By Richard Gienger

Some issues for North Coast residents never seem to go away. One of these, in general, is the problem of unstable slopes and the often catastrophic impacts on people, water, and resources when landsliding, debris flows, and debris torrents occur. These examples of "mass wasting" can be exacerbated or triggered by human impacts on the land. Two local examples are the 1981 Redway slide and the New Year's 1997 Stafford slides and debris torrent. Both of those examples are in the throes of the search for equitable and appropriate resolution. The Stafford controversy has been in the news, and in the courts, almost daily for some time now.

The other local example, with the unstable slopes across from lower Redway, has been relatively lowprofile since successful citizen litigation in 1997 stopped a 1996 CDF (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) approved Pacific Lumber Timber Harvest Plan (THP). In 1985 an earlier lawsuit was settled for over $300,000 with affected residents that lost land and property when a landslide and torrent pushed the South Fork Eel River against its lower Redway bank. The 1981 slide and torrent came from an "ancient landslide" reactivated by operations from a PL 1978 THP. In Stafford the contentious THP was a 1991 clearcut leading to reactivation of another "ancient landslide".

Several months ago Pacific Lumber submitted yet another THP for its Redway property (THP 1-00-044 HUM). The public comment period was officially closed several weeks ago. Approval could come at any time. This new THP for the most part, not entirely, stayed off the unstable areas over the South Fork, but the new plan:

(1) Sets up the infrastructure for logging all of PL's current Redway property reopening or building about a five-mile road system on about 600 acres.

(2) directly impacts tributaries of Redwood Creek, one of the South Fork's major salmon and steelhead streams. One of these tributaries supports a rearing pond and hatchbox that recently produced the millionth fingerling of the Redwood Creek project the pond and hatch box are located streamside below very steep slopes currently owned by Eel River Sawmills, which may be acquired at any moment by PL.

(3) Fails to describe or respond to future planned operations on its land above the South-Fork, or on other pending operations on very unstable land adjacent to its holdings, and in the Watershed Assessment Area.

(4) Does not address active erosion sites on its property over the South Fork, adding to the sediment impairment of the South Fork contrary to state and federal water law.

(5) Is a step in the conversion of the Redway holding to "even-aged" management, whereby virtually all merchantable volume is removed from cutblocks, followed by herbicides and clearcutting.

A few other factors:

*The California Department of Parks and Recreation disputes PL's claim of legal access through Whittemore Grove. DPR is willing, apparently, to grant PL a use permit, an option which PL is loathe to use wanting established legal
access.

*Past negotiations regarding acquisition have been unsuccessful but have been inactive since around 1996. New funding sources and fresh perspectives should now apply.

*Harvesting of adjacent unstable areas by other landowners is imminent.

*PL could double the size of its Redway holding to over 1,200 acres with Eel River Sawmills holdings on unstable ground, affecting local watercourses between the Old Briceland and New Briceland Roads, from Connick to Redwood Creeks.

*The Sustained Yield Plan under the Headwaters "deal" calls for clearcutting of PL's slopes over the South Fork in the next 8-10 years, although PL claims that's just a hypothetical computer-generated model.

Unless concerned landowners, residents, and the public act in a concerted fashion now, we will be facing individual THP threats to slope stability and the health, safety, and general welfare of people and resources for decades along the steep slopes facing Redway over the South Fork Eel River. Among other
things, this will mean expensive and protracted litigation that no one really wants to be forced into.

REDWAY - A debate over Pacific Lumber Company's access to a timber harvest plan near Redway will post- pone logging scheduled to have begun next week, PL representatives stated last week.

A community liaison group called the Redway Forestry Council conducted its first meeting on March 29 to discuss issues regarding Timber Harvest Plan 044. The Institute for sustainable Forestry, the James/Marshall Creek Homeowners Association, the Eel River Salmon Restoration Project, Redway Forest Defense, the Redway Community Services District, and Pacific Lumber were represented at the meeting. The group was formed as a result of settle- ment conditions in a lawsuit on THP 044 to find solutions acceptable to both parties involved, PL affirms it will log the steep, unstable slopes facing Redway with selection silviculture and not clearcutting.

PL's original goal for logging on THP 044 was set to begin on or about April 15. In the plan, PL states that it has access rights to the parcel through Whittemore Grove. However, State Park officials indicate that no documents have been found that indicate recorded easements, and have told PL so in writing.

"California State Parks is a resource agency and we are looking to protect our resources," said Ken Wilbur, chief ranger for the North Coast Redwoods District of California State Parks. "Our stance right now is still steadfast that there is no access through Whittemore Grove."

