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PROPOSED "MOUNTAIN THIN" FUELS MANAGEMENT PROJECT by Justin McCoy, Forest Watch Volunteer

I seek acquaintance with nature-to know her moods and manners. Primitive nature is the most interesting to me. I take infinite pains to know all the phenomena of spring, for instance, thinking that I have here the entire poem, and then, to my chagrin I learn that is but an imperfect copy that I possess and have read, that my ancestors have torn out many of the first leaves and grandest passages, and mutilated it in many places. I should not like to think that some demigod had come before me and picked out some of the best of the stars. I wish to know an entire heaven and an entire Earth. -Henry David Thoreau, Journals, March 23, 1856

The local Forest Service Ranger District is currently in the midst of environmental review for the Mountain Thin and Fuels Management Project. This is an extensive project, encompassing approximately 13,000 acres of National Forest on Mount Shasta immediately north and east of Mount Shasta City.

The objective is to thin the forest and reduce fuel loads enough to minimize the potential for forest fires. The plan specifically targets what they term "Urban Interface Areas" around Mount Shasta City, which they believe will help protect both the town and the National Forest by offering a fire buffer. The Forest Service has been working with local landowners already to help facilitate this.

The plan also calls for four secondary proposals to be undertaken simultaneously. These include removal of decadent knobcone pine stands because of potential fire hazard; plantation thinning to improve survivability and decrease fire hazard; reforestation in failed plantations, chaparral (brush) fields and knobcone conversion areas; and a substantial Fuel Management Zone along Everett Memorial Highway, spanning 200 feet on either side of the road.

The main input the Ecology Center gave as scoping comments for this proposal includes the following:

---The Forest Service hasn't done a Watershed Analysis for the Shasta Southwest Watershed (the area immediately above the town). We believe that especially with a project this size the Forest Service should undertake a rigorous scientific study before impacting the forest.

---There is no current Spotted Owl survey for the project area. The Forest Service claims the survey would be unnecessary if the harvest operations are restricted from February 1 through July 10 to avoid the owl nesting season. We disagree because if the Forest Service neglects the survey, thinning could be conducted in occupied habitat.

----We also object to the use of heavy machinery, which is proposed to be utilized. Large equipment can mar the landscape, compact soils, damage the root structure of trees and create am artificial evenly-spaced grid, leaving the forest looking like a plantation. We have asked for thinning to be done so as to leave the forest appearing as natural as possible.

While 75% of the scoping comments expressed concern for the mountain bike trails that may be affected by the project, the Ecology Center is keeping a watch to assure that this "thin" doesn't turn primarily into a timber sale targeting large trees.

The bottom line is that the Ecology Center supports the Mountain Thin project. Bearing in mind the recent fire damage in states around the country we believe this is a necessary undertaking.

We encourage people to write a letter to the Forest Service once the draft Environmental Assessment is issued, which is expected sometime in early September. Since it's early in the public review process, our thoughtful input stands a good chance of bringing beneficial change in the project.

We'll keep you informed. Please contact us at 530/926-5655 if you have a special interest in this.