Redwood Reader

Humboldt Countys attempts to craft a new general use plan for the next twenty years is running afoul of local developers. It appears planners are worried about sediment, runoff and sewage in locating new development in the county. The planners have taken in to account the wishes of the people, who are appalled at the environmental damages that come with development. But it doesn’t have to be that way. HELP, Humboldt Economic Land Planners is pushing for less restriction and more area to exploit. Planners have kept growth restricted to area already developed with roads, sewers and water by way of infilling and redevelopment. The big issue is how to develop without destroying the natural systems that make this a great place to live. We have little pollution to deal with in our streams besides sediment. The big concerns over Total Maximum Daily Loads melt away once the nature of sediment becomes clear, at least here in Humboldt County.
In an ideal world, each building, parcel or road would be responsible for all the runoff from roofing and pavement and other non-porous surfaces. This would mean infiltration ponds or pools for directing collected runoff into groundwater storage. Written into the building code, this would seriously reduce runoff problems and be a positive step toward reducing summer low flows. This would bring us into compliance on the national level without a lawsuit. Capacity should be several times normal so most large rain events are controlled on site. Vegetated surfaces also control runoff and are important players in the planning. The soil zone capacity is a reflection of the types of vegetation, with above ground form generally reflecting the depth of soil zone conditioning.
Humboldt County planners have been slow to recognize the need for composting sewage. World class models available are not up to code simply because there is no place for them in the code. Much of the county’s angst stems from homeowners or tenant responsibilities to maintain them. We’d like to see some serious money go into developing a dry toilet that can purify urine and compost feces to an inert state. In this day of computer control and advanced devices, this should be readily doable. The price of sanitation thus becomes a cost of ownership and large water treatment projects are not necessary. No spills or leaks can happen larger than a single residence.
Sudden Oak death may have a truly serious impact on forestlands ability to handle storm water for a period of years. I have no doubt something will move in to replace large areas but the need to recognize the role of tanoak and oak in the glomalin economy threaten landscape stability and a primary wildlife food source. Recent discoveries that SOD infects wood as well as bark implies even more restrictions coming for the movement of infected wood and thus a lesser chance of recapture expenses from removal. In addition, firewood movement even in the county could cause more rapid spreading. This implies less opportunity for wood cutters and others living off oak related products. We have mentioned before that once the nature of the chestnut disease was known a massive cut began. Since most trees were dying all were cut to save the usable wood, which was rotting on the stump. The problem was that not enough trees were left to find and select those with natural resistance and create a better strain.
Finally, planners must take into account public money spent for restoration projects not be jeopardized by industrial activity. In particular, logging plans between restored or preserves areas need to be protected from large incursions of sediment from business activities. This is why glomalin is so important- it can guide us to a sustainable rate of harvest while drastically reducing sediment delivery and preventing excessive runoff.
Once again we would like to see a local scientific and business glomalin task force that would implement the new science in meaningful ways for all land managers and planners. The playing field is level as all are equally new to the concept. Now we can be sure of the reasons for the consequences of our actions and we can take positive steps toward true sustainability.