Secretary Wade Crowfoot
California Natural Resources Agency
715 P Street, 20th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Sent via email to secretary@resources.ca.gov
Dear Secretary Crowfoot,
Friends of the Eel River supports the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians as they negotiate for equal co-management of the Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) in their ancestral lands. The JDSF is the largest state-owned coast redwood forest that still allows commercial logging, and it contains Northern Pomo and Coast Yuki sacred sites. The forest presents a perfect opportunity for the state to apply the 30×30 framework to conserve land and establish co-management agreements with local Tribes.
This ill-begotten property was the site of an organized genocidal campaign carried out by European settlers, which ultimately resulted in the State purchasing the land in the 1930s. After Governor Newsom announced in Sept 2020 his administration’s policy that every state entity seeks opportunities for Tribal co-management, many were hopeful that negotiations would return decision-making to the Tribes who have stewarded these lands since time immemorial.
Instead, the state is preparing to squander a unique opportunity. The JDSF should be managed to conserve the mature coastal redwoods for carbon sequestration (coast redwood trees sequester more carbon and store it for longer than almost any other species on earth), to enhance endangered species habitat for northern spotted owl and coho salmon, and to protect cultural uses and sacred sites. The state is acting against its own goals as outlined in the 30×30 initiative – to protect biodiversity, combat climate change, and provide equitable access to nature.
The solution is simple – the California Natural Resources Agency should resume the moratorium on all logging, road building, and herbicide operations, and work with the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians to establish a co-management agreement.
For our future,
Alicia Hamann
Executive Director
Friends of the Eel River