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May 26, 2004
Taking the Allegheny Defense Tour
Click on Picture To View Larger Image
Today, members of the Allegheny Defense Project led a tour of the Allegheny National Forest for members of the media. The tour featured clearcutting, "thinning" cutting, and "shelterwood" cutting implemented under the East Side project currently under appeal before the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition, we toured examples of "Allegheny Hardwood", aka black cherry, forests and Eastern Hemlock-Northern Hardwood Forests where we were greeted by this Red Eft.
Click on Picture To View Larger Image
From there we visited a forest area that had been sprayed with herbicide as demonstrated by these two photos. They are taken from the same place - one looking left into forest, one looking right into herbicide area.
Click on Pictures To View Larger Image
Ah, but that is not all. From there we proceeded onwards to the Thad Shanty Windthrow Salvage - part of the massive 6,000 acre logging project being implemented with the use of the Bush Administration's "Healthy Forests".... excuse me, Healthy Stumps Initiative.
Click on Picture To View Larger Image
After a day of destruction and pending destruction we finished with a visit to the proposed Bogus Rocks Scenic Area. This proposed Scenic Area is part of our Allegheny Wild! Citizens' Proposal for the Allegheny National Forest. All there is to say is wow!
Posted by jkleissler at 06:48 PM | Comments (0)
Tabling for Allegheny Wilderness
The Allegheny Defense Project reaching out to recreationists in the Pittsburgh area at the Venture Outdoors Festival at Heinz Field. It was a good day of climbing, racing, and fishing as ADP volunteers Karen Wood-Campbell and Rachel Martin joined Jim Kleissler and Ryan Talbott for a day under the bright sun. The day was a lot of fun and we met a lot of folks who know and love the Allegheny National Forest. As always, click on the picture to zoom in.
Posted by jkleissler at 06:38 PM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2004
Support the Call for Allegheny Wilderness!
This is a critical moment for the long-term future of the Allegheny National Forest. The US Forest Service is hosting a forest plan revision meeting on June 5th to accept public comment on long-term management of the Allegheny National Forest.
Help demand:
- More Wilderness, Natural, & Scenic Areas
- More hiking, bicycle, and horse trails
- An end to commercial logging
- A phase out of oil & gas drilling
- A moratorium on off-road vehicle trails
Join the Allegheny Defense and ask the Forest Service to adopt our Allegheny Wild! Alternative. This is the last chance to influence the range of alternatives considered in the Forest Plan Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
The public meeting includes visits to parts of the forest so come dressed for all weather conditions. Click Here for Directions.
Can't Make the Meeting?
Send a letter to the Forest Service. Written letters are more valuable but you can also send an e-mail using our action center today.
Send written letters in support of the Allegheny Wild! Citizens' Alternative to:
Supervisor Kevin Elliott
Allegheny National Forest
PO Box 245
Warren, PA 16365
Bring a Public Meeting to Your Area!
Are you fed up that the Forest Service will not hold public meetings in any of the major urban and suburban areas where most Allegheny National Forest users live? You are not alone!
Use the Allegheny Defense Project Action Center to send a letter to the Forest Service asking for a public meeting in your area. Act Now!
Second Meeting Planned for June 3rd
If you can't make the June 5th meeting you may be able to make a second public meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 3rd. The meeting begins at 9am at the Wolf Run Marina on the Allegheny Reservoir.
Check the Forest Service site for Updates
Posted by jkleissler at 06:26 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2004
Killing With Herbicides
Ever wonder what a forest stand looks like after it has been sprayed with herbicides? These two photos were taken from the same location, one looking left into normal forest stand, one looking right into sprayed forest stand. Where are you going hiking? (as always, click on each picture for a larger view)
Posted by jkleissler at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)
Parsing Words
Sometimes you have to wonder. Such as these comments from timber industry mouthpiece Jack Hedlund in today's Bradford Era. I'm often tempted to break down the absurdity of his comments so why not today.
