River Views
by Margaret Macdonald

The wind has speeded the drying of our bottom land and the Albion River here has faded to a clay gray. The LP tractor dredged canal on the old railroad bed thru our property now is an ideal breeding place for mosquitoes.

Reliable sources tell me that the registered professional forester designed Louisiana Logging road from the mouth of Deadman's Gulch up to the intersection of the Little River Albion and Airport road has totally collapsed in several places releasing massive mudslides into the river below.

This is the road plan which I and my husband protested to CDF because it required so much earth moving and there was an alternative gently sloping route thru LP land, previously used by Masonite, which would have needed little tractor work.

I was along on the pre harvest inspection (to point out the location of the 19th century burial place of a half a dozen Albion Lumber Co. railroad and logging workers). There was a complete team of state experts (CDF, Fish and Game, Water quality, and a Bureau of Mines geologist) who declared the hillside was stable. All approved RPF's claim that excavating the shorter route would remove less land from forest production. Even the tons of soil excavated during construction were hauled and piled on bottom land where it slowly washed into the river a few weeks ago. I wonder why a mining geologist is consulted to protect forest recourses.

excerpt from MENDOCINO BEACON - Thursday, April 2, 1998