In order to make room for older, larger trees in a forest, there has to be more room to branch out. That’s what the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is seeking to do again in the 7,500-acre Headwaters Forest Reserve just southeast of Eureka — and it’s now calling on members of the public to weigh in on the preliminary plan.
“What we want to do is accelerate the development of old-growth characteristics,” said Jeff Fontana, public affairs officer of the bureau’s Northern California District. “By taking out those smaller competing trees, those trees left in the stand have less competition.”
The public forest was acquired by the bureau and the state in 1999 from Pacific Lumber Company in an effort to protect and preserve the old-growth redwood stands and many species of wildlife such as the marbled murrelet that reside in the forest.
With the adoption of a final management plan for the forest reserve in 2004, the bureau included tree-thinning provisions that would allow them to harvest second-growth trees in stands that had already been subject to past timber operations in order to promote old-growth characteristics and accelerate tree growth. Fontana said that all the tree-thinning projects allowed in that plan have been completed with no more being allowed unless changes are made.
“So in order for us to continue with some of the projects we want, we have to amend,” he said. “We’ve done all we can do under the original plan.”
In order to amend the plan, the bureau must undergo a lengthy process of environmental and public review. While the bureau has not laid out a detailed proposal yet, it is calling on the public to submit comments and ideas on the proposal for further tree thinning as it drafts an environmental assessment.
Tree-thinning is a common method of promoting old-growth forest characteristics, with the Arcata Community Forest being another local example, according to Arcata Environmental Services Director Mark Andre. By removing some second-growth trees from a crowded stand, the remaining trees have less competition for nutrients and water. As a result, it accelerates tree growth and vigor for these younger stands, increases diversity, as well as making them less susceptible to fire, Andre said.
“It’s all about time,” he said. “You can speed up that process by thinning. That’s pretty well documented and that’s what we do in the community forest.”
There are other factors and effects to consider. A 2002 research summary by the Pacific Northwest Research Station states that thinning has its risks, such as allowing invasive species to move into the newly available space provided by felled trees. Thinning out too many trees can also be a detriment.
“If it’s too dense, you don’t want to over thin it because you don’t want to shock the system,” Andre said.
In the bureau’s existing forest plan, any tree stands that were thinned in the Headwaters Forest were scattered and left in the forest. No timber was sold to outside entities, according to Fontana.
Fontana said the upcoming Sept. 1 public scoping meeting in Arcata will allow the public to discuss any concerns they have about the proposed plan with bureau officials and submit their comments.
More information on the Headwaters Forest can be found online at www.blm.gov/ca/arcata/headwaters.html or by calling the bureau’s Arcata field office at 707-825-2300.
Contact Will Houston at 707-441-0504.