Hedlund said the appeal is a dead issue; the groups already lost on the same claims."They have their own ideas that harvesting timber is abhorrent. They work with no room for negotiation -- they work from a stance of no cut," Hedlund said.
So, apparently we have to give Mr. Hedlund a basic course in how the Courts work. When you lose on an issue - you appeal. When you win - you don't appeal. Get it?
The second part to his quote is beyond ridiculous. This is the same Jack Hedlund that once complained because the US Fish & Wildlife Service wanted to increase buffers around Bald Eagle nests by 100 feet. And he is chastising us for not "compromising"? Obviously he thinks that anything short of full access to all public and private lands for the timber industry (the largest landowners in the area) is an unacceptable compromise. Whatever.
Hedlund also said the group's appeal shouldn't have too much of an effect on the actions of the Forest Service at this time because the Forest Service is essentially starting over on the East Side project.He said the forest here is not a national park, but a national forest, and if there was no cutting, it would be a national park.
"It's frustrating," he said. "We spent three years in district court. It was researched and now we will be going to the 3rd circuit to trudge through it again. The taxpayers are not benefiting from it, the lawyers are. This is costing the taxpayers a bundle of money."
I'll be addressing the status of East Side tomorrow. OK, lets play that what the Allegheny National Forest is NOT game. Its not a National Preserve. Its not a National Park. Its not a National Wildlife Refuge. Its not the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve (so why all those oil & gas wells anyway?). What else isn't it?
The East Side lawsuit doesn't allege violations under the National Park Management Act - it alleges violations under the National Forest Management Act. What part of this doesn't the timber industry understand? Apparently the part that says that National Forests are supposed to be managed as tree farms because they aren't National Parks. Huh? Then how are Bureau of Land Management Lands supposed to be managed?
Posted by jkleissler at 12:18 AM | Comments (0)
May 20, 2004
ADP Challenges Black Cherry Tree Farming
The Allegheny Defense Project joined today with Heartwood, National Forest Protection Alliance, Pennsylvania Environmental Network, Pennsylvania Chapter Sierra Club, and Communities for Sustainable Forestry in an appeal to the 3rd Circuit of the East Side Timber Sale. Click on the links below for more information.
Posted by jkleissler at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2004
Exploring Tionesta Wilderness
Among other things I spent part of today in the Tionesta Wilderness Area. I'll post more on this later but for now I thought I'd share these photos of the ADP's proposed wilderness. Click on each photo to zoom.
Posted by jkleissler at 10:43 PM | Comments (1)
May 17, 2004
ADP Files Appeal to Defend Sugar Run Wilderness
Today we filed our appeal of the Sugar Run Timber Sale which proposed logging within the proposed Sugar Run Wilderness Area, Sugar Run Natural Area, and Colosmos Historic Area. Our appeal is long but here is the gut issue:
Of greatest and most pressing concern is the failure of the EIS to address in any way, shape, or fashion the specific special areas proposed in a detailed science based publication for the Sugar Run Project Area. These include the Sugar Run Wilderness Area, the Sugar Run Natural Area, and the Colosmos Historic Area. The Sugar Run Wilderness Area has been included as a special area in the Act to Save America’s Forests currently pending before the US Senate. These facts have all been communicated on numerous occasions with the US Forest Service. The failure to address this fact is inexcusable. Maps of the proposed Special Areas are attached to this appeal. The maps, legislation, and the scientific publication A Citizens’ Alternative for the Allegheny national Forest are included on the enclosed CD-ROM.
• The failure to consider the Sugar Run Wilderness, Sugar Run Natural Area, and Colosmos Historic Area in the development of alternatives for the Sugar Run FEIS violates the NEPA which mandates that a reasonable range of alternatives be developed using the best available scientific information. 40 CFR §§ 1502.14(a) and (c).
• The failure to consider the Sugar Run Wilderness, Sugar Run Natural Area, and Colosmos Historic Area when considering direct and indirect effects of the proposed timber sale (as well as past, present, and future cumulative effects) violates the National Environmental Policy Act. 40 CFR §§ 1502.16.
