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Forest Service logging plan threatens Sierra Nevada forests!

The U.S. Forest Service is inviting public comments on a Bush Administration proposal that would substantially weaken the Sierra Nevada Framework. The new plan, if approved, would greatly increase logging and reduce protection for old-growth forests and wildlife in the Sierra Nevada.

Please write a letter to the Forest Service and let them know that you do not want the existing Sierra Nevada Framework weakened. Here are some points to make in your letter:

* OLD GROWTH FORESTS: The Bush Administration proposal would eliminate protection for old-growth groves and would allow widespread logging of medium and large trees from within these areas. Urge the Forest Service to maintain existing protection for old-growth groves and Old Forest Emphasis Areas.

* COMMERCIAL LOGGING: The Bush plan would triple commercial logging throughout the Sierra Nevada by sanctioning logging to address so-called "forest health" problems. Urge the Forest Service to prohibit logging except as a tool for reducing the risk to lives and property from wildfire.

* CALIFORNIA SPOTTED OWL: The Bush Administration proposal would substantially weaken protections for the owl's habitat. For example, the proposal would allow logging of trees up to 30" in diameter throughout the Sierra. Urge the Forest Service to maintain existing protection for California spotted owl habitat, particularly standards that protect medium and large trees, forest canopy cover, owl home range core areas, and protected activity centers.

* PACIFIC FISHER: The Pacific fisher is a rare mammal that lives in dense, old forests. Logging has contributed to the fisher's disappearance from most of the Sierra Nevada, except for a small isolated patch in the southern Sierra, where the population is unlikely to survive without habitat protection and restoration. The Bush proposal would allow significant degradation of fisher habitat. Urge the Forest Service to retain and strengthen the Framework's protection for the southern Sierra fisher conservation area.

* LIVESTOCK GRAZING: The Bush Administration proposal would significantly weaken limitations on grazing. Urge the Forest Service to retain and strengthen protection for the willow flycatcher, Yosemite toad, and other imperiled species and to maintain protection for meadows and aquatic ecosystems.

* QUINCY LIBRARY GROUP PLAN: The Quincy Library Group (QLG) plan would devastate national forests in the northern Sierra by allowing tens of thousands of acres of small clearcuts. The Framework limits the QLG plan because of its adverse environmental impacts, particularly on the California spotted owl. The Bush Administration proposal would require full implementation of the QLG plan, without regard to its ill effects. Urge the Forest Service to maintain the Framework's restrictions on implementation of the QLG plan.

Send your letter to:
Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment DSEIS
P.O. Box 221090
Salt Lake City, UT 84122-1090
Or by fax: (801) 517-1014
Or by e-mail: snfpa@fs.fed.us

Please send a copy of your letter to:
Senator Barbara Boxer
1700 Montgomery St. # 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
Fax: (415) 956-6701

Senator Dianne Feinstein
One Post St. # 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
Fax: (415) 393-0710

Your letter must be received by September 12, 2003.

For more information, contact: Craig Thomas, Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign, at (530) 622-8718.