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STATEMENT OF GORDON ROBINSON (41 5) 435-0582 



Supporting The Giant Sequoia Preservation Act of 1993 (H.R. 2153) 



on behalf of Sequoia Alliance- January 1 9, 1 994 



undertaking. I can't help wondering why they haven't learned 

 from the experience. 



J. Previous logging in Redwood Meadow is the most 

 atrocious I have ever encountered on public land. It resembles 

 the logging on private land in the coast redwoods which led to 

 clamor for the Redwood National Park, and later to the 

 California State Forest Practices Act being declared 

 unconstitutional by the state supreme court. The earth was torn 

 up by bulldozers; stumps rooted out and shoved off to the side; 

 great piles of loose sandy soil were left causing drainage and 

 erosion problems. Then, pine was planted in straight rows under 

 the remaining Bigtrees, obvious type conversion, and unsightly 

 even should the planting be successful. 



K. I observed that fallen Bigtrees were being cut up 

 and removed. This is disturbing because local people 

 complained about this a number of years ago when I was staff 

 forester for the Sierra Club. At that time, I carried the 

 complaint to Bob Howden who was then a senior officer in 

 Timber Management in the Regional office. He assured me that 

 they were adopting a policy of leaving the fallen Bigtrees lie, 

 and later sent me a copy of the policy issued by the Supervisor 

 of the Sequoia National Forest to that effect. 



L Throughout the Sequoia National Forest I saw coarse 

 unstable decomposed granite soil. Frequently logging was on 

 very steep slopes, up to 100% in many cases, with logging 

 continuing down to the very center of streams below. I saw much 

 evidence of gully erosion caused by poor road construction, and 

 sheet erosion from clearcuts. 



M. In every timber sale area they have cut down most, 

 if not all of the oaks. Oak is the mother of the pine, and is an 

 important factor in the forest ecosystem. Oak leaves mulch 

 rapidly and hasten the decomposition of pine needles, thus 



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