Posted by jkleissler at 04:32 PM | Comments (0)
May 14, 2004
Fighting King Coal! Defending Old Growth!
Support the Buckeye Forest Council in their efforts to fight coal mining under the Dysart Woods!
• Dysart Woods is designated as a National Natural Landmark
• According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Dysart Woods is afforded special protection because it is “fragile lands”, including the prohibition of mining in its immediate vicinity
• The State exempted Ohio Valley Coal Company from this restriction
• However under the exemption OVCC has to meet very strict standards, including demonstrating or proving that there will be no subsidence in the area of Dysart Woods
• OVCC has not met those standards
• State approved permit despite OVCC not meeting the standards
Go over and read about the hearings ongoing Buckeye Forest Council website.
Posted by jkleissler at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2004
Bosworth Tour Update
Chief Dale Bosworth was in town today for a tour of logging in the Allegheny National Forest (and how great it is!). We'll post more details in the morning but for now check out our revised and updated press release.
Update: Photo shows Marienville Ranger Leon Blashock, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth, and Congressman Peterson from left to right. I have one question that has been bugging me all day. What is with that shirt?
Click on the image for a larger version.
Posted by jkleissler at 06:27 PM | Comments (2)
Bush Administration Turning “Healthy Forest” Into Stumps
Salvage Logging in the Allegheny National Forest part of White House Propaganda Effort
Giant soil turnup created by forest windthrow. Click above to get a larger image.
!! Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth in the Allegheny today!!
Bush Administration Secretary of Agriculture Anne Veneman Used Earth Day in Order to Tout Salvage Logging in the Allegheny National Forest. Now Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth has come to the Allegheny to promote illegal logging using Bush’s Healthy Forests Initiative as cover.
The Forest Service proposes more than 2,500 acres of salvage logging of forest “windthrow” areas using the Bush Administration’s “Healthy Forest Initiative” as cover.
The logging proposal results from a July 2003 windstorm event in the Allegheny National Forest. Instead of doing the legally required environmental impact statement and holding extensive publlic comment periods the Forest Service has broken down this massive logging project into more than 20 smaller projects in order to explout the new loopholes.
The areas proposed for logging are currently deficient in down coarse woody debris (large fallen dead trees) which are vital to maintain viable populations of certain wildlife. These down and dead trees are also vital for the regeneration of certain tree species including eastern hemlock.
We need your help today. Please take the time to write a letter to Forest Supervisor Kevin Elliott and protest this illegal logging. Demand that an environmental impact statement be prepared due to the size of this project, the use of controversial logging practices, and the scenic and ecological importance of the areas affected.
Supervisor Kevin Elliott
Allegheny National Forest
PO Box 847
Warren, PA 16365
Secretary Veneman (left), Supervisor Elliott (right) and Congressman John Peterson (right of center) providing special access to timber industry rep Kan Kane (center). Click above to get a larger image. Note: the sign is not real. Source
If the Action Center isn't working (we're in process of getting this permanently repaired) you can send Supervisor Elliott an e-mail. Click on the extended text for a sample letter.
Dear Supervisor Elliott,Please accept these comments on the July 2003 Windstorm Salvage Timber Sale including all of its component parts (all 20 Categorical Exclusions, KEF Environmental Assessments, and Martin Run and Spring Creek Environmental Impact Statements). I am writing in opposition to the illegal use of Categorical Exclusions to implement portions of a forest-wide salvage logging project in response to windthrow events last summer.
It is illegal under federal law to break up a logging project into several parts in order to avoid more detailed environmental review. The total response to windthrow events, a response that will impact thousands of acres through salvage logging (including "stand replacement" clearcutting in areas), must be considered in a single detailed environmental impact statement (EIS). In that EIS the Forest Service should consider an alternative that accepts the importance of downed woody debris in restoring forest health.
