Fall / Winter 2011-12

Mount Shasta Forest Issues

by Michelle Berditschevsky

Forests are the lungs of the planet, sources of water, health and beauty. They store and purify waters, provide medicines, are home to countless species, absorb and sequester carbon from the atmosphere...

Grazing threats east of the Mountain

The vast forests and watersheds east of Mount Shasta don't always get the attention they deserve due to their remoteness. However, thanks to excellent research by two community members (who wish to be anonymous), the Ecology Center was able to provide substantial comments on an environmental assessment (EA) that will affect about 53 square miles (33,775 acres) 27 miles east of Mount Shasta near Pondosa.

The Toad Mountain area has a 100-year history of grazing with many negative impacts on springs, streams, meadows, sensitive plants, aspen, and wildlife. Our comments emphasized the need to assess the impacts of that history and apply its lessons to future management decisions. The Toad Mountain Range Management Project EA will lead to a decision on whether or not to reauthorize cattle grazing on one of the allotments in the area.

We found the EA to be biased in favor of approving the permit, through omissions and one-sided analyses. Some of the issues raised in our comments include: whether the Aquatic Conservation Strategy objectives of the Northwest Forest Plan would be met; whether the grazing allotment justifies the considerable expenditure of federal funds on the range improvements that would be needed in order to prevent unacceptable impacts on the riparian areas (note that the Porcupine Watershed Assessment found that “The grazing program costs five times more to manage than grazing fees collected”); to what extent grazing would compete with wildlife needs for forage and water; whether water resources exist for the number of cattle proposed and the lack of contingency plans for drought conditions; and the cumulative impacts of grazing projects considered together with impacts of grazing on the neighboring allotments.

We recommended selection of the No Action Alternative and termination of the grazing permit. Complete comments can be found on our website.

Rules that govern forest management

New Forest Planning Rule proposed. The function of a Planning Rule is to produce good plans for national forests and to help make certain that local managers don't fall into the kinds of mistakes that have already degraded too much of our public lands. The Ecology Center submitted extensive comments on a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a new Planning Rule that will determine the forest planning process under the National Forest Management Act. The proposed Rule would replace the 1982 Planning Rule that was revised by the Bush administration but defeated in the courts. Unfortunately, we found that the current version continues much of the trend attempted by President Bush, away from strong standards that would protect riparian areas, maintain viable wildlife populations, and provide clear road management.

Our comments emphasized much stronger guidance and standards in important areas, including: protection of water resources, clear mandates for addressing the impacts of climate change, mandatory use of the best available science, standards for timber management, strong guidelines for soil conservation, thorough ecosystem planning, requirements for managing the road system, and others.

Alarmingly, the proposed new Rule severely curtails public participation in the review of forest plan revisions. It sets an overly strict process for raising concerns, and shortens comment periods from 90 to 30 days for review of complex documents prescribing management for each national forest for a period of ten to fifteen years.

The Forest Service has not indicated when the final EIS will be released. Our complete comments on this issue are here.

Good news! Roadless Conservation Rule is reinstated!

After 13 years of legal struggle, the Roadless Rule has been reinstated by both the 9th and 10th Circuit Courts in separate challenges. We weighed in on this issue, but Earthjustice deserves the credit for taking it through the courts on behalf of a number of conservation groups. The states of California, Oregon and Washington, as well as the U.S. Forest Service, also fought for reinstatement of the rule, which was challenged by the Bush administration, industry interests and certain states.

The Roadless Rule protects 58 million acres nationwide, providing critical wildlife habitat, vital supplies of pure water, and containing some of the most scenic lands in the country, including some wild and remote lands in California's north state. Parts of Castle Crags, Mount Eddy and Girard Ridge are among the 31 roadless areas within the Shasta-Trinity and Klamath National Forests.