We applaud the Board of Supervisors' interest in focusing on ways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the County (Agenda item 10 in this meeting). An underappreciated opportunity is carbon management in forests generally, and in Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) in particular.

We recently published a detailed report documenting widespread greenwashing conducted by Cal Fire in JDSF, chief among which is misleading carbon accounting and highly suboptimal forest management practices. You can download the document here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e3a-4L1VeWKb1GI35Nxp7aiIbTZ2dUla/view?usp=share_link

Cal Fire states that JDSF today contains 19 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide. This corresponds to that held in 75,000 coal train cars, with annual additions through growth equal to the emissions of 50,000 passenger cars on an ongoing basis (remarkably, this is on par with the number of cars in the County). But this is far less than the forest would hold were it managed with carbon as a high priority. In contrast -- and implausibly -- Jackson suggests that a cessation of logging would _reduce_ the amount of carbon stored in the forest; this contradicts JDSF’s own data as well as analyses in the peer-reviewed scientific literature stretching back at least 35 years.

Even more importantly, through its "demonstrations" in Jackson Cal Fire actively sets the tone for forest practices throughout the county and state and directly reviews and approves all timber harvest plans for private lands. Thus, its influence on forest carbon extends far beyond the boundaries of JDSF.

That said, JSDF is the largest publicly-owned redwood forest in the state, which makes it a unique boon to Mendocino county’s natural appeal, climate, and economy. The forest’s current mandate, originating from archaic 1947 legislation, for the demonstration of commercial timber production is antiquated and does not reflect the imperatives of our time, including proactive responses to the specter of climate change. Situated within a 4-hour drive of over 10 million people, a JDSF managed as a demonstration forest for the 21st century prioritizing carbon sequestration, recreation, and climate resilience would serve as a statewide beacon of climate action and a magnet for outdoor recreators. As you are all aware, tourism is the largest and fastest growing economic sector in Mendocino county, and JDSF as it is presently managed represents a significant untapped source of economic benefit to the county that would span multiple economic sectors instead of being almost exclusively concentrated in a single one – logging and forest products – which has been in decline for decades due to exogenous market forces. Despite overwhelming support in the county for a change in management practices, including the discontinued use of herbicides (Measure V), JDSF continues to greenwash the realities of current management practices.

Common to these related issues is a lack -- perhaps willful -- of rigorous scientific and economic analysis on the part of Cal Fire, and by extension the State Board of Forestry. Several years ago the BoS unanimously passed a resolution to have the state publish a scientific review of JDSF science and climate claims (https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1sc4gqmDb91tbOnARglcZD9Uxvp5vXM41). If this essential task is still pending, we encourage the BoS to redouble its efforts.

Sincerely,
Evan Mills PhD and John P. O'Brien PhD