In this case the proposal to salvage log in response to windthrow events from July 2003 undermines attempts to restore healthy forest conditions in the Allegheny National Forest. These wind events provide downed woody debris which is important to forest health but which is otherwise deficient in this second growth forest. Ecologically, dead and downed wood provides important habitat for birds, salamanders, and small mammals, and is an important source of nutrients for tree seedlings and water for more mature trees.
Categorically excluding this project from more detailed environmental analysis undermines our rights to public participation opportunities and to information relating to the environmental impacts of the proposed logging activities which will impact areas such as Twin Lakes Recreation Area. The abbreviated public comment periods being held by the Forest Service simply do not allow enough time for meaningful comment and analysis.
I am also greatly disappointed at your use of Earth Day to promote a pro-logging agenda in the Allegheny National Forest. Thank you for this opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Posted by jkleissler at 01:10 AM | Comments (0)
May 07, 2004
Bad News from Virgina
The Clinch Coalition has lost its fight against a timber sale in the Washington-Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. This is one dedicated group of folks who were tired of the flooding caused by logging in the national forest there. It is beautiful country down there worthy of protection! Here is their statement issued in response to the ruling.
Statement from The Clinch Coalition: Bark Camp Timber Sale Suit
May 7, 2004We are very disappointed with this decision and will confer with our attorneys about an appeal.
Even though we lost at this point, in the long run we have been very successful:
1. We were able to reduce the size of this timber sale by over 50%, from 1400 acres to less than 700.
2. The amount of timbering in the flood prone Stoney Creek has been greatly reduced.
3. The Forest Service is not going to add additional limbs and branches into the creeks as they originally planned.
OUR COMMITMENT:
We pledge never to give up the fight to protect our forest from commercial exploitation.
We believe High Knob should be a National Conservation and Recreation Area, which would not only preserve our beautiful forest for all to enjoy, but would also benefit our region economically.
We will support efforts to add and improve horse trails and other such low-impact natural activities to the Clinch Ranger District.
We will not support activities such as ATV Trails that harm the forest, it's inhabitants and our water supplies.
We will continue to ask that they "JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!"
We will keep up the fight to protect what God created!
Detta Davis, Chair
The Clinch Coalition
Take some time and give the Clinch Coalition your support!
Posted by jkleissler at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)
Stop Major 50-Mile ATV Trail Expansion!
The US Forest Service has plans to build 44 new miles of ATV trail in the Allegheny National Forest. This proposal is being made even though the information before the agency supports a moratorium on new ATV trails as recommended by the Allegheny Defense Project in their Allegheny Wild! Proposal.
This massive ATV Trail Proposal would:
• Build 44 new miles of ATV Trail;
• Replace 10.8 miles of existing trail with 10.8 miles of brand new trail construction;
• Convert 5.7 miles of logging road to ATV trail;
• Construct two massive trailheads for 50 cars with trailers at each’
• Build four large overnight camping areas for ATVers; and
• Construct 0.7 miles of new logging road to replace logging road converted to ATV trail!
Illegal ATV Trail leaving FR 395 Trailhead Area. Click on Image to Zoom.
All of this proposed ATV trail work will be based in part on this areas designation as an “intensive use area” under an antiquated 1977 Environmental Impact Statement! The Forest Service is pursuing this wreckreation project even though most of the hiking trails on the forest remain closed as a result of a storm from last summer.
This proposal would impact a number of beautiful areas within the South Branch Willow Creek and Sugar Run Watersheds including the proposed South Branch Willow Creek and Sugar Run Natural Areas. In addition, this proposed trail would impact important Indiana Bat habitat and include new trail construction near the Allegheny Defense Project’s proposed Sugar Run Wilderness Area. These Special Areas are all proposed for permanent protection under the Act to Save America’s Forests.
Click on Image to Zoom. Proposed trail shown in brown. Red indicates existing snowmobile and thin black line represents existing trail.
The proposal intends to resolve illegal ATV riding in the Marshburg Area by building the riders a legal trail! In other words – instead of cracking down on illegal riders the Forest Service is building them free and legal access!
