Residents of Ben Lomond and Brookdale in the San Lorenzo Valley were successful in curtailing logging in the local hills, when the San Lorenzo Valley Water District Board of Directors voted unanimously to purchase the property that was to be logged.
The Hulse/Cook property, also known as "Malosky Creek," has been on the chopping block for years. In 1997, the CDF (California Department of Forestry) approved THP (timber harvest plan) number 1-97-103 to log the 145 acres of steep terrain using helicopters to transport the cut trees. The use of helicopters near people's homes and the concept of logging very steep slopes that tend to slide in rainy winter months alarmed a number of residents in the area. Locals went to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors for help, and in May of 1999, in a case between the County and the logging parties, a preliminary injunction was filed in Santa Cruz County Superior Court and emergency County ordinances were enacted, which prevented the commencement of logging.
But it was not long before another revision of THP 1-97-103 was filed with the CDF. Again, locals requested help from the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, who voted to enact permanent local ordinances in November 1999 that both prevented helicopter logging over non-contiguous properties and required a riparian corridor. Unfortunately, the CDF and local logging parties stated that they would not recognize the ordinances passed by the Board of Supervisors. (Please lobby your state officials, and encourage them to support local control of logging practices.)
In the interim, Sempervirens (a non-profit organization that purchases redwood property and turns it over to the state park system for preservation) negotiated an option to buy the Hulse/Cook property. Because Sempervirens held this option, the property was not available for logging. However, in June of this year, Sempervirens said that they would not be able to exercise the option to buy the Hulse/Cook property. Sempervirens was in negotiation with the SLV Water District to purchase Waterman Gap, which would likely be an expensive but very worthwhile purchase for the community, as the Waterman Gap property would be preserved for generations.
With the Hulse/Cook property being in limbo once again, locals approached the SLV Water District Board of Directors requesting that they consider the purchase of the Hulse/Cook property because it is situated in the middle of watershed lands, because the Water District has a pipeline that crosses the property, and most importantly, because the property was open to logging once again, especially given that Roger Burch of Redwood Empire owns large tracts of land adjacent to the Hulse/Cook property. (In fact, there were rumors that Roger Burch had submitted an offer to purchase the property if the Sempervirens option to purchase was not exercised.)
The SLV Water District Board of Directors received a wild round of applause when they unanimously voted to purchase the property. The purchase is contingent on the sale of Waterman Gap to Sempervirens. Call or write SLV's Water Board, and thank them for doing the right thing. If you'd like to make a contribution to help the Water District pay for the purchase, send checks to the Water District with the notation "donation for Hulse/Cook property purchase":
San Lorenzo Valley Water District 13060 Highway 9 Boulder Creek, CA 95006
If you'd like to make a tax-deductible contribution to Sempervirens to help purchase Waterman Gap from the SLV Water District, send checks with the notation "donation for Waterman Gap/Hulse/Cook property purchase":
Sempervirens Fund Drawer BE Los Altos, CA 94023-4054