Logging Roads and Aquatic Habitat Protection in the California Redwoods

Introduction

Control of sediment from logging roads in California’s redwood region is important to protecting streams inhabited by endangered salmonids. Both private and public landowners have limited resources to devote to road erosion control, and must make difficult choices about which roads to treat and how to treat them. We are developing operations research models to address road management questions in both spatial and temporal terms. These models explore the management implications of ongoing erosion, stochastic failures, and option values such as the ability to use roads for fire control and other management activities. Four decades of data collection and research on precipitation, hydrologic function, and sediment loads in the Caspar Creek watershed provides an information base on which to build such models. Our goal is to produce decision tools useful to both public and private land managers who want to achieve cost-effective reduction of sediment delivery from roads to streams. (Click here for poster)

Source: Tomberlin, D., Thompson, M., Ziemer, R., and W.T. Baxter. 2003. “Logging Roads and aquatic habitat protection in the California redwoods.” In: Proceedings of the Society of American Foresters 2002 Convention. Washington, D.C.: Society of American Foresters.

For more information, please contact: David.Tomberlin@noaa.gov