Stop the Los Gatos Watershed thousand-acre logging plan!

Posted January 30, 2007

• What’s happening    
• Why this is important
• What you can do    

The San Jose Water Company wants permission to log, in perpetuity, 1,000 acres of redwood and Douglas-Fir trees near Los Gatos Creek in Santa Clara County. Please attend a hearing January 31st, if you can, and/or write both the California Department of Forestry and Santa Clara County to ask them to fight this destructive project.

What’s happening
San Jose Water Company proposes to log 1,000 acres near Lexington Reservoir, in an area used as an important water source for thousands of County residents. The plan would give the company permanent rights to repeatedly log various parts of the property on a rotating basis — even if problems are discovered later, the plan cannot be amended by government authorities. The proposal would remove nearly half of the trees that are over three feet in diameter and many smaller trees, a controversial provision that maximizes profit but could significantly increase fire risk. The logging proposal will damage environmental values and threaten water quality, and could even bring sprawl development to the hillsides.

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Why this is important
While almost all of the old-growth forest is gone from this area, much of it was logged over a century ago and is now regaining environmental significance. Removing large trees can dry out the forest and increase the undergrowth that fuels dangerous fires, so the alleged fire benefits of the project are disputed by leading fire scientists. Besides potentially impairing water quality for thousands of people, the plan could destroy water sources for hundreds of rural residents — this would invite the extension of city services up into the Santa Cruz Mountains. Hillside sprawl could then follow. Ultimately, these lands should be purchased and protected, but that may be impossible if a destructive timber plan is approved.

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What you can do
Attend the California Department of Forestry hearing January 32, if you can, and send comments opposing the plan to CDF (something you can do even if you can’t go to the hearing).

1. Attend the CDF hearing Janaury 31, if you can, and announce your polite-but-firm opposition to the plan when public comment is received. The hearing will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 at Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose.

2. Please write, fax or email CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY by February 7th and ask them to deny this plan. Ask instead of the logging that CDF and Santa Clara County support a “Community Fire Plan” that brings together multiple groups to determine the best ways to manage fire risks. Send your comments to:

Leslie Markham, CDF, 135 Ridgeway Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 94501
Fax: (707) 576-2608
Email: SantaRosaPublicComment@fire.ca.gov
Important! Be sure to reference Timber Plan #1-06NTMP-012 SCL

3. Santa Clara County residents should contact the Santa Clara County Supervisors and ask them to “non-concur” with a decision to approve this project. If the County takes this action, it puts the harvest under greater scrutiny. Write to:

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
County Government Center
70 W. Hedding Street, 10th Floor, East Wing
San Jose, CA 95110
Fax (408) 298-8460
Email: all five Supervisors

4. Please send a copy of your message to CGF so we can track our efforts on this issue: Fax (650) 968-8431 or
email: action@GreenFoothills.org.

To learn more:
Read the Fall 2005 Green Footnotes article warning about the upcoming plan.
Read the January 27, 2007 article in The Mercury News.
Visit the community website opposing the plan, Neighbors Against Irresponsible Logging (NAIL).
You can attempt to read the timber harvest plan, by clicking this here, and find Plan 1-06NTMP-012 SCL, although it is split into many files. You can also find comments from agencies here.

Thanks for speaking up — your voice does make a difference!

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