Increasing ATV access will not resolve illegal off-road riding problems – it will only create additional points of access for illegal riding to take place while causing increased conflicts with other forest users. The more trails, the more riders, the more trails they want. Public lands where hiking trails remain closed due to a windstorm that happened nearly one year ago is no place for 50 new miles of ATV Trails.
Although the state of Pennsylvania has stopped new ATV trail construction on state forest lands, the Forest Service is using state money intended for ATV planning on private lands in order to plan this new trail. To make matters worse the Forest Service used a very questionable process to acquire the state funds through McKean County Commissioners and a ATV special interest group.
In fact, a new emphasis on ATV-riding as the premier recreation agenda on the Allegheny National Forest resulted from a closed-door meeting held in Ludlow, PA, three years ago to which conservationists were not invited. The Forest Service then developed an illegally segmented recreation plan which calls for ATV as the holy grail of recreation plans. Once again the Forest Service is letting special interests dictate public lands management.
Write the Forest Service and ask that they develop a pro-recreation alternative that does not include new ATV Trails:
Supervisor Kevin Elliott
Allegheny national Forest
PO Box 847
Warren, PA 16365
E-mail Supervisor Elliott Now!
Update: We're having problems with the script for the action center so we've including a sample letter in the extended text to this post. Remember to modify your letter and maintain it as a custom letter.
Update II: The action center problem is fixed.
Dear Supervisor ElliottI am writing in response to the proposed Willow Creek ATV Trail Expansion.
I oppose the expansion of ATV trails within the Allegheny National Forest. There are already over 100 miles of ATV trails in the Allegheny, leading to major problems with illegal off-trail riding, soil erosion, and user conflicts with other recreationists. Increasing the amount of trails by this or any amount is simply going to exacerbate these problems and degrade the recreational value of the Allegheny National Forest. The Forest Service should stop its pursuit of this misguided objective and start promoting recreational uses that do not require massive amounts of fossil fuel consumption.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has placed a moratorium on new ATV trails in Pennsylvania's State Forests. At 2.1 million acres, the state forest system is approximately 4 times the land mass of the Allegheny. The fact that the DCNR has recognized there is absolutely no need for new ATV trails on state forest land because of sufficient mileage on private land is noteworthy. The Forest Service should be following the same land management principles and issue a moratorium on new trails in the Allegheny National Forest.
ATV's are dangerous for recreational users. There is an inherent notion due to advertising to engage in dangerous and illegal activities when riding ATV's. Every year there are a large number of accidents (mostly involving children) that results in some fatalities as well (Consumer Federation of America et al 2002). Between 1991 and 1995, fifty-one children were admitted to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh's Trauma Unit (Consumer Federation of America et al 2002). At least one fatality was reported at the two Tour de Forest races held in the Allegheny in 2002. It is irresponsible for the Forest Service to be promoting this type of activity.
Increasing the amount of ATV trails is going to increase user conflicts in the Allegheny. ATV's create significant noise pollution which turns away other recreationists and harms wildlife. ATV's also cause significant soil erosion, a problem that has been well documented throughout the country. Increasing the amount of trails will result in increased soil erosion.
The Forest Service should withdraw this proposal and instead focus its efforts on maintaining and enhancing recreational activities which benefit a greater part of society while causing less harm to the environment and other forest users.
Sincerely,
Posted by jkleissler at 06:32 PM | Comments (10)
May 05, 2004
Veneman Continues to Undermine National Forest Protections
Yesterday we joined with Clean Air Council and the Heritage Forest Campaign to mark the three year anniversary of Bush Secretary of Agriculture's Pledge to Vigorously defend the Roadless Areas Rule. This is the "healthy forests" display we had on hand in the Capital Rotunda in Harrisburg. My statement on behalf of the Allegheny Defense Project is included in the extended text (click on the image to zoom in).
