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October 25, 2010
OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE
VEGETATION REMOVAL PROJECT
FOR FRAZIER MOUNTAIN
Project Would Involve Commercial Timber Sale,
Prescribed Burning, Fuelbreak Construction, and Other Vegetation
Removal Across 2,386 Acres of Northern Ventura County
Backcountry
In September, the U.S. Forest Service announced plans for a
proposed commercial logging project on Frazier Mountain in the
Los Padres National Forest of northern Ventura County. The
project includes a commercial timber sale on more than 1,000
acres, plus removal of other vegetation totaling a combined
2,386 acres stretching from the summit to a campground at the
base of the mountain.
In response to the announcement,
ForestWatch submitted comments to forest officials in
October, urging them to carefully evaluate all impacts from the
project in an Environmental Impact Statement, and to consider
other alternatives that do not rely on commercial logging.
Frazier Mountain
Frazier Mountain is one of the highest peaks in the Los Padres
National Forest, rising to a height of 8,102 feet at the summit.
It contains large, old-growth conifers like sugar pines, Jeffrey
pines, ponderosa pine, single-leaf pinyon pine, and white fir
while also harboring a diverse array of plant and animal life.
The mountain is a popular stop-over for endangered
California
condors, which roost in large snags to rest during
long-distance flights. The mountain also provides refuge for
seven wildlife species that the Forest Service considers
“sensitive,” including the northern goshawk, the
California spotted
owl,
yellow-blotched salamander, and Mt. Pinos lodgepole
chipmunk. In addition, Frazier Mountain contains at least
364 plant species, 147 of which are considered “rare.”
Frazier Mountain, from Cuddy
Valley at the base of Mt. Pinos. Photo © David Magney.
The Frazier
Mountain is also one of fifteen genetic hotspots for wildlife in
southern California, based on a recently published study in the
journal, Biological Conservation. Vandergast et al. (2008) found
that the Frazier Mountain area has high habitat diversity
because it sits at the junction of five major ecoregions, is
geologically complex, and includes three major faults.
The Project
The Frazier
Mountain Project was first proposed in 2005, but was sent back
to the drawing board
after ForestWatch demanded that the Forest Service prepare an
environmental assessment before approving the project.
The current project involves a combination of commercial
logging, mechanical vegetation removal, prescribed burns, and
fuelbreak construction on 2,386 acres between Chuchupate
Campground (at the base of the mountain) and the summit.
According to the Forest Service, the goals of the project are to
reduce fire hazard, reduce wildfire risk, reduce bark beetle
risk, maintain the health of mature conifers, and protect
recreation areas. The agency claims that portions of the
mountain have become too dense with trees due to decades of fire
suppression, and is therefore at risk of catastrophic wildfire
and bark beetle infestations.
Specifically, the project entails:
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A
1,040-acre commercial timber sale using ground-based
tractor logging systems, including the construction of
approximately 40 landings (areas where trees are loaded onto
logging trucks) and 2.4 miles of roads to access logging
areas. It is unknown how many trees would be cut down.
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Construction of a 7.5-mile fuelbreak along the summit of
Frazier Mountain measuring up to 300 feet wide.
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Prescribed
burns on 823 acres on the summit.
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Thinning
on 241 acres of an old pine plantation.
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Vegetation
removal across 282 acres around Chuchupate Campground
using masticators and burning.
While the goals of
this project are desirable, there is considerable debate in the
scientific community about how much vegetation should be
removed, where it should be removed (closer to communities or in
the backcountry), and how (by hand, or using mechanical or
commercial means).
ForestWatch Comments
 ForestWatch
carefully reviewed the details of the project and submitted an
18-page
letter highlighting all of the technical and legal issues
that forest officials will need to address before approving the
project. Due to the high-intensity impacts associated with a
commercial logging operation, ForestWatch asked the Forest
Service to evaluate ways to achieve project goals without
relying on a commercial logging operation. This may involve
cutting trees and leaving them in place so that they can serve
as wildlife habitat, replenish soil nutrients, and retain soil
moisture.
We also asked the
Forest Service to focus vegetation removal in the “defensible
space” zone immediately surrounding structures and communities,
in lieu of constructing a 300-foot wide fuelbreak at least four
miles from the Frazier Park community. This is in keeping with
the Forest Service’s own expert, who has stated: “Effective fuel
modification for reducing potential WUI fire losses need only
occur within a few tens of meters from a home, not hundreds of
meters or more from a home. This research indicates that home
losses can be effectively reduced by focusing mitigation efforts
on the structure and its immediate surroundings.” Cohen, J.D.
1999. Reducing the Wildland Fire Threat to Homes: Where and How
Much? U.S.D.A. Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-173.
ForestWatch also asked the Forest Service to evaluate whether
project objectives could be met by only focusing on the removal
of smaller, more fire-prone trees. Recent scientific studies
have found that thinning sapling and pole-sized trees only (up
to 8-10 inches in diameter) effectively reduces fire severity.
Finally, ForestWatch expressed support for conducting limited
prescribed burning in the conifer forest portions of Frazier
Mountain. In some cases, wildfire has been excluded from these
forests for too long, and a controlled burn would return fire to
this ecosystem. However, any burning would need to be done in a
way that would protect rare plants and wildlife on the mountain.
What's Next?
In order to comply
with federal environmental laws, the Forest Service must prepare
an Environmental Assessment (or a more detailed Environmental
Impact Statement) before approving this project. The Forest
Service anticipates releasing a draft environmental document
sometime in 2011, at which point there will be an opportunity
for the public to review the document for 30 days and provide
comments.
ForestWatch will continue to track this project, review
environmental documents, and work with local scientists and
other experts to craft detailed comments to ensure the best
possible outcome for Frazier Mountain.
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