The right-of way issue is not cleared up yet," confirmed Craig Anthony, Resource Manager for PL Operations on THP 044 had not been scheduled for the 15th as of Thurs. day, April 5. "I haven't put it into our logging schedule," Anthony said. "I kind of have a feeling that it [the access issue] won't be cleared up in the next two weeks," he added. Anthony indicated at the meeting that SYP (Sustained Yield Plan) clearcutting isn't going to happen.

In the past months, Redway area community members have been raising funds to acquire trees that stand in Redway's skyline on the harvest block. Two Stable Slopes Forever (SSF!) events in the last week of March raised over $15,000 to go toward the acquisition. Taun Moondy of SSF said, "The communication between community members during the rummage sales and the Mateel event has really increased. So many people seem to be really emotional about it and want to preserve the viewshed." 

PL spokeswoman Mary Bullwinkel said, "Our company's position is that we are not a willing seller, but that we are willing to listen to ideas of the community."

Residents of Southern Humboldt are rejoicing because Humboldt Superior Court issued a favorable decision in the case of Redway Forest Defense and Richard Gienger v. California Department of Forestry and Pacific Lumber Co. This lawsuit was filed on November 15, 1996, by concerned citizens to protect the unstable slopes of Redway from a reckless Pacific Lumber logging plan. The suit was argued by local attorney Jay Moller, with assistance from noted forestry attorney Sharon Duggan.

In 1996 Pacific Lumber filed a timber harvest plan (THP 1-96-036) to log 75 acres on the steep hillside directly across the Eel River from the town of Redway. Local citizens were extremely concerned that logging these steep slopes could cause a repeat of the catastrophic 1981 landslide which blocked the Eel River and destroyed several homes. That slide was caused by a 1978 Pacific Lumber logging plan in the same area, and PL settled the resulting lawsuit out of court in 1986. In addition to residents' concerns for their lives, there were concerns regarding the degradation of coho salmon habitat in the Eel River and the destruction of scenic values in this tourism-dependent community.

The court ruled that the California Department of Forestry (CDF) failed to adequately review and adopt feasible mitigation measures and reasonable alternatives when the agency considered and approved the THP. The court found that CDF did not properly evaluate cumulative impacts in connection with this THP. The court ruling concluded that CDF committed an abuse of
discretion in approving the THP based on the facts and evidence in the record,which had all involved experts agreeing that the area was unstable and underlain by slide zones. CDF must now withdraw its approval of the logging plan and Pacific Lumber is enjoined from any logging activity in this THP.

Local restorationist and plaintiff on the suit Richard Gienger summed up this tremendous community victory: "Dedicated citizens once again caught CDF abusing its discretion. CDF consistently disregards its responsibility to protect public trust resources."

A hillside along the South Fork of the Eel River in Lower Redway cut loose and slid into the river there Sunday afternoon, threatening to turn the low-lying area into a lake as the slide plugged up the waterway; causing the evacuation of the small community's populace.

The slide came just as that residential area and other communities of Southern Humboldt had begun to breathe easier after torrential rains that started Friday had already resulted In minor flooding and evacuations on the north coast over the weekend.

Trees, rocks, and mud left the side of the Lower Redway mountain in earnest, just upstream from the Briceland Bridge over the South Fork, about 1 p.m. Sunday, and slid into the river, effectively damming about two-thirds of the waterway. Rumblings of earth moving at that point were reportedly heard already the previous night.

Evacuation of homes began at 2:50 p.m. after the blockage of the river became almost complete, said Sheriff's Lieutenant Dennis DeCarli, whose office was charged with the evacuation. By 3:35, Lower Redway was emptied, DeCarli said. A National Guard unit from Eureka was sent in to help with the maneuver at 3:20, and came to the aid of a host of local emergency personnel already at the scene.

Before the evacuation was completed, the river had pushed through a fraction of the slide and imminent danger was averted.

Most Lower Redway residents took refuge with neighbors, DeCarli said. However, Pathfinders Crisis Center had also made arrangements to shelter displaced persons, he stated.

Communities downstream from the slide area as far north as Weott were also notified of potential danger and made ready to evacuate, as official's feared for the towns' safety if the waters of the South Fork pressing on the slide suddenly burst through; delivering a wall of water towards the communities. DeCarli said personnel from his office went door-to-door in the river bordered towns, and remained stationed there along with Department of Forestry personnel overnight Sunday. They remained on duty along the Avenue of the Giants as of Monday at press time.

From a command center set up in the Redway Fire Department meeting room, DeCarli said a representative from the Army Corps of Engineers arrived late Sunday to offer assistance. Other specialists were expected to examine the slide area Monday. DeCarli said Second District Supervisor Harry Pritchard had been at the site Monday morning and expressed intentions to have the supervisors pass a resolution that day to consolidate emergency efforts.

