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Background | Hypotheses| Bibliography | Maps | Home |
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Background | Hypotheses| Bibliography | Maps | Home |
KRIS Web Background Pages: Vegetation Types
Information on logging in KRIS Gualala comes from the California Department of Forestry (CDF) Santa Rosa office. The CDF data came as electronic map coverages in ArcView with recent timber harvests, as they were approved, dating back to 1991. The lack of digitized timber harvests from 1985 to 1990 is a critical gap for cumulative effects analysis in the Gualala basin because this period was an active one in some sub-basins. THPs may not be actually cut until several years after a permit is issued. The database associated with the maps also includes the timber harvest permit (THP) number and information about acres harvested, silvicultural method, yarding method and land owner. The coverages from CDF were incorporated into the KRIS Gualala Map project both by year and by logging method.
Reeves et al. (1993) found that basins on the Oregon Coast retained diverse assemblages of salmonid species when timber harvest was below 25% of a watershed's area. The fish community tended to be non-diverse, with one species of salmonid dominating, when logging had taken place in more than 25% of a watershed. Timber harvest in some Gualala Calwater planning areas has exceeded this threshold by two or three fold. Fish communities in these subbasins tend to be dominated by young of the year steelhead or Gualala Roach. Aggradation from cumulative effects from timber harvest is fully discussed in the page entitled Cumulative Watershed Effects in the Gualala Basin.
Aerial and ground photos of timber harvest in the Gualala River basin displayed below were made available to the KRIS Gualala project by the Russian River Residents Against Unsafe Logging (RRRAUL).
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Timber harvests as mapped by the California Department of Forestry by year from 1991-2001 are displayed at left. In the last 10 years, timber harvest has been most intensive in the northwest portions of the basin. Timber harvest between 1985-1990 was also active in some areas of the Gualala basin and while not shown on these maps, may still be contributing to cumulative watershed effects. |
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The image at left shows timber harvests in the KRIS Gualala project area by silvicultural prescription. Clear cuts appear to be more prevalent in the western part of the basin and in the Buckeye subbasin in the Flat Ridge Creek Calwater. Although areas in the eastern part of the watershed do not show clear cuts, multiple entry logging may create landscapes that are clear cut equivalents. Note that polygons in the latter areas often overlap, showing multiple logging plans for the same area. |
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| This photo is looking north along the lower South Fork Gualala River below the Wheatfield Fork showing clear cuts. The river is following the San Andreas Fault, which continues north along the North Fork. Lower Buckeye and Rockpile Creek watersheds can be seen joining the South Fork from the right. | The aerial photo above shows the lower Rockpile Creek watershed above its convergence with the lower South Fork Gualala. Clear cuts with cable yarding appear to have taken place on steep slopes with tractor logging and associated dense skid trails noticeable on flatter terrain. | This is a ground photo of a timber harvest after site preparation on one of the units in the "Buckwheat" timber harvest along the lower South Fork Gualala. The intensity of the burn during site prep appears to have removed vegetation from the Class III watercourse, which runs toward you in the center of the picture. |
References
Reeves, G.H., F.H. Everest and J.R. Sedell. 1993 . Diversity of Juvenile Anadromous Salmonid Assemblages in Coastal Oregon Basins with Different Levels of Timber Harvest. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. Vol 122, No. 3. May 1993.
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