herbicide use as a customary part of forest management. Building inventory and improving stand structure are cornerstones of sustainable forestry, although selection prescriptions do not inherently imply improved stand structure, this is only inherent in good decisions made on the ground regarding which trees will be cut and which will be left. Selection prescriptions done well are opportunities to take value from the forest and improve the transportation infrastructure, at the same time keeping pre harvest habitat the same as post harvest habitat, improving aesthetics by maintaining a continuous forest canopy and encouraging fewer large stems and minimizing adverse watershed effects through a low level of canopy removal.