December 18, 2009
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Over the past eleven years, the Cereus Fund has contributed to dozens of grassroots groups within Trees Foundation's network of partner organizations spanning from southern Oregon to the greater San Francisco Bay Area. This support has resulted in hundreds of successfully completed projects which vary in scope, strategies, and tactics, but which are united in the conservation vision of the Cereus Fund.
Established by a private donor, the Cereus Fund's visionary commitment to the restoration of the redwood region is met through generous grants and contributions supporting the work of grassroots organizations and individuals. The following pages describe some of the projects that the Cereus Fund supported in 2009.
Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters
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It has been 10 years since the establishment of the Headwaters Forest Reserve, and BACH has maintained continual communication with the BLM field office in charge of managing the Reserve. With BACH's encouragement, the BLM offered a series of weekend hikes and discussions for North Coast and Bay Area activists. The manager of the Reserve, and a BLM geologist, ecologist, and biologist led the tours to assess the restoration work that has occurred over the last decade. More than 10 miles of former Pacific Lumber logging roads have been decommissioned, and in 2008 more than 5,000 redwood seedlings were planted in previously heavily logged areas. Two new pair of spotted owls have been observed in the Reserve, bringing the known population up to four pair. The BLM expressed interest in BACH's work to include the history of forest activism that resulted in the creation of the Reserve, in the not-yet-completed public Interpretive Center.
BACH was also present during the [former CDF head] Richard Wilson and [whistelblower] Chris Maranto v. Charles Hurwitz and Maxxam Corp. fraud trial in federal court in April, 2009; writing press releases, doing interviews, and distributing reports of the proceedings to the public. As a result of that trial, the federal government will receive $2.5 million from the defendants Maxxam Corp. and Charles Hurwitz; and the State of California $500,000; a pittance compared to the profits reaped from the Headwaters Deal.
BACH also updated their media outlet lists, distributed their newsletter, served as advisor to the Gateway Mountain Center who conduct field trips to the north coast forests for high school students, and began research into the links between climate crisis and the importance of forests.
Central Coast Forest Watch
In spite of the economic downturn and the resulting decrease in funding, with Cereus Fund assistance in 2009, CCFW was very busy. CCFW worked to halt the ill-conceived Bohemian Grove NTMP submitting a six-page comment letter to CalFire outlining and defining the acreage problem for the NTMP and assisting in the preparation of extensive maps and explanatory comment submission to CalFire. To date, the NTMP has stalled. CCFW submitted extensive comments on the Eureka Gulch West problematic timber harvest plan. The County and Department of Fish and Game also objected to the plan's refusal to have a winter cut-off date or rainfall amount. They were ultimately successful in getting the plan submitter to agree to halt winter operations after 4" of cumulative rainfall. CCFW reviewed and submitted in-depth comments on the Lagomarsino THP in San Mateo County. This plan proposes logging old-growth redwood. DFG has filed a non-concurrence and wants the old growth preserved. CCFW has engaged San Mateo County activists who in turn have lit a fire under their county staff. As a result, the plan submitter is being required to significantly revise the plan. They also alerted the Sempervirens League, which has expressed an interest in acquisition of the old growth. CCFW is hopeful that our combined efforts may prove effective in preserving this remnant ancient forest. CCFW met with local watershed advocates to strategize, submitted a comment letter, and attended public hearings in support of Santa Cruz County's proposed revised Large Woody Material policy, which would keep more large wood in our coastal streams. This wood provides habitat, meters sediment and benefits salmonid populations. CCFW hopes to continue to monitor the progress of this policy change as it wends its way through CEQA review. CCFW prepared a power point presentation, in conjunction with Sierra Club, on the Modifications to the Timber Harvest Program of the Central Coast Regional Waterboard proposed by Waterboard staff. They alerted other forest defenders who showed up at the hearing, but were unsuccessful in getting the Board to put some teeth back in the Board's Timber Waiver program.
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Mattole Restoration Council
With Cereus support, MRC's Forest Practice Program has continued the critical work of ensuring healthy forests for Humboldt County.
