NAIL Petition
Petition to Protect
(Opposed to SJWC “Timber Harvest Proposal”)
This
summary is based on information released to the press by San Jose Water Company
(SJWC) and Big Creek Lumber Company.
San Jose Water Company (SJWC), with the assistance of Big Creek Lumber
Company of
1. Increased Fire Risk: SJWC’s
selective logging plan to remove 40% of the largest trees (redwoods and Douglas
fir,) while leaving untouched the dead oaks (Sudden Oak Death trees,) broom and
other underbrush, will, we believe, increase fire risks for all residents.
Studies done by the Congressional Research Service, a branch of the Library of
Congress, and other scientists and fire ecologists show that fire risks may
increase when only the larger trees are removed.
2. Impacts to Water Quality: Any commercial logging activity in the fragile and steep sloped areas on
SJWC’s watershed land will have the potential to put silt into the streams,
result in mud slides, and adversely affect the water supply of local residents.
The proposed long-term NTMP will most likely require an extensive road-network
with numerous culvert crossings. All have the potential to deliver sediment to
Los Gatos Creek and the Lexington Reservoir. Drive Highway 17 during the rainy
season when silt constantly washes across the road and understand how fragile
the slopes are. Residents may also recall the structural failure and required
re-engineering of the newly-installed Bear Creek overpass some years back when Cal
Trans engineers were expensively surprised by the effect that water drainage
and unanticipated slope failure had on cleared land.
3. Change in
4. Quality of Life and Noise Impacts: The NTMP proposes running a logging
operation 5 days a week starting at 7:00 in the morning in the midst of a
large, residential area. Helicopters and chain saws will be operating 9 hours a
day, ending at 4:00PM. Noise pollution is a high concern. A helicopter hovering
at 500 feet generates 100 decibels of sound; a chain saw generates 125
decibels, while a jet plane generates 120 decibels. The degradation of quality
of life and resultant lowering of property values will be enormous for
thousands of people. The
proposal includes logging every other year for 18 years, with the opportunity
to start over again at that time.
5. Incompatible with Public Open Space and Residential
Neighborhoods: The recent purchase of the surrounding
Sierra Azul and Bear Creek properties and their conversion into public park
lands is inconsistent with the watershed forest lands being converted into an
active and ongoing logging venture. Adding the SJWC lands to the Sierra Azul
and Bear Creek Preserve as an alternative to logging would help protect the
6. Impact to roads: The wear, tear and increased traffic on county maintained
roads by heavy logging trucks will increase repair costs on our local roads.
The opportunity sharply rises for traffic fatalities and worsening traffic
congestion as 80,000 pound logging trucks travel our local, 2-lane roads and
merge onto Highway 17 at both