Cover photograph: Garcia River, Mendocino County, California Photo by Jenny Griffin For more information about this report, please contact: The Conservation Fund Chris Kelly, California Director PO Box 5326 Larkspur, CA 94977 Suggested citation: The Conservation Fund. 2006. Garcia River Forest Integrated Resource Management Plan. Larkspur, California. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The purchase and protection of the Garcia River Forest and the collaborative development of this management plan represent the work of many individuals and organizations. In particular, we thank those who have dedicated their work over many decades to the Garcia’s forests, fish, and wildlife, including Friends of the Garcia, Garcia River Watershed Coordinator Craig Bell, Peter Dobbins, Alan Levine, Leslie and Eric Dahlhoff, John Hooper, Chuck Henderson, and Nick King. For making the acquisition possible and for guidance along the way, we thank the California State Coastal Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Board, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, supporters of The Conservation Fund, and the previous landowner, Richard Padula. Special thanks to The Nature Conservancy for a dynamic and productive planning partnership in addition to acquisition funding. For generous support of our planning efforts, we thank the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund, the Bella Vista Foundation, and the Dean Witter Foundation. For their dedication to and support of the vision of sustainable forestry and ecological vitality, we thank the Redwood Forest Foundation, Mendocino County Supervisor David Colfax, Mendocino Redwood Company, and the local community. Finally, The Conservation Fund is very grateful for the expertise, guidance, and enthusiasm contributed by the Garcia River Forest planning team: Doug Albin, Department of Fish and Game Craig Bell, Garcia River Watershed Coordinator, Consultant to The Conservation Fund Craig Blencowe, RPF, Blencowe and Associates Jen Carah, Field Scientist, The Nature Conservancy Karyn Gear, North Coast Program Manager, California State Coastal Conservancy Greg Giusti, Forest Advisor, RPF, University of California Cooperative Extension Jenny Griffin, Planning Consultant and Project Manager Danny Hagans, Pacific Watershed Associates Chris Kelly, California Director, The Conservation Fund Scott Kelly, RPF, North Coast Resource Management Wendy Millet, North Coast & Klamath Ecoregions, The Nature Conservancy Jack Monschke, Jack Monschke Watershed Management Mark Reynolds, Senior Ecologist for Emerging Projects, The Nature Conservancy Evan Smith, Director of Forestry Projects, The Conservation Fund. GARCIA RIVER FOREST: INTEGRATED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................III TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................4 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................ 10 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE OF PLAN............................................................. 15 I. OVERVIEW OF GARCIA RIVER FOREST......................................................... 18 A. GENERAL PROPERTY DESCRIPTION ...............................................................................18 1. LOCATION OF THE PROPERTY..................................................................................18 2. OWNERSHIP AND LAND USE HISTORY .................................................................21 3. NEIGHBORS AND ADJACENT LANDS .....................................................................21 B. GENERAL PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES..........................................................................24 1. WATERSHED OVERVIEW..............................................................................................24 2. CLIMATE ...............................................................................................................................24 3. GEOLOGY.............................................................................................................................25 4. SOILS.......................................................................................................................................25 C. ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS.................................................................................................27 1. SPECIES OCCURRENCES AND HABITAT TYPES .................................................27 2. OTHER SIGNIFICANT HABITATS...............................................................................31 3. SPECIAL STATUS ANIMAL SPECIES...........................................................................32 4. SPECIAL STATUS PLANT SPECIES..............................................................................35 D. FOREST MANAGEMENT CONDITIONS...........................................................................35 1. GENERAL FOREST CHARACTERISTICS..................................................................35 2. HISTORY OF FOREST MANAGEMENT ....................................................................36 3. ROADS....................................................................................................................................36 4. BRIDGES................................................................................................................................38 5. ROCK PITS............................................................................................................................38 E. CULTURAL RESOURCES..........................................................................................................38 1. ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SITES......................................................38 2. AESTHETICS ........................................................................................................................39 II. MANAGEMENT GOALS ......................................................................................40 A. RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT.............................................................................40 1. ECOLOGICAL RESERVE NETWORK AND CONSERVATION TARGETS....41 2. AQUATIC RESTORATION..............................................................................................51 3. INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT (PLANT AND ANIMAL) .........................66 B. WATERSHED MANAGEMENT ..............................................................................................69 1. WATER QUALITY...............................................................................................................69 2. ROADS....................................................................................................................................73 C. FOREST MANAGEMENT, SILVICULTURE & HARVESTING OPERATIONS ........74 1. PLANNING PROCESS.......................................................................................................76 2. MANAGEMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ...........................................................77 3. FOREST SOILS.....................................................................................................................78 4. MANAGEMENT COMPARTMENTS............................................................................79 GARCIA RIVER FOREST: INTEGRATED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN 5. FOREST INVENTORY PROCESS..................................................................................81 6. TIMBERLAND CHARACTERISTICS............................................................................81 7. SILVICULTURAL PRESCRIPTIONS..............................................................................86 8. SITE INDEX AND POTENTIAL PRODUCTIVITY .................................................87 9. GROWTH AND YIELD.....................................................................................................88 10. HARVEST FREQUENCY..................................................................................................90 11. HARVEST IN ECOLOGICAL RESERVE NETWORK.............................................91 12. RIPARIAN BUFFERS..........................................................................................................91 13. SIGNIFICANT MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS...........................................92 14. MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES.........................................................................................92 15. HARVEST LOGISTICS.......................................................................................................92 16. DESIRED STAND STRUCTURE.....................................................................................94 17. HARDWOOD MANAGEMENT......................................................................................94 18. FOREST IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES......................................................................95 19. FUTURE INITIATIVES................................................................................................... 101 III. PUBLIC ACCESS.................................................................................................. 105 A. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................... 105 B. RECOMMENDATIONS .........................................................................................................