On the heavily logged Tahoe National Forest, Duncan Canyon Roadless Area stands out as a veritable oasis of exquisite old-growth mixed-conifer forest. In fact, it is one of the few remaining areas that harbor an intact example of this forest type throughout the entire central Sierra Nevadas in the 5,000- to 7,000-foot elevation range.
Visitors to Duncan Creek are constantly amazed by huge sugar pines, yellow pines and incense cedars scattered among the dominant red and white fir forest. Streamside conifers and hardwoods, dappled with shrubs and small plants, grow thick along Duncan Creek and its tributary streams. Numerous seeps and springs dot the slopes of Red Star Ridge along the southern edge of the roadless area, creating rich micro-environments that support dense thickets of mountain alder, extensive patches of bracken fern and a wide variety of grasses and forbs.
This incredibly diverse environment provides much-needed habitat for wildlife species that are rapidly declining in California-species such as the California spotted owl, northern goshawk and American marten. Now, following the Star fire that burned in this region during August 2001, nearly 25 percent of this wonderful 4,300-acre landscape faces commercial logging to remove large, fire-killed trees-primarily to generate revenues, according to Forest Service documents. On the other hand, the habitat value of these huge, old snags is irreplaceable within the context of fast-disappearing ancient Sierran forests. The Forest Service revealed in a scoping letter that it intends to use the Star fire to justify the sales.
