On March 26, 2021, the Houston Regional Group and Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club visited Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF) to conduct “Forest Watch” citizens oversight and reviewed recent logging on-the-ground. The Sierra Club reviewed a U.S. Forest Service (FS) project, called the San Jacinto First Thinning Project, which has occurred in Compartments (C) 109, 110, and 111 in the southeast corner of SHNF.
On March 27, 2021, the Sierra Club sent an email to the District Ranger of SHNF which stated that, “Our basic assessment of these thinning operations is:”
“1) The lop and scatter requirement has not been done well (some leftover trunks were 10, 15, and 20 feet long and stacked in piles).
2) Some large hardwood trees and snags have been cut down and it is not apparent that this should have occurred.
3) There are many trees with substantial wounds on them where the bark has been knocked off which could attract insect attacks.
4) There are trees that were pushed over and not lopped and scattered.
5) There was a trespass into Stand 25 from the logging operation in Stand 30, C 109, that appears illegal.
6) The marking of some stands for thinning allowed cutting within or on the boundary of wet areas (flatwoods) and probably should have had a wider buffer (Stand 24, C 109 and Stand 19, C 111).
7) At least in one place, in Stand 24, C 109, there were three or four large pine trunks that were left but were the size that would be thinned and removed.
8) It appears that Stand 16 in C 110 has not been thinned and Stand 19 in C 111 has been partially logged. The Sierra Club wants to find out if these observations are accurate. When will these Stands be thinned?
9) A small fire occurred (no longer burning) on the right-hand side of South Red Road just as you enter SHNF from the south. This fire did not appear connected to prescribed fires that burned farther north on South Red Road. The Sierra Club wanted to report this burned area in case the FS did not know about it.
10) As the Sierra Club mentioned previously, the FS road at the end of SHNF on the southwest side of South Red Road, which leads to the Red Road Hunting Club, is in very bad shape and needs maintenance now (the first photos above show the condition of this road). The gate to this road is still open.”
The Sierra Club provided photos of the Stands of trees that were visited in Compartments 109, 110, and 111. The Sierra Club ended the email with the following statement, “The Sierra Club looks forward to working with the FS to ensure protection and management of SHNF.”
In the future, the Sierra Club will talk with and hopefully meet with the FS where these Stands were logged to discuss the techniques used and standards that are applied when logging is done.
Author: Brandt Mannchen