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Proposed Weaverville Community Forest  - Flipchart Notes - May 28th, 2004 – 10:00am to 3:00pm Trinity Congregational Church Meeting Hall

Benefits from a Proposed Community Forest:

• Saw logs to local mill
• Community control of management
• Great opportunity education and learning for the local community as a regional and/or national demonstration
• Retention of viewshed values
• Reduce fire hazards
• Recreational opportunities
• Maintain existing wildlife values
• Protection of resources such as West Weaver creek
• Economics benefit to community
• Research opportunities
• Expansion of local trail system
• Management of unstable slopes
• Retention of archeological values
• Provide living laboratory for local schools and university
• Tourist attraction
• Identification and retention of native plants
• Opportunity for local public involvement – citizens advisory committee
• Firewood
• No spraying of herbicides or pesticides
• Jobs to local citizens

• Process for forming the steering committee? (have example from Arcata City) (RCD Board has authority to form an advisory committee with standing) (existing models)
• Steering committee to get off the ground – advisory committee (the owner/manager entity) takes it from there
• Can a decision be made to today
• Difference between RC&D and RCD?
• Road maintenance & agreements?
• Mining claims (yes – very north end) & other use conflicts (are transferred with the land)?
• County Road going in south side of west Weaver Creek.
• Public or private ownership
• How landscape would be managed? (non-industrial private forest plan)
• Why county did not accept transfer? (cost, liability-slopes)
• Limiting to 700 acres or benefits of expanding to other lands & the Democratic Gulch property owners ideas?
• Use working lands concepts

• Education and research (intergenerational)
• Recreation trail system
• Fire prevention, forest management, long term sustainability (the Weaverville definition!!)
• Visual quality – viewshed
• Model working forest – exportable to other communities
• Local decision making
• Watershed protection
• Manage for native biodiversity

• West connector route
• Harvest methods & amount
• Basin wide plan

(From flipcharts)

Recommendations for Sponsors:

• Clarify acquisition costs and BLM purchase requirements
• Establish a recognized and formalized steering committee – go from ad-hoc to recognized committee (business planning, etc)
• Put together a comprehensive landscape resource inventory.
• Develop a business plan to establish realistic projections for ongoing management costs and future development
• Define a range of ownership and management options with likely consequences and pros and cons (including BLM ownership) then make a decision by June 2005.
• Take concerted efforts to build demonstrable local political support especially the Board of Supervisors

• Get this information back to participants on May 28^th meeting.
• Develop Business plan to determine the feasibility (RCD and RC&D working on this)
• Meet again – Tuesday – August 24^th -- 6:30 pm Library -- under 2-3 hours (Colleen to work on logistics) Title -- Community forest discussion
  • Present options analysis
  • Public input period
  • Recommendations on formation of citizens advisory committee

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