This year's grant provided support for the Mattole Restoration Council's Forest Practice Program (FPP) in order to allow for their involvement in Humboldt Redwood Company's Mattole Watershed Analysis, participation in Humboldt County's General Plan Update, and to provide outreach, education, and networking within the greater Humboldt community related to protection of working timberlands from subdivision.
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The FPP has been intimately involved in the Land Use element of the county's General Plan Update, participating in Planning Commission meetings and advocating for county policy that protects our larger forest resources from fragmentation. In addition, the FPP has served on the ten-member Steering Committee for North Coast Dialogues, a process whereby multiple stakeholders discuss a vision for the county in the next 100 years in order to preserve the rural character and working lands while adapting to the needs of the community.
Mattole Salmon Group
In 2009 Cereus Fund provided needed support to restart MSG's Conservation Rearing Program. Historically, juvenile salmon populations benefited from deep pools, cold water, and shade cover in the Mattole estuary. A portion of this population utilized the estuary for over-summer rearing following river mouth closure in late spring. This strategy resulted in a 3 to 4 times greater likelihood of survival to adult spawners due to their increased size upon entering the ocean in the fall. Today, however, the Mattole estuary's deep pools have been filled with sediment, riparian vegetation that provided shade is gone, and the cold-water sources have dwindled creating water temperatures known to be lethal to salmonids.
For several years the Mattole Salmon Group operated a conservation rearing project that captured juvenile salmonids and kept them in specially designed `rearing tanks' over the hot summer months, releasing them back into the river in the fall when conditions had improved. In 2004, the California Department of Fish and Game, in a misguided attempt to protect wild salmonid populations, closed down MSG's rearing program.
The Mattole Salmon Group considers their Chinook Conservation Rearing Project one of their upmost important programs. Devastated that it has not occurred, they have witnessed thousands of Chinook salmon perish every summer. The group has held continuing discussions with DFG since 2004 on the importance of the program and have repeatedly asked them to renew the permits. They felt so strongly about their position that last year they went public about government constraints to recover threatened salmonid populations, and took their concerns up the ladder. This strategy worked, and DFG will now allow MSG to move forward with the program, as long as they create an MOU that states their specific actions, responsibilities, and criterion for success; re-creates a secure fish ponding facility; and acquires all of the 7 necessary permits, including a valid water right.
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Restoration Leadership Project
Headed by well-known and respected restorationist Richard Gienger, the goal of the Leadership Project is to solve environmental problems by unifying people to bring about lasting positive change in land management attitudes and practices.
Much effort in 2009 was expended to help make the community-based forest & forestry of the Redwood Forest Foundation, Inc. (RFFI) a success--particularly as manifested in RFFI's Usal Redwood Forest (URF).
Working with the Institute for Sustainable Forestry, key RFFI persons, and Campbell Timber Management personnel, a successful `exchange tour' was accomplished. This tour brought together fuel hazard reduction and stand improvement experts from Southern Humboldt, ISF, RFFI, and CTM to examine a range of conditions and treatments. It was very productive, and the shared education and information continue with cooperative projects likely in the coming year regarding maintenance of existing fuel breaks, working on new fuel breaks, and stand improvement in areas that were subjected to herbicides under the previous owner, and stand improvement in logged-over areas where herbicide was not used. The goal is for the URF to have high quality forest stewardship that is community-based, and that does not rely on herbicides.
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The work of the Leadership Project would not have been possible without the crucial help of the Cereus Fund.
Salmon Forever
Endangered salmon encounter a gauntlet of impacts in Northern California streams. Salmon Forever has collected water samples from streams and rivers on the north coast of California since 1997 to increase our understanding of chronic turbidity and suspended sediment concentrations that impair the health of our fisheries and water supplies. Discharges of sediment from poor land use activities have overwhelmed many of our rivers resulting in the loss of channel capacity necessary for the conveyance of flood waters.
