Logging Plans Halted Near Big Trees State Park

Arnold, CA — Because the California Department of Fish and Game failed to follow state rules when it reviewed potential enviornmental logging damage, a state appeals count has ordered an immediate halt to plans for clear-cut logging on private land near Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

Sierra Pacific Industries filed three plans five years ago to harvest trees on approximately 1,400 acres north and east of Big Trees State Park in Tuolumne County. Those plans were approved by the Department of Forestry a year later.

The Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center and the Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch then filed suit to halt the proposed logging. Those suits were rejected by a local court, but the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Fresno has now ordered the Department of Forestry to rescind its approval of the harvest plans.

John Buckley, the executive director of the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center, contends that logging along a creek above the park would threaten the area with mud and sediment flows resulting from post-logging erosion.

Written by Bill Johnson