Secretary Veneman Defies Common Sense, Scientific Knowledge on Roadless AreasStatement of Jim Kleissler
Forest Watch Director, Allegheny Defense Project
May 4, 2004Bush Administration Secretary of Agriculture Anne Veneman has defied Common Sense and Scientific Knowledge in proclaiming commercial logging as a solution to “healthy forests” on Earth Day in 2004. Secretary Veneman came to the Allegheny National Forest but said nothing about her broken promise to vigorously defend our Pennsylvania roadless areas. Secretary Veneman didn’t visit our roadless areas nor did she allow conservationists to join her on her Earth Day Tour. Instead she continued to provide unfettered access to the timber industry – access to her and apparently our national forest roadless areas.
The Allegheny National Forest is Pennsylvania’s only national forest. While the forest is over 513,000 acres in its entirety only 4.4% of the forest lies in inventoried roadless areas. This pales in comparison to other national forests in the Eastern Region which average more than 12% of their forest lands in inventoried roadless habitat. Yet Allegheny National Forest roadless areas remain unprotected because of Secretary Veneman’s broken promises.
The Allegheny National Forest was established in 1923 by President Coolidge in order to protect its watersheds – roadless areas are vital towards this goal. Minister Creek is recognized as a high quality watershed in part due to its position in an inventoried roadless area. Although Millstone Creek doesn’t have any inventoried roadless areas it does have seven uninventoried roadless areas totaling more than 7,000 acres. It is no coincidence that Millstone Creek has the highest diversity of dragonflies and damselflies of any other creek within the Allegheny National Forest.
Roadless Areas are important for wildlife habitat. Native wildlife species such as the Cerulean Warbler and Northern Goshawk rely on large unbroken tracts of forest in order to maintain viable nesting populations. Amphibians and reptiles often avoid roads because they leave them exposed and susceptible to predators. Roadless areas help protect our forest areas from both native and non-native invasive species that use roads as access ways into forest areas they wouldn’t otherwise thrive there. Roadless areas are full of rich wonders that help bring recreationists back to the Allegheny National forest again and again.
There are more than 4,000 miles of roads in the Allegheny National Forest that have allowed the Forest Service to log 100,000 acres and oil & gas operators to drill more than 3,000 new oil & gas wells over the last eighteen years. The Sackett Oil & Gas Field has a road density comparable to the neighboring city of Warren, Pennsylvania.
A true conservation plan for the Allegheny National Forest requires the restoration of historically impacted areas but it starts with the complete protection of our existing roadless areas. If we do not provide our Pennsylvania roadless areas with immediate protection we cannot and will not have a healthy forest in the future. If Secretary Veneman had taken a true Earth Day Tour through our last unroaded wild areas she would have understood this.
###
Posted by jkleissler at 06:08 PM | Comments (3)
Peterson Responds!
So, who wants to bet that Peterson is trying to help cover Veneman's butt on this? Oh, and in case Peterson doesn't understand - we didn't criticize the ecologists did we? No, the ecologists are questioning the Forest Service. Ooops.
For Immediate Release May 3, 2004PETERSON RESPONDS TO ALLEGHENY DEFENSE PROJECT CRITICISM OF FOREST SERVICE OFFICIALS
Pleasantville, PA – U.S. Congressman John Peterson (R-PA/5) issued the following statement in response to criticism by the environmental activist group Allegheny Defense Project (ADP) regarding the U.S. Forest Service’s efforts to remove downed trees and restore the forest ecosystem in areas affected by the severe wind storms in the Allegheny National Forest last summer. Peterson serves as Vice-Chairman of the House Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health.
“If the activists at the Allegheny Defense Project had any legitimate science or forestry background, they would know that salvage logging and other forest management techniques are used to improve the health and wildlife diversity of the national forest, and that these decisions are made by professional scientists and land managers at the Forest Service and not by the timber industry. And if the ADP activists had any legal training, they would realize that categorical exclusions were included in the Healthy Forests Restoration Act specifically to deal with situations like the blowdown in the Allegheny National Forest which contribute to the spread of disease, breed insect infestation and ultimately create a severe fire hazard.“Contrary to the ADP propaganda, allowing millions of trees to rot on the ground is not good for the forest or for the environment. It is understandable that the ADP is struggling to find a new cause now that the courts have ruled in favor of sound forest management in the East Side decision. But accusing the dedicated scientists and staff at the Forest Service of illegal actions is the kind of silly publicity stunt that has earned them their reputation as radical extremists, as opposed to true conservationists.
