San Francisco YMCA Timber Plan Update

Posted November 27, 2006

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

Thanks to an outpouring of comments from people who spoke up against the San Francisco YMCA’s proposed logging in perpetuity the YMCA will hold a public meeting on Sunday, December 3, at 1:30 pm at the YMCA CAMP JONES GULCH, 11000 Pescadero Road, near Loma Mar. Although this is not an official public hearing, this meeting will provide an opportunity to learn more about the permit application, hear how the application has been revised, ask questions, and voice your opinion directly to the YMCA. Please attend this meeting and let the YMCA know that you support alternatives to this permanent commercial logging plan.

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What's happening
In July, the YMCA submitted a timber harvesting plan (called a Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan or “NTMP”) which proposes to log 733 acres of the 904 acre property, cutting up to 60% of the redwood and Douglas fir trees 18” in diameter or larger, on slopes of up to 80%. Though old growth trees in the 29-acre Jones Gulch Grove were excluded, loopholes allow cutting of “hazard” trees. The plan also proposes cutting second growth trees within a smaller four-acre grove of old growth redwoods in the southeast corner of the property.

Committee for Green Foothills has met with representatives of the Camp and YMCA on several occasions this fall to attempt to resolve the concerns raised by the permit application. Through those meetings and in response to public and agency comments, the YMCA has revised the plan to clarify vague or conflicting provisions in the original application. The revisions reduce the cutting from 60% to 40% of the trees 18” in diameter or greater. They developed a road maintenance plan, not previously part of the original application.

Despite these revisions, CGF continues to be concerned with two threshold issues. First, the NTMP permit, once approved, would allow logging in perpetuity, meaning every 15 years another round of logging could occur, without public review or comment. The YMCA has offered to notify the public when they will be conducting future timber harvests (beyond what they would be required to do by the California Department of Forestry), but they would not be obligated to consider public or neighbor concerns, such as increased erosion, impacts to the creeks, increased fire hazards, or safety of logging trucks on narrow mountain roads.

Our second threshold issue is that the old growth groves and mature second growth Douglas firs scattered throughout the property should be permanently protected but would not be under the NTMP. Working with Peninsula Open Space Trust or another land trust to place a conservation easement would provide permanent protection for these venerable trees.

The YMCA should craft a broader forest stewardship plan that looks at the need to reduce fire hazards and improve forest health and then decide the most appropriate permits to obtain. The YMCA has agreed to convene a community stakeholder group to help them craft such a plan, but continues to move forward with the NTMP application simultaneously. The YMCA should withdraw the NTMP permit to allow time to create the stewardship plan.

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Why this is important
Camp Jones Gulch is used during the school year by thousands of school children for outdoor education, and families and groups during the summer for recreation. There is a real need for the YMCA to undertake some logging on the property to reduce fire hazards to the camp, yet committing to commercial logging of the entire property in perpetuity is not consistent with the values of the YMCA and their outdoor education mission. In addition, commercial logging can increase fire hazards for several years after each round of logging. The revised permit still includes use of herbicides, logging on steep slopes, and allows winter operations in a watershed that has been declared impaired for sediment. Potential downstream impacts from the proposed operations include sedimentation adversely impacting steelhead trout and Coho salmon in Pescadero Creek and Pescadero Marsh. Adjacent Sam McDonald and Pescadero Creek County Parks, and the downstream Memorial Park could also be affected.

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What you can do
1. Please attend the public meeting sponsored by the YMCA on Sunday, December 3rd at 1:30 pm. at Camp Jones Gulch, 11000 Pescadero Road, near Loma Mar.

Directions to the Camp:
From Interstate 280 South, take the Woodside Road exit (State Highway 84) west toward Woodside. Stay on this road through the towns of Woodside and Sky Londa, crossing over Highway 35 (approximately 8 miles to La Honda). Go past the town of La Honda 1 mile and take a left at Pescadero Road. After approximately 1 mile there is a sharp right bend. Follow the bend to stay on Pescadero Road and follow signs to Camp Jones Gulch. The camp will be on your left, about 4 miles down Pescadero Road. Turn left onto Jones Gulch road and follow it to the administration building. PLEASE NOTE: There is no cellular phone reception or service at Camp Jones Gulch. Pay phones are located onsite for your convenience.

Please R.S.V.P. to the YMCA at ibustamante@ymcasf.org or 415.281.6742 if you plan to attend the December 3rd community meeting.

2. Submit Your Comments
The public comment period has been extended by the YMCA to December 15, 2006. California Department of Forestry (CDF) will be making a decision on this plan soon. Once this plan is approved, it is in effect forever.

A. Please write, fax, or email CDF by December 14th and ask them to deny this plan. Send your comments to:
Ms. Leslie Markham, CDF, 135 Ridgeway Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Fax: (707) 576-2608
Email to: SantaRosaPublicComment@fire.ca.gov
Important! Be sure to reference Timber Plan #1-06NTMP-014-SMO

B. Please write, fax, or email also to YMCA Camp Jones Gulch and ask them to withdraw this commercial logging plan and to explore other alternatives. Send your comments to:
Bill Worthington, Camp Jones Gulch, 11000 Pescadero Road, La Honda, CA 94020
Fax: (650) 747-0986
Email: bworthington@ymcasf.org

3. Get more information
To read the timber harvest plan, click here (includes several pdf files). You can also find the most recent comments from agencies asking for changes to the permit application here under the file named 20061107_1-06NTMP-014SMO_PHI-CDF.pdf.

Thanks for speaking up for open space. Your voice does make a difference!

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