March 24, 2006

LOGGING PLAN TARGETS OLD-GROWTH
TREES ON FIGUEROA MOUNTAIN

 Officials Release Environmental Assessment,

Accept Public Comments Through March 31

SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Forest Service has released details about its logging plan for 665 acres of the Figueroa Mountain Recreation Area in Santa Barbara, including a popular campground, picnic area, and hiking trails. The proposal now includes removing over 80% of the trees in the area. The agency is accepting public comments from concerned citizens through March 31.

The plan allows “selective logging” that removes most trees while leaving some standing. According to the agency, this would open up the forest and prevent a high-intensity wildfire from sweeping through the area. The agency will also use a machine called a “masticator” (pictured above), a tractor with a giant lawnmower attachment that grinds up oaks and low-lying shrubs, leaving a thick layer of woodchips on the ground.

ForestWatch supports legitimate fuels reduction like thinning small trees near communities, but the Figueroa logging project targets big old-growth trees deep in the forest.

Officials first announced this logging plan in 2004 as part of the administration’s ill-named “Healthy Forests” Initiative. Soon thereafter, ForestWatch learned that officials planned to log trees 30 inches in diameter or larger. In some areas, the agency would cut down trees “of all ages and sizes,” even ancient old-growth trees like ponderosa pines and big-cone Douglas firs. At that time, the agency intended to exploit a loophole in federal law and approve the logging without first preparing an Environmental Assessment.

Last year, ForestWatch notified officials that this project did not qualify for the loophole, and that the agency would need to prepare an EA before allowing any logging. ForestWatch also provided evidence showing that if the agency cut down larger trees, it would increase – not decrease – the fire danger in the area. Larger trees have built up a strong fire resistance over their lifespan, and if they are logged, dry flammable brush grows in their place.

In response to our letter, officials agreed to prepare an EA. An EA requires the Forest Service to look at ways to reduce the damage caused by logging – things like increased soil erosion and sedimentation in mountain streams, interference with recreation, and impacts to rare plants and animals like the California spotted owl and the rare blue oak.

The results of forest "thinning" on Frazier Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest.

ForestWatch also provided the agency with an alternative plan that would truly restore forest health while preventing environmental damage.  We asked the agency to avoid cutting trees over 12 inches in diameter, and suggested that the agency think about removing a few small trees and shrubs by hand, rather than cutting a swath through the forest using a masticator.

The agency refused to study the ForestWatch alternative in detail in the EA, calling it too similar to the agency’s more intensive proposal.  However, our alternative is the exact opposite of what the agency is proposing. Our plan achieves forest health without the incidental, yet serious, damage caused by an intensive thinning and clearing operation that is inappropriate for such a magnificent and popular area.

In the EA, the agency evaluated two alternatives – a “no project” alternative that would preserve the status quo (this alternative is required by law to be included), and Alternative 3, which would prohibit cutting of any trees larger than 12 inches in diameter. ForestWatch will now work to convince the agency to adopt additional measures to protect Figueroa.

Attend Our Forest Forum & Let Your Voice Be Heard!

ForestWatch will present more information about this plan at its Citizens’ Forest Forum, a workshop planned for March 30 in Santa Barbara. The event will begin with a short film about our national forests, followed by a photographic journey into our very own Los Padres National Forest. Then, ForestWatch staff will talk about the Figueroa logging plan in more detail, and hold a quick letter-writing workshop so that people can voice their concerns to the agency and learn about other ways they can help protect the Los Padres National Forest.

The Citizens’ Forest Forum is scheduled for March 30 at 7:00pm at the Faulkner Gallery in the Santa Barbara Public Library, downtown at the corner of Anacapa and Anapamu streets. The event is free and open to the public. Click here for more info.

MORE INFO

Environmental Assessment