Who is the watchdog here?

Jackson State Demonstration Forest, the largest contiguous tract of state-owned land, with the lowest level of protection, is well situated to help implement Gov. Newsom’s (Oct. 07, 2020) Exec. Order N-82-20. California’s network of forests, rangelands, farms, wetlands, coast, deserts and urban green spaces play a key role in the fight against climate change, a core pillar of Newsom’s climate agenda.

At 50,000 acres, JSDF is the only State Forest of its size that is home to a significant percentage of second-growth redwoods that provide critical habitat for species dependent on large, older redwoods for survival.

Halt the timber harvesting. Re-assess the situation in JSDF in relation to the Governor’s order:

“Within one year of this Order, the California Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with the California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the California Air Resources Board, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, the California Strategic Growth Council and other state agencies, shall develop a Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy that serves as a framework to advances the State’s carbon neutrality goal and builds climate resilience.”

JSDF Advisory Group’s October meeting field tour was closed to the public, who were asked to submit comments via email pertaining to that agenda. How can the public comment on a tour/ discussion they were excluded from? Is that legal?

CalFire draws up their own Timber Harvest Plans. Why does CalFire approve their own plans? Who is the watchdog here? Where is the at-large public voice?

— Mary Rose Kaczorowski,

Fort Bragg