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the LCP update. It’s unfortunate, in my opinion, but our resources are strapped as we face down an $80M shortfall over the next 4 years.
sustainable foresters like Fred Euphrat and Matt Greene who are committed to increasing carbon sequestration and enhancing watershed health through sustainable forestry practices. We face regulatory challenges even with implementing shaded fuel breaks to protect rural communities — and to be clear, a shaded fuel break does not mean clear cutting a swath of forest to protect a town, but rather managing shrubs and undergrowth along specific pathways so that a fire is less likely to move into the upper story and that firefighters could potentially access the area in event of a fire.
greenhouse gas sequestration capability of forest land — rather than timber. And a shared management model that enhances ecosystem services. That’s the model I am interested in.
are at the table — this is an extension of the Watershed Collaborative’s work, which was publicly presented before the Board of Supervisors and is available on the County website.
I’m not sure what you mean by “hamstrung CACs” but I’m happy to discuss. I believe deeply in citizen participation in government processes.
Dead standing timber is prevalent throughout the north coast and the dead biomass could be chipped and converted into electricity via mobile cogeneration plants. This means turning dead standing trees - which are currently a huge fire hazard - into energy, and then compost.
The Watershed Collaborative is comprised of public agencies and local non-profits and community activists. Anyone actively working on environmental issues in Sonoma County is welcome to participate in the Collaborative. The Collaborative will be integral to the development and implementation of a healthy forest initiative.
Also, you mentioned the LCP... unfortunately the LCP update has been pushed to 2019 due to PRMD’s increased workload from the fire. I’m personally frustrated by this especially given that VRBO’s are currently entirely unregulated in the Coastal zone, but the PRMD’s work plans are determined by the board majority and not individual supervisors.
I had more details about the proposal in the original version of the article but because the initiative isn’t officially public from McGuire’s office yet, I couldn’t include those details
by the deadline, which is why I was forced to write a hasty and slightly vague summary. That, and the crazy hours we’ve all been putting in since the fire which means that I’m always running late on columns! (Luckily Vesta is endlessly patient with me!)
If you hear of anyone who has concerns feel free to refer them to me for clarification or invite them to participate in the process.
I have definitely not been discussing timber harvest plans with any large parcel owners nor do I support zoning variances... and I honestly don’t
Because the north coast forest
is primarily privately owned and highly parcelized, small landowners cannot afford to manage their forests at all. Part of this is due to (lack of) economy of scale and part of this is due to compliance costs. Regulations are geared towards large commercial landowners and do not offer best practices for small landowners or
an ability to opt into a community forest model which could allow
sales of carbon credits in exchange for subscribing to best practices and a shared management model that would ultimately enhance carbon sequestration and habitat.
I haven’t heard any concern expressed by SCCA or Greenbelt Alliance or folks who are actively working on these issues. I’ve testified about forest health at state hearings and brought it up repeatedly at Board of Supervisors meetings, so there are many ways to learn my perspective on the matter, not just through my Gazette column.
think my statements would support jumping to those particular two conclusions.
Hope that was clear. Again writing quickly at the end of a long day, before an early morning. If you have any questions I’m happy to meet or chat over the phone.
You mentioned winery events. Unfortunately the fire has pushed back a number of issues, and winery event policy is now expected to be postponed until next year, along with
The shadow of the campaign rhetoric and toxicity is long, I suppose. But I do absolutely acknowledge that I was short on specifics.
Lynda Hopkins
To provide a little more detail, I’m working on a Healthy Forests and Rural Safety initiative with State Sen. Mike McGuire’s office, local environmental organizations, and
To be perfectly clear, this means selling ecosystem services — the
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