“The Allegheny Defense Project serves neither the people and communities of the Allegheny National Forest region, nor the forest which they claim to want to protect, by making false allegations about the dedicated professionals who manage the forest. If the ADP really cares about protecting the national forest, they should be less confrontational and more constructive in any criticism they may have of the professional foresters, fish and wildlife biologists, ecologists, and other scientists at the Forest Service who have years of experience managing healthy forests.”-###-
Posted by jkleissler at 03:43 PM | Comments (2)
May 01, 2004
July 2003 Salvage Timber Sale Continues
The next in the phase of July 2003 salvage CEs has been released. The South of Kane Experimental Forest Windthrow Salvage is apparently not to be confused with the Kane Experimental Forest Windthrow Salvage and apparently we are not to confuse either of these with the FR 191 Salvage which includes salvage logging within the Kane Experimental Forest. We're also not supposed to draw any conclusions about the fact that all three are in response to the same wind event on July 21, 2003. And we're not supposed to conclude this even though they are all being planned at the same time, with the same end result, with the same goals, and even the same scoping language! And I'm sure none of this has anything to do with the benefits to the timber industry gained from having shorter public comment periods and not having to release actual environmental impact statements publicly for actual comment and review (and god forbid that the public may not like they idea!). I'm sure none of this is an attempt to evade public scrutiny over the obviously superb management of the Allegheny National Forest.
Add thick sarcastic drawl to the above and click on the extended text link for the most recent press release. And don't bother trying to find the documents on the Forest Service website because yes, yet again, the Forest Service has issued a press release telling people to download documents from their website that aren't on their website!
MARIENVILLE RANGER DISTRICT PROPOSES TO SALVAGE 18 ACRES OF BLOWN DOWN WOOD SOUTH OF THE KANE EXPERIMENTAL FOREST IN ELK COUNTY Kane, Pa. -- The Marienville Ranger District of the Allegheny National Forest (NF) is proposing to salvage harvest approximately 18 acres of down and damaged trees in Warrants 2686 and 3220, Jones Township, Elk County, Pennsylvania. This area is called the South of KEF Project Area, and the harvest areas are located south of the Kane Experimental Forest (KEF) and east of Forest Road 185. These trees were damaged in a severe storm that occurred last July. No new road construction or reconstruction will be needed to salvage these trees.This proposal will achieve the following Forest Plan objectives related to salvage: 1) complete a specific environmental analysis as soon as possible, 2) initiate timely salvage of damaged and downed trees where economically feasible, and 3) provide wood to help meet people's demand for wood products and to contribute to the economic viability of local communities.
The public comments are requested as part of the scoping process for public involvement under the National Environmental Policy Act. The decisions to be made are what mitigation measures will be required, if this project were implemented. The District Ranger plans to document this environmental analysis using a limited timber harvest categorical exclusion. This categorical exclusion allows salvage harvest in areas where trees have been damaged by forces such as fire, wind, ice, insects, or disease, and have some economic value as a forest product. Categorical exclusions can be used in areas where no significant adverse effects are anticipated based on past experience with this type of work.
Please provide comments specific to the proposed action, or have a direct relationship to the proposed action, and include your supporting reasons for the Responsible Official to consider. Please provide comments relating to these issues or concerns: threatened or endangered species or their critical habitats; Forest Service sensitive species; floodplains; wetlands; municipal watersheds; congressionally designated areas; and Native American religious or cultural sites, historic properties or areas. Comments must be received or postmarked by May 14, 2004.
Posted by jkleissler at 11:17 AM | Comments (2)