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Statement of Jim Owens 



Forests, Fannily Farms, and Energy Subcommittee 



September 10, 1992 



Pages 



fish, such as salmon cind steelhead. After a century of intensive 

 logging, all of these imique forest attributes are in jeopardy. 



The area known as the Headwaters Forest, named for its 

 location at the highest reaches of two tributaries to Humboldt Bay, 

 covers approximately 44,000 acres of land, providing vital plant and 

 wildlife habitat as well as virtually the only unpolluted fresh water to 

 Humboldt Bay. The stand contains approximately 70 percent Coast 

 Redwood (Sequoia semperviren), 20 percent Douglas fir, grand fir and 

 other softwoods, and 10 percent hardwoods. The watersheds affected 

 by this bill rise from sea level to almost 3500 feet, and cover 112 square 

 miles. 



This is a region in which logging has ruled the landscape for 

 over 130 years. These forests were first cut for fuel and to supply 

 building materials for early mining ventures in northern California 

 before statehood was enacted, and later helped rebuild San Francisco 

 after the 1906 Earthquake. 



This continuous harvest, greatly accelerated in the past few 

 decades, has not been without cost to the landscape. Humboldt Bay, 

 which once covered over 27,000 acres , has lost 10,000 acres to 

 sedimentation caused by logging, roadbuilding and to reclamation for 