At least three large redwoods on private property along the east side of the river in Lower Redway had been lost by Monday morning, as the backed-up river had begun to eat away shoreline. More redwoods were in danger, DeCarli indicated, adding the trees that were lost had been washed downstream.

Authorities monitored the floodlighted slide area through the night Sunday and Monday morning DeCarli said there was still a "good-sized channel" of water flowing through the area, but added the held-up water was "still eating away" at banks and their trees upstream

As of press time Monday, no firm decisions had been reached by officials looking for ways to ease the flood potential at Redway. Installing drainage in the mountain above the land slide, logging trees along the river's path, and using explosives to break up the dam were among the options reportedly being considered.

The slide has unofficially been blamed on logging on timber company property in recent years above the affected area.

Residents of Lower Redway were being issued passes by officials to visit their homes for short periods Monday, but the sheriffs office was discouraging more permanent returns home. Meanwhile, officers were patrolling the area to prevent vandalism and looting of homes, DeCarli said.

Sunday's slide came just as this part of the Northcoast had stopped reeling from the two days of rain that had swelled rivers and caused widespread flooding in numerous parts of the county, prompting the board of supervisors to declare a state of emergency by 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon.

Rainfall began in Southern Humboldt early Friday morning, exactly 17 years to the day from the inception of the downpour that ended in the disaster remembered as the '64 flood. By Sunday morning, 9.21 inches of rain had been recorded at Dean Creek near Redway, with 7.51 inches of that recorded Friday and Saturday.

In the 1964 flood, some 15.28 inches of rain were recorded at Garbervllle in two days before the high water mark was reached December 24th of that year.

On Saturday, the Highway 101 overpass at Sylvandale had swollen to 33.8 feet, nearly four feet beyond flood level, reports said. Phillipsville was reportedly surrounded by Saturday night and was evacuated that day along with low areas of Myers Flat, the sheriff's office reported. An Office of Emergency Services representative was here over the weekend to assist in such moves, the sheriff's office said.

Other minor flooding was reported in various areas of Southern Humboldt Saturday, and some low-lying areas upstream from the Redway slide were temporarily threatened again Sunday with the possibility of back-flooding South Fork.

Water levels in the river receded all day Sunday, and a respite was provided Southern Humboldt Monday when another storm front that was expected to quickly follow those of the weekend failed to materialize. Damage estimates to public and private property over the weekend were unknown.

California Highway Patrol headquarters at Redway reported no serious accidents directly tied to the storms. Likewise, Continental Telephone of Garberville had no significant problems, manager Lew Florence reported.

Pacific Gas and Electric had power outages in the Thorn, Confusion Hill, Leggett, and Fruitland Ridge areas, according to district manager Bob Fraser in Garberville. He termed them "the usual disasters, minor in nature." Fraser said PG&E crews were on duty from midnight Friday through Sunday night, and said power had been restored 10 all areas by Monday morning.

In Redway, cable TV was out of service much of Saturday evening and Sunday, reports from residents there said.

Southbound travelers were turned back at Benbow Saturday morning, as the slide on Highway 101 at Leggett, acting up since Friday, gave way again.

After being open to one lane Friday night, rains closed Highway 101 four miles north of Leggett at Carl's Slide Saturday. This is the same slide that closed the road last February 19th for almost two weeks. The road, the main artery between the northcoast and the south, is expected to be closed for 3-7 days, according to the California Highway Patrol in Redway.

A spokesperson for the C.H.P. reported that Bell Springs Road is open. Highway 1 in Mendocino County is closed north of Rockport due to a mudslide according to CalTrans officials in Ukiah.

All of the county and state roads in Southern Humboldt are open, according to thc C.H.P., with the exception of Briceland Road, closed due to the mad slide across the Eel River. The slide is upstream from the Briceland Bridge and officials fear dammed-up water behind the slide may endanger the bridge if it suddenly bursts through. Briceland residents and others in communities west of the bridge since Sunday have had to use the old Briceland Road to get to Garberville, according to the C.H.P. spokesperson.

Several secondary roads in Southern Humboldt are open intermittently. Whitlow Road in the Weott area is open but messy, according to a County Public Works representative. The end of Light House Road in the Petrolia area is closed, with the Shelter Cove Road open, but several small slides hamper driving, said the spokesperson. Salmon Creek Road west of Miranda is open intermittently with small slides closing the road at times. The Alderpoint Road east of Garberville is open except for the road going to Island Mountain. The Island Mountain portion of the road has water covering parts of the road. East Branch Road at Benbow is open sporadically due to a small slide. The nearby Blue Rock Road is closed, and may be open Tuesday, the Public Works spokesperson reported Monday afternoon.