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Forest restoration or perpetual timber harvesting

— a clear choice for the YMCA
 
by Lennie Roberts

The San Francisco YMCA’s controversial proposal to log 733 acres of redwoods and Douglas firs at Camp Jones Gulch is still up in the air. Under the YMCA’s proposed Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan (NTMP), it would be entitled to log the forest — every 15 years — in perpetuity. Committee for Green Foothills proposed an alternative, stewardship and restoration approach for managing the YMCA’s forest lands. While the YMCA is considering this alternative, to date, it has not withdrawn the NTMP.

San Francisco YMCA’s Camp Jones Gulch — photos by Holly Van Houten

Opposition Intensifies
Responding to the out-pouring of opposition from hundreds of former campers, counselors, neighbors, and concerned residents, the YMCA held a public meeting in early December to explain its plan more fully. The large crowd’s reaction to its logging proposal that has created a public relations nightmare for the YMCA was respectful but passionate. Many felt that cutting many of the largest second-growth trees is inconsistent with the YMCA’s mission — particularly in a place where thousands of school kids come to experience nature and learn about environmental stewardship.

Partnering with the community
CGF has urged the YMCA to engage its critics in developing a stewardship and restoration plan that will allow the forest to recover from past logging, and ultimately achieve a park-like setting with stately mature trees, cool shaded forest floor, and clear clean streams.

The YMCA has untapped financial resources available that would enable it to meet its capital needs for deferred maintenance and upgrading of dilapidated buildings at the camp. By creating a forest Conservation Easement that protects the forest, while allowing some removal of brushy and non-native species, the YMCA could acquire the capital it needs without resorting to commercial timber harvesting. Also, the YMCA could apply for grants to fund repair of old logging roads, culverts, and stream crossings, fuel reduction, and other forest improvements. Public and non-profit entities could help provide labor and in-kind services.

New program opportunities
While opposition to the NTMP has been intense, it shows that people care deeply about the stewardship values they learned at YMCA camp and about this forest that is now threatened. Capturing the energy created in opposition to the NTMP and redirecting it to restoration would be a great outcome for the YMCA as well as the environment and nearby communities. By partnering with community groups and public agencies, the YMCA could strengthen and expand its educational program at Camp Jones Gulch and show its commitment to environmental values.

What’s wrong with NTMP’s?
Unlike “ordinary” Timber Harvesting Plans, which are one-time permits to log, a Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan (NTMP) entitles a landowner to log property in 15–20 year cycles, forever. A landowner who wishes to devote forested land to timber production is saved the expense and time of getting individual timber harvesting permits every 15 or 20 years. However, there is a downside. An NTMP, once approved, does not allow for public review or comment on any future harvests, unless the plan is substantially amended. Conditions change, scientific knowledge changes, public awareness changes, and regulations change over time. An NTMP does not change, unless the landowner decides to revise the plan.

Published Spring 2007 in Green Footnotes.

Page last updated August 10, 2007.