Glomalin and Conservation in Humboldt County The 1996 discovery of the soil glue glomalin is changing our understanding of the impact of elevated carbon dioxide, while giving important clues to forest health, watersheds, revegetation, wildfire and carbon sequestration. Here I share what I have found so others may read and draw their own conclusions, and relate it to my own experience, Humboldt County issues and stories from the news.

Sunday, October 10, 2004

81. Organizations seek input on memorial forest 

81. Organizations seek input on memorial forest
Much planning has occurred in Humboldt the last two years or so. Some of it has to do with BLM held public lands donated by purchasers of industrial timberlands. Some of the parcels have conservation easements associated with them. In all cases BLM is looking to increase the amount of large trees while lowering fire risk and restoring late seral conditions, including some road closures, sediment reduction and in-stream work. The sad fact is that old growth Douglas fir is threatened by catastrophic wild fire that it should be at least somewhat resistant to. The good news is that these are the very practices that allow for maximum glomalin production and retention, reducing atmospheric CO2 and providing an evenly distributed tribute of cool water throughout the summer and fall. It must be remembered these are only twenty year plans and can be cancelled in time of national emergency. The conservation easements with the newly acquired lands add a layer of protection. While it is good to develop a new trail to KRNCA, a restoration period where damaged lands can recover for a planning cycle before recreational use is allowed would really allow recovery to be successful. In the soils of this region, glomalin understanding is clarifying to trail location and development.
Mill Creek has been a focus of community conservation efforts for many years. Mill Creek is the closest tributary to the ocean n the Mattole drainage and has prime salmon and steelhead spawning habitat. The low elevation Douglas fir old growth habitat is gaining critical importance as the industrial lands around the North Fork of the Mattole are harvested. Local residents have been directed to write community cooperative plans within BLM guidelines as well as any easements that may exist with the parcels. Redwood Reader will comment for the document as well as discuss it in a later article. We congratulate their vision and persistence.
Organizations seek input on memorial forest
Sunday, October 10, 2004 - The Times-Standard
http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127~2896~2458916,00.html#
The Mill Creek Watershed Conservancy and the Mattole Restoration Council are reaching out for comments on a new plan for a 675-acre chunk of public land near Petrolia.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management purchased the land in 1997 from Eel River Sawmills and another individual. The property includes 220 acres of old-growth fir forest and a one-mile swath along Mill Creek.
The proposed plan would protect the old-growth forest and presses for restoration of logged lands in an effort to rehabilitate the area. The BLM-funded plan outlines management goals for the next 20 years.
The original intent of the acquisition was to protect and restore habitat for salmon, amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals. The conservancy worked for 20 years to raise money to buy the forest, which it named after local ornithologist Bill Clow.
"The community plan provides a fresh opportunity to work with the BLM to further locally directed forest and fisheries restoration work in one of the most important habitat area in the lower Mattole Valley," said Chris Larson, the restoration council's executive director.
Larson said it includes directives for research, monitoring, restoration, education, fuel reduction and recreation. Projects in the future include salmon restoration, abandoning an old logging road, fuel reduction and building a trail to the King Range National Conservation Area.
The plan is available online at www.mattole.org or at the restoration council in the Mattole Valley Community Center in Petrolia. Comments will be accepted until Nov. 12. E-mail comments to cmp@mattole.org or send written comments to the Mill Creek Conservancy, P.O. Box 173, Petrolia, Ca., 95558.
For more information, call Ali Freedlund or Chris Larson at 629-3514.
Comments: Post a Comment

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?