Headwaters draft plan comments due Sep. 6, 02'

COMMENTS DEADLINE REMINDER! September 6, 2002 is the day!

The deadline for comments on the Draft Management Plan for the Headwaters Preserve is upon us!

This has been a long planning process, hugely important to the marbled murrelet, coho salmon and red tree vole, as well as us forest lovers. Check
out our website http://www.Headwaters Preserve.org for information to use in letters to BLM (Bureau of Land Management, who is administering the publicly-owned forest), a link to the plan, and a countdown on days left in the comment period! A brief list of suggestions is below. BACH also has pre-printed postcards we can send in for you, with just a few points. Contact our office.

TALKING POINTS FOR COMMENTS TO BLM
We are very lucky this time around: many of the plan's provisions can be supported by Headwaters Forest defenders. But your participation is still crucial! Activist participation will help ensure that the forest we fought so long for is finally protected as wilderness and a refuge for the species rather than as a playground.

DESIGNATION
* Wilderness Study Area (WSA) designation for all lands that qualify, about 80% of the Preserve (7A).
* State of California Ecological Reserve Designation (9A).
* All streams in the Preserve that are eligible should be recommended by the BLM for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers program (8A).

PUBLIC ACCESS
To minimize the adverse impacts of recreational activities upon the survival and recovery of endangered and threatened species which have already suffered substantial habitat loss from logging, BACH recommends the following trail restrictions:
* Limit hiking to the Elk River Road trail, the northern access to the Preserve (3C);
* No new trails in the Preserve;
* Close the southern access trail, Salmon Pass, permanently or at least until the marbled murrelet and other endangered species have recovered
sufficiently so that they will not be further imperiled;
* If a universal access trail is considered it should be on the Elk River trail where the old growth is better buffered.

RESTORATION
* Support the BLM¹s stated management goals of restoring the natural ecology of old-growth forests, riparian areas and aquatic habitats.
* Roads should be removed to the maximum extent possible from the Preserve

Please write a letter by Sept. 6, 2002 when the public comment period ends.

Mail to:
Headwaters
P.O. Box 18867
Sacramento, CA 95818-8677

Or email comments to: headwaters [at] jsanet.com
The Headwaters Draft Management Plan is available online at:
http://www.ca.blm.gov/arcata/draft_plan.html or from a link on BACh's website.

CONTACT BACH FOR MORE INFO: http://www.HeadwatersPreserve.org (510) 548-3113