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During 2009, Salmon Forever developed and successfully deployed computerized dissolved oxygen monitoring equipment on the South Fork of Elk River. This station is located downstream of the Headwaters Forest Reserve, extensive logging, and a new cattle operation where cattle graze throughout the riparian zone. This very low gradient stream reach is filled with four to seven feet of logging related sediment and rotting debris. Top soil, debris, and cattle feces and urine are nutrients that increase oxygen demand as the nutrients decompose. Salmon Forever volunteers suspected that biological oxygen demand was killing Coho young-of-the-year salmon and decided to monitor.
Salmon Forever also maintained five continuous turbidity monitoring stations located in Elk River, Freshwater Creek, and the Van Duzen River that pump water samples for processing in Salmon Forever's laboratory. Two of the stations are located in the 25 square mile Freshwater Creek watershed, and two in the 45 square mile Elk River watershed. As they have each of the past ten years, Salmon Forever continues to train HSU Work Study students in Lab and Field methods.
On December 18, 2008, the State of California under budgetary crisis terminated the grant funding Salmon Forever's monitoring and data analysis. This funding has not resumed. Thus, the Cereus Fund in combination with community donations provided essentially all of Salmon Forever's funding for 2009.
Salmon River Restoration Council
The Salmon River watershed, 751 square miles and 98.7% federally owned, is one of the most biologically intact subbasins of the Klamath River Basin and is entirely within Karuk Ancestral Territory. The mission of the Salmon River Restoration Council is to assess, protect, and maintain the Salmon River ecosystems with the active participation of the local community, focusing on the fisheries resource and the development of a sustainable economy.
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Cereus funding was granted this year for support of SRRC's Watershed Center, located in Sawyers Bar. The Center houses the SRRC office, contains a reference library, a history display, and provides watershed information to the community. In addition, the Center provides space for public meetings and training sessions, public computers, and wireless Internet access in its remote location.
To facilitate public awareness of the environmental and social justice issues of the Klamath Basin, the Cereus Fund also helped in the printing and distribution of SRRC's fall newsletter entitled "Salmon River Wildfire: Restoration, Recovery and Community Response." The newsletter provided information and updates on fire related topics in the watershed, focusing on the aftermath of the 2008 wildfire year.
Cereus funds were also used to publish SRRC's 2008 annual report which gave an overview of their work this past year.
Salmonid Restoration Federation
SRF promotes restoration, stewardship, and recovery of California's native salmon, steelhead, and trout populations through education, collaboration, and advocacy. It is clear that California's magnificent runs of wild salmon and steelhead will not be saved by restoration alone. Critical elements for real recovery also include advocating for protection of instream flows and key refugia habitat.
Most restoration efforts take place in rural regions of the state, yet decisions about conservation funding and recovery planning take place in the halls of the capital. Currently, there is no restoration-focused organization that is able to maintain a consistent presence in Sacramento. SRF has taken on this role.
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SRF continued its focus of searching for a long-term revenue source for the restoration field. Historically, restoration funds had come from Senate Bill 271, which mandated that the California Tidelands (state oil) revenue helped to endow conservation, preservation, and restoration programs. Unfortunately, this provision had a sunset clause that has expired. As a result, the emerging restoration field that had gained so much momentum as a viable means of creating a sustainable economy and recovering imperiled species is now in a precarious position.
SRF is pursuing alternate means of securing long-term restoration funding including championing a one-cent bottled water fee that could generate as much as 67 million dollars a year for California restoration efforts. Additionally, SRF is participating with the California Watershed Coalition to ensure that the Clean Water and Coastal Protection bond measure, and the Flood Control bond measures have mechanisms to fund restoration efforts and are accessible to grassroots efforts.
Trees Foundation
Innovative North Coast grassroots organizations have a history of success and continue to achieve significant environmental protection victories. Yet, many activists and grassroots groups encounter similar challenges, such as: the extensive resources of anti-environmental advocates, lean staffing and budgets, locally limited resources, and the time and cost required to educate and reach a vast network to effect change.
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TOC for Forest & River News, Winter 2009