Logging Project in Proposed Castle Peak Wilderness Withdrawn

From YubaNet.com

Regional
Logging Project in Proposed Castle Peak Wilderness Withdrawn
Author: Forest Issues Group
Published on Jun 19, 2008 - 9:05:38 AM

Nevada City, CA June 19, 2008 - On Monday, the Sierraville District of the Tahoe National Forest has reversed its decision to implement the Montez logging and road building project in the Castle Peak Proposed Wilderness that would have degraded wilderness values and negatively impacted Perazzo Creek, an eligible wild and scenic river.

On May 7, 2008 the Forest Issues Group, Sierra Forest Legacy and the California Wilderness Coalition appealed the Montez Project. Sierra Foothills Audubon Society, Friends of the River, and Sierra Club had previously joined these groups in asking the Forest Service to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the project that offered an alternative to restore this area using methods that better conformed to wilderness principles. This alternative was rejected, but the Forest Service has now withdrawn its logging plan.

The 16,000 acre Castle Peak Roadless Area is proposed for wilderness protection in legislation introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Hilda Solís. These wild lands in the Tahoe National Forest provides Californians with spectacular outdoor recreation opportunities and is home to several important watersheds that supply drinking water to Nevada County and wildlife habitat for endangered species. This area provides habitat for the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout, willow flycatcher, northern goshawk and the California spotted owl. It is also home to old growth red-fir forests. A major effort is currently underway to improve the trout fishery in downstream waters of Perazzo Creek, while protecting willow flycatcher habitat in Perazzo meadows.

"We are extremely pleased that this project has been withdrawn and congratulate the Forest Service for their reversal decision", said Don Rivenes, spokesperson for the Forest Issues Group. "Hopefully, the U.S. Forest Service will redirect its limited funds to pursue projects that protect wildland/urban interface communities and restore key forest ecosystems."

Brent Schoradt, Deputy Policy Director for the California Wilderness Coalitions says "The Castle Peak Proposed Wilderness deserves to be protected from road building, logging and other threats."

Steve Benner of the Forest Issues Group, who drafted the appeal, commented that the Forest Service "failed to account for the existence of three additional proposed projects in the immediate area, and to analyze their combined impacts as required by law." "The Montez project was illegal as designed", he said. "It is in the best interest of the Forest Service, our nearby communities, forests and wildlife that the logging plan was withdrawn."

The Forest Issues Group is a non-profit, community based, citizens advocacy group that advocates for environmentally sound forest and fire management practices through the public comment process; and for the protection of roadless areas, water supplies, sensitive rare plant and animal species and their required habitats.

The Sierra Forest Legacy mission is to engage citizens, communities, and coalition members in the healthy management of the Sierra Nevada forest ecosystem to protect and restore their unparalleled beauty and natural values.

The California Wilderness Coalition protects the natural landscapes that make California unique, providing clean air and water, a home to wildlife, and a place for recreation and spiritual renewal. CWC is the only organization dedicated to protecting and restoring California's wild places and native biodiversity on a statewide level.

Editor's note: Below is a statement from Quentin Youngblood, Sierraville District Ranger on the project

"I withdrew the decision for the Montez project so that we could take a harder look at the cumulative effects analysis area. We only looked at a small amount of an adjacent timber harvest plan on private land. We really need to look at a larger area to incorporate the entire timber harvest plan to assess potential effects.

The purpose of the proposed project is to thin stands of trees to promote increased health and reduce the fire threat as well as to enhance stands of Aspen trees. The area has a long history of logging and is currently heavily roaded. This plan would not jeopardize its wilderness potential. Although not in the wildland urban interface, the project area is part of a Defensible Fuel Profile Zone network for the Fiberboard Road and Hwy 89 which aims to reduce the threat of fire along major highways (for evacuation concerns). It also is consistent with the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Legislation." stated Quentin Youngblood, Sierraville District Ranger.