Background -- The YWI and the ‘Inimim Forest

The vast forests blanketing the western slope of the Sierra Nevada have been severely logged in the years since World War II. For the past decade the foothill communities have been at the center of great controversy over the treatment of federal timberlands and the logging of old growth forests. Wood products industries are failing and unemployment is increasing among those dependent on the timber industry. In our own community several small sawmills have closed while logs from this area have been processed elsewhere.
 

In October, 1990 - dismayed by the problems caused by loss of healthy forests and a local economy and stimulated by the opportunity to work together to address these problems - members of the Yuba Watershed Institute signed a ground-breaking agreement with the Bureau of Land Management and the Timber Framers Guild providing for the joint management of 1,388 (now expanded to 1,813) acres of federal forest land on ten parcels on the San Juan Ridge in western Nevada County. These lands are now known as the ‘Inimim Forest. (‘Inimim is the Nisenan word for ponderosa pine.) Our agreement calls for the restoration of the ‘Inimim Forest to an old-growth condition, management of its timber on an ecologically sustainable yield basis, and protection of wildlife, cultural, historical, recreational, educational and scenic values of this forest.

The ‘Inimim Forest Management Plan
 

The goals of the YWI have been worked out over the past six years, culminating in the Management Plan for the ‘Inimim Forest. This document, completed in 1995, is the result of over 3000 hours of volunteer work and input from residents (including biologists, ecologists, loggers, and foresters), and government agencies. In addition to numerous committee meetings and seminars on aspects of forest management, we held two large public meetings and three neighborhood meetings specifically on the draft management plan. Objections to the plan were personally answered and the plan was modified several times based on feedback received.
 

The community written ‘Inimim Forest ecologically sustainable forest plan is the first of its kind in the U.S. As it is proven economically and ecologically viable in the coming years, the ‘Inimim Plan will be one model for cooperative community and public agency managed sustainable forestry on private and federal lands.

The Implementation Plan

In order to achieve the Management Plan’s stated goal of promoting old growth-based sustainable forestry, the YWI has been in contact with the Institute for Sustainable Forestry (ISF) of Redway, California. This organization works with private landowners to plan and monitor ecologically sustainable forest management and logging plans. They also work with the "Smartwood" program to certify that forest plans and tracts of land meet new national standards for ecologically sustainable management. This sustainable forest management certification is analogous to the organic food certification process. The ISF has outlined the conditions that will need to be met for certification of the ‘Inimim Forest.

In May 1997, YWI received a $50,000 grant from the US Environmental Protection Agencies' Sustainable Development Challenge Grant Program. With this grant, the YWI is now completing an Implementation Plan for the 'Inimim Forest. The plan will allow YWI to meet the ISF/Smartwood(tm) preconditions for certification of the 'Inimim Forest as an ecologically sustainable source of forest products. The plan will specific which lands are available for logging over the next 200 years, which lands will be cut in first 50 years, and where the logging will be located. It also includes detailed assessment and ongoing monitoring of stream and watershed condition, and mapping of vegetation and old-growth forest distribution. Work on the implementation plan commenced in September 1998. The plan will be complete in the winter/spring of 1999/2000. For current status of projects, see our planning updates.

How to Become Involved

Sierra College Bio-14 students assist the YWI watershed assessment.

During the fall and winter of 1998, and spring 1999, over 50 community members and students volunteered on the 'Inimim Implementation Plan. Sierra College instructor JoAnn Hild (above left) taught her Bio-14 class aquatic ecology while assessing the ecological condition of the 'Inimim streams. Many professional biologists, ecologists and entomologists volunteered their evenings and weekends to help us map old-growth forests and identify stream insects. If want to help please contact Project Director Eric Beckwitt (ericb@sierrabiodiversity.org). You can reach him at 530.292.0100.

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