Under the guise of forest fire prevention, the Forest Service released a plan in December 2004 to conduct massive logging in Sequoia National Monument, thumbing its nose at the special monument designation meant to protect its giant Sequoias. The plan allows commercial logging in the 327,769-acre central California preserve
When the Monument was established in 2000 on 300,000 acres of Sequoia National Forest, conservationists believed they had finally gained protection for the 34 last remaining giant-sequoia stands in the Sierra Nevadas. Indeed, the proclamation establishing the monument banned commercial logging on the Monument.
But the Forest Service's final plan ignores that proclamation and allows logging of large, fire-resistant trees (30 inches in diameter), a size that is not even permitted most National Forests throughout the Sierra Nevadas. And the size of the proposal -- 10 million board-feet per year -- is more timber than was logged in the entire Sequoia National Forest in the year preceding the Monument's designation.
Most Extreme Alternative
The Forest Service actually proposed six alternative management plans in its proposal, but chose one as its "preferred alternative." The one they picked is the most extreme, involving the most logging -- covering 80,000 acres -- and costing the most money to taxpayers -- over $30 million.
Ignoring Science
Giant sequoias are a fire-dependent species, requiring heat from fires in order for cones to release seeds which can then germinate. The Forest Service's proposal calls for 180 clearcuts of up to two acres in size, in the belief that sequoias benefit from sunny openings in the forest. But studies by the University of California on a state forest have found far, far fewer seedlings on logged sequoia stands than in areas subject to normal wildfires.
While some thinning of smaller trees, in conjunction with controlled burns, may be appropriate to reduce fuel build-up caused by decades of failed fire suppression policies by the Forest Service, allowing the logging of large, fire-resistant trees only feeds the argument that the Forest Service is more interested in logging than in genuine forest management to protect our national lands.
California's Attorney General, Bill Lockyer, filed a lawsuit against the Administration's plan in March 2005.
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