Quincy Plans Call For More Logging

[Larry Harrell]

<wafcdc at americanlands.org> wrote in message
> LANDSCOPE, News and Views from American Lands - July 22, 1999
>
> Quincy Plans Call For More Logging
>
> The Forest Service has released two draft management strategies to
implement
> the Quincy Library Group rider that would allow extensive logging in the
> Plumas, Lassen and Tahoe National Forests.

"Extensive" is quite a subjective word. Much of the western portions of the
QLG Forests are steep canyon country and I don't think there will be any
helicopter logging sales.

  "Neither alternative provides
> adequate water quality or wildlife habitat protection on a 2.5 million
acre
> region, including forests in the Feather River basin, which provides much
of
> northern and central California's drinking water," said Scott Hoffman
Black
> of the Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign.  "The Forest Service has
> missed an opportunity to protect forests, streams, and wild California. .
.
> they have proposed to increase logging and road construction at the
expense
> of taxpayers."

In many areas, logging NEEDS to be increased to thin drastically
over-stocked areas that are in very poor health. Of course, the USFS could
adopt the National Park policy of "let-burn" and then we would see some
"real logging" occur <G>. (Unfortunately, many USFS foresters do keep that
thought in the back of their minds.) Also, the comment about the drinking
water is blatantly false. The Feather River drainage provides a quite small
portion of drinking water as well as irrigation water. As far as wildlife
goes, over-stocked and unhealthy forests do very little for wildlife.
Spotted Owls and goshawks prefer an open understory, deer cannot find
anything to eat when the forest floor is covered in sticks and snags from
trees killed by insects and all animals suffer when catostrophic fire comes
and wipes out the entire stand.

>
> . . .The Forest Service needs to do better to protect the old growth,
> roadless areas and water quality in the Sierra Nevada.  You can comment on
> the Quincy proposals until July 26.  Send your comments to David Peters,
> Project Manager, US Forest Service, Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group
> Forest Recovery Act Pilot Project, PO Box 11500, Quincy, CA 95971,
> mailto:fract/r5_plumas at fs.fed.us For more information and a complete
action
> alert see http://www.americanlands.org/forestweb/qlginfo.htm
>

Come on now!! The QLG has NOTHING to do with old growth timber!! I am as
much of a critic of the USFS as anybody and this is totally blatant and
untruthful propaganda. Most of the Sierra Nevada has a moratorium on cutting
any trees over 30 inches in diameter (another mistake altogether). Why don't
you fight against something really worth fighting for? For example, why does
the USFS use under-qualified people to do the timbermarking? Why does the
USFS dangle the carrot of a future job to a timbermarker in exchange for
heavy-handed tree selections? Why does the USFS have a "revolving door" on
the most important field-going positions in timber? Why doesn't the USFS
monitor and inspect 100% of the harvested areas of their timber sales?????
These are fundamental and very serious problems that are hidden from the
public's view. The USFS thinks that anyone that can hold a paintgun can mark
timber or prevent environmental damage caused by loggers. Only when
third-party post-logging monitors shut down timber sales will changes occur
for the better.

I encourage all environmentally-minded people to address this to your
elected leaders and appointed officials.


Sincerely,   A 17 year "temporary" USFS timber beast
--
       Larry Harrell Fotoware
Making software out of Fotos for over five years now
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