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Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District wants to cut down trees as part of the La Honda Forest Health Project, but officials say there’s no cause for concern.
A study session will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to review the draft of a Timber Harvesting Plan that aims to help the densely forested areas of La Honda Creek Open Preserve recover from the negative impacts of logging in the 1800s.
The forest is densely packed with second- and third-growth trees that are preventing light from reaching the forest floor, causing lack of diversity in plants and wildlife, said Leigh Ann Gessner, public affairs specialist at Midpen.
District officials want to implement restoration forestry techniques, which “includes selectively thinning some of the really dense areas to get the forest back on a trajectory towards healthier, old-growth conditions,” Gessner said.
Second- and third-growth forests are areas where trees have been logged and grown back. Old-growth forests are made up of mature trees that have experienced minimal human disturbance and store large amounts of carbon, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Before anyone can swing an axe, there are several steps in the process. The Timber Harvesting Plan is a permit that allows Midpen to initiate the restoration. It has to be reviewed by Cal Fire and then undergo a public review, a process similar to an Environmental Impact Report, according to Midpen.
The goals of the project are to restore and promote healthy forests, improve watershed health, enhance wildlife habitat and carbon storage, and increase resiliency to fire, disease and climate change.
“What Midpen is aiming to do is to use some restoration forestry techniques, which includes selectively thinning some of the really dense areas, and try to get the forest back on a trajectory towards healthier old-growth conditions,” said Gessner.
A healthy forest would have trees of different sizes that are better spaced out, decaying wood on the forest floor to provide habitat for wildlife and understory vegetation growing where the sunlight breaks through the canopy.
Gessner said a flourishing forest would be more diverse when compared to a heavily logged forest, which can be up to four times more dense with vegetation.
The two proposed areas for the project are in the northern portion of the preserve, west of Skyline Ridge.
Midpen officials confirmed that studies have been done at the project site to determine what plants and wildlife inhabit the area. One species that has been researched extensively in the area is the marbled murrelet, an endangered seabird that builds nests in old-growth trees.
“Because of the historic logging that has happened in this project area, that habitat has been really degraded for them, and they have not been detected there, but this project over time would improve the habitat for species like that,” said Gessner.
She also explained that some of the timber from the removed trees may be sold. Midpen’s policy states that if removed trees are reusable, the funds from the sale will be put back into the restoration project.
Legacy logging roads in the preserve are also causing issues, said Gessner. Midpen wants to restore the roads in the area to reduce sediment that is washing into the forest watershed. Post-treatment, Gessner said a healthier watershed will improve the forest and make it more resilient to fires.
The La Honda Forest Health Project has been in the works since 2020 and is nearing its final stages. If the Timber Harvest Plan is approved by Cal Fire, Midpen anticipates it will initiate its forest treatment processes between 2027 and 2028.
“These forests have been severely impacted by the activities of people and so preserving them as open space land is one step, but actively managing and restoring the forest to help them become healthier, diverse and resilient to things like potential fires requires active management, not just preservation,” said Gessner.
National Park Service has conducted similar forest restoration techniques by removing selected trees and logging roads to restore the health of old-growth trees which were around when the Redwood National and State Parks were established in 1968.
Midpen’s draft of the Timber Harvesting Plan will be presented to the board of directors at 5 p.m. on Nov. 10. The public can attend the meeting in person at the Midpen Administrative Office, 5050 El Camino Real in Los Altos, or on Zoom. For more information visit openspace.org/about-us/meetings/bod-20261110.
