Forest Protection Campaign - Sonoma County Timberland Ordinance Amendment
On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors passed an Amendment to the County's recently adopted Timberland Ordinance. The initial Timberland Ordinance was adopted by the Supervisors on March 14, 2006. It allowed that forest may be removed and the land converted to other uses if (among other findings) as a public benefit, for each acre of forest removed, two acres of forest are preserved under a conservation easement. The new Amendment, following a suggestion by Supervisor Reilly, the Sierra Club, and Sonoma County Conservation Action, and with the recommendations of the Permits and Resource Management Department and the Planning Commission, requires that the land which is to be credited for preservation should be on slopes no greater than 50%. The Ordinance (and the subsequent Amendment) are new steps by a California county into regulation of forest conversions.
The Sierra Club, Sonoma County Conservation Action, and other environmental groups had previously asked the Supervisors for a complete prohibition of the conversion of forest to high-intensity agriculture, but the less restrictive Ordinance was adopted. At the December 5th hearing the Sierra Club and S.C.C.A. asked that the County's adopted Timberland Ordinance be further strengthened, to provide additional protections by adopting the following additional 'like-kind' requirements:
- The land which is permitted to be converted should not itself be on steep slopes since forests are best for stabilizing soils and preventing erosion.
- The slope requirements should be a 'like kinds' requirement. That is, the 2:1 acreage also be of "equal or less slope than the conversion" to assure that the preservation sites are "like kind" or better than timberland lost to conversion.
- The slope requirements should be, in both cases (preserved and converted land), strengthened to 35%, rather than remain at 50% (as intensive agriculture should not be practiced on steep slopes).
Unfortunately, these additional proposals, although supported by Supervisor Reilly, were rejected by the Board.
The Ordinance itself removed 2/3 of Sonoma County forested acreage from consideration for conversion. The new Amendment additionally requires that the two preserved acres should be on land with slopes no greater than 50% (as mitigation credit should not be given for preserving forest which is in no danger of conversion).The addition of the new Amendment by the Supervisors provides some additional protection of forestland over what has previously been the case, as the Amendment's restriction removes another 29% of Sonoma forest from conversion consideration.
However - and this is a very large 'however' - such percentages, though they may seem large, are also quite misleading, as protection from forest conversion is most urgently needed for forest which is in danger of conversion in the first place. Currently, our forests are endangered by a pressure to convert forested ridge tops to premium vineyards. Segments of the wine industry have been targeting forestland in Western Sonoma County to convert forested land to wine production. Last year more timber conversion applications were filed with the California Department of Forestry than in the past ten years altogether.
Speculators are now buying depleted forestlands rather than waiting until natural forest regrowth occurs - they wish to convert over-logged lands to what they hope will be more profitable use. One proposal already on the books, the misleadingly named "Preservation Ranch", calls for permanent loss of trees on up to 1,900 acres for conversion to vineyards. However, Sonoma County already has a goodly number of vineyards and plenty of other suitable, non-forested agricultural land available on which to develop more.
So, even as amended, the County's Timberland Conversion Ordinance is flawed. These flaws include:
- The ordinance still permits a net loss of some of Sonoma County's forest through conversion to high intensity agricultural uses, via what is essentially a mitigation banking scheme.
- There may be inadequate scientific review in the permitting process, and inadequate monitoring of conditions on the ground. In particular, under the Ordinance, there may be inadequate assessment of the cumulative impacts of multiple vineyard conversions, including the impacts of habitat fragmentation on threatened and endangered species Cumulative impact assessments which require large scale scientific review and surveys and monitoring on the ground, are unlikely even to be done for small projects. They must be considered essential for larger projects - perhaps jointly with county oversight or via direct funding.
In evidence of the seriousness of our concerns we mention that
"A forest landowner in Mendocino County was recently assessed a fine of $105,600 dollars by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service) for harming and killing federally protected steelhead trout, despite being in compliance with state regulations. The landowner was converting 130 acres of timberland into vineyards in accordance with California’s Forest Practice Rules under a 1999 Timber Harvest Plan (THP) and Timber Conversion Permit approved by the California Department of Forestry (CDF).
The land conversion involved cutting trees and permanently removing mature redwood and Douglas fir forest stands, mechanically removing tree roots, soil ripping, road and drainage construction and extensive land grading. These activities resulted in widespread erosion on the property that deposited significant volumes of hillside soil into nearby steelhead trout streams, killing the steelhead trout in violation of federal law." (NOAA Press Release, Jan.3, 2007)
The Sierra Club supports preservation of natural ecosystems. Wild lands must be kept wild and forestlands kept intact to protect the ecological values of our region. If new vineyards are established, they should be restricted to the existing agricultural areas with low slopes and habitat value. We support adoption of local ordinances and General Plan amendments which protect natural vegetation from conversion to intensive agriculture.
The problem of deforestation is a worldwide one and deforestation is the second leading contributor to human induced global warming. The Sierra Club encourages sustainable forestry. Agricultural conversions such as replacing forests with vineyards bring with them many serious environmental consequences for wildlife, fish and rivers.
For further information, please contact Jay Halcomb at 707-869-3302 or halcomb@sonic.net.
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