Ojai, CA — Nearly 16,000 comments have been submitted to the U.S. Forest Service opposing a plan to log trees and remove chaparral across six miles of Pine Mountain Ridge deep in the backcountry of Los Padres National Forest. The area is popular for recreation among Ventura County locals as well as residents across the state and beyond. It is one of very few forested areas that is accessible to park-deficient communities in the surrounding region. The ridgetop is ancestral Chumash land that is culturally and spiritually important to local tribes.
Widespread Community Opposition
The project was announced in late May—during a pandemic, as millions of Americans were losing their jobs, and as leaders across the nation were standing up for racial justice. ForestWatch sounded the alarm and sent out an alert to make it easier for the public to comment. Amid early and widespread criticism of the project, and a letter from Representative Salud Carbajal, the Forest Service extended the public comment period from 30 to 75 days and moved the suggested comment deadline to August 14.
Organizations including The Pew Charitable Trusts and California Wilderness Coalition joined the effort by also hosting platforms to facilitate public participation. Many others sent out emails and shared links on social media which members of the public helped make viral. Topa Topa Brewing Co. donated a portion of their taproom sales to the campaign to protect Pine Mountain, and Patagonia hung two 50-foot banners from the roof of their headquarters building in Ventura. An astounding array of art, films, sticker and patch designs, posters, and t-shirts was spontaneously created by local residents inspired to help protect Pine Mountain.
The project has received more comments than any single proposal in the Los Padres National Forest by a wide margin. Concerns include the use of loopholes and potential commercial timber sale, destruction of cultural sites, anticipated damage to a much-loved recreation area, impacts to sensitive plant and animal species, increased wildfire risks, and weakening of the forest’s ability to adapt to climate change.
Representative Julia Brownley, State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Ventura County Supervisors Linda Parks and Steve Bennett, and Ojai Mayor John Johnston sent letters asking the Forest Service to either drop the project or stop pursuing loopholes that circumvent environmental studies and public engagement normally required under NEPA.
“The City of Ojai would recommend promoting defensible space requirements near homes rather than logging special and invaluable old growth forests of Pine Mountain,” stated a letter signed by Ojai Mayor John Johnston.
Native American tribes including the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation and the Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians submitted comments with concerns about potential impacts to Chumash cultural values and resources.
A letter that has already been signed by 60 businesses including Patagonia, Toad&Co., SeaVees, and the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, along with local outfitters, wineries, and breweries, continues to collect signatures. The letter opposes the project based on the benefits that Pine Mountain Ridge provides to the region’s economy and quality of life.
A separate letter, signed by nearly 70 environmental and social justice organizations, challenges the Forest Service’s lack of collaboration and the skirting of proper environmental review and questions the efficacy of remote vegetation clearing to protect distant communities from wildfire.\
ForestWatch submitted a 99-page comment letter that detailed major errors and discrepancies in the Forest Service’s justification for the project and the expected use of categorical exclusions to approve it. The letter also listed the project’s potential negative impacts to cultural sites, recreation, native plants and animals, and wildfire and climate change resilience. The Center for Biological Diversity, John Muir Project, California Chaparral Institute, and Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation assisted in developing the letter and signed on.
Part of a Larger Plan to Increase Timber Harvests
In late 2018, the Trump administration issued an executive order to drastically increase logging on public lands. Every year since, the amount of timber that Los Padres National Forest must harvest annually has been doubled. A memo issued by the acting Deputy Chief of the Forest Service to the agency’s Pacific Southwest Region (California) announced a 75% reduction in the price of certain types of timber—including what would be removed from Pine Mountain—as part of an effort to make commercial timber sales more appealing to private companies.
Another memo to the Forest Service in California encouraged national forest officials to use “creative methods” to avoid environmental assessments to expedite projects. Most recently, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue pressured regional Forest Service officials to explain how they would “increase productivity of National Forests” and “expedite environmental reviews” while simultaneously listing their jobs as vacant and posting a call for applications.
Withheld Information
The Forest Service withheld basic information needed to fully analyze the Pine Mountain Ridge proposal including tree stand data, a list of sensitive plant and animal species in the project area, and other data or reports. ForestWatch will continue to insist on the agency’s adherence to the Freedom of Information Act to ensure that records regarding public lands are not concealed from the public.
Due to COVID-related health concerns, the Forest Service hosted a virtual public meeting in lieu of a site visit. After multiple complaints about technical issues and the inability for the public to meaningfully participate, and at the urging of Congressman Carbajal’s office, a second meeting was hosted. No changes were made to the platform or format. Both were difficult for the public to access and multiple participants were frequently dropped from the meeting including agency representatives presenting the program. Members of the public were muted but could type in a chat box. This allowed Forest Service officials to avoid rebuttal and choose which questions to answer. A third and final meeting was scheduled for the day before the end of the comment period.
What’s Next?
The Forest Service is scheduled to approve the project in September, though it is likely that a decision will not be made until later this fall. The agency is required to continue to accept comments and to include them in the project documents until a final decision is announced. Between now and then, ForestWatch will be compiling additional information for the agency to review, seeking disclosure of requested public records, building more allies in the community, conducting surveys in the field, and preparing to file a legal challenge if necessary.
You can still help Protect Pine Mountain
- Contact your representative. Urge your elected representatives to pressure the Forest Service to either drop the project or conduct the environmental studies and public engagement normally required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for projects of this size and scope. Tell them to support legislation that protects communities from wildfire, not bills that promote logging on public lands.
- Submit a comment. If you have already submitted a comment and have more to say, the agency is required to consider new information until it officially issues a decision.
- Donate to the Pine Mountain Defense Fund. Support large and small will help us ensure that we have the resources we need to fight this project on the front lines. All donations receive a sticker featuring local artist’s design, while supplies last.
- Buy a t-shirt. Proceeds go towards the Pine Mountain Defense fund. Watch for a photo contest on social media.
- Follow ForestWatch on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter if you’re on these platforms and not already a follower. Like and share our posts to spread the word.
- Follow Protect Pine Mountain on Facebook Stay on top of all the news and frequent updates. Like and share our posts to spread the word.
- Sign on your business. Signatures continue to be collected on this letter for businesses. Please feel free to share with others in the business community that care about our local wild places.
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