Southern California Forests draft Forest Plan meetings

The Southern California Forests have announced open house meetings
times to review the alternatives for the draft Forest Plan for the
four southern California Forests. The alternatives can be viewed at
this URL:
http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/sccs/download/february.2003.issue.4pp.final-2.pdf

(Adobe Acrobat Reader required)

The meeting dates are listed below. If anyone attends, I would
appreciate a brief report about the meeting.


Angeles National Forest

March 1 (Saturday)
Glendora Public Library
140 S. Glendora Avenue
Glendora, CA
11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

March 6 (Thursday)
Holiday Inn
Palmdale
San Gabriel Room
38630 Fifth Street West
Palmdale, CA
3:00 - 8:00 p.m.

March 7 (Friday)
Santa Clarita Activities Center
20880 Centre Pointe Parkway
Santa Clarita, CA
3:00 - 8:00 p.m.

March 8 (Saturday)
Wrightwood Community Center
1275 Highway 2
Wrightwood, CA
11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

March 12 (Wednesday)
Pasadena Conference Center
Room 101 - 102
300 E. Green Street
Pasadena, CA
3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

March 15 ( Saturday)
Lake View Terrace Recreation Center
11075 Foothill Boulevard
Lake View Terrace, CA
11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Cleveland National Forest


February 22 (Saturday)
Cleveland National Forest - HQ
10845 Rancho Bernardo Rd., Ste 200
San Diego, CA
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

February 26 (Wednesday)
Ramona Community Center
434 Aqua Lane
Ramona, CA
5:00 - 8:30 p.m.

March 1 (Saturday)
La Mesa Women's Club
5220 Wilson St.
La Mesa, CA
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

March 5 (Wednesday)
Alpine Community Center - Sage Rm.
1830 Alpine Blvd.
Alpine, CA
5:00 - 8:30 p.m.

March 8 (Saturday)
Community Center - Comm. Hall
25925 Camino Del Avion
San Juan Capistrano, CA
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

March 13 (Thursday)
Corona Public Library
650 S. Main Street
Corona, CA
5:00 - 8:30 p.m.


Los Padres National Forest


February 27 (Thursday)
Ojai Women's Club
441 E. Ojai Avenue
Ojai, CA
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 3 (Monday)
Frazier Park Community Hall
300 Park Drive
Frazier Park, CA
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 5 (Wednesday)
South County Regional Center
800 West Branch Street
Arroyo Grande, CA
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 6 (Thursday)
Goleta Union School District
Administrative Center
401 North Fairview Avenue
Goleta, CA
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 18 (Tuesday)
Big Sur Lodge Conference Room
Highway 1
Big Sur, CA
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 19 (Wednesday)
Pacific Valley School
Highway 1
Pacific Valley, CA
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 20 (Thursday)
Salinas Community Center
Santa Lucia Room
940 N. Main Street
Salinas, CA
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.


San Bernardino National Forest


February 24 (Monday)
Big Bear Discovery Center
40971 Hwy 38
Big Bear, CA
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

February 25 (Tuesday)
Hootman Senior Center
2929 Running Springs School Road
Running Springs, CA
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

February 26 (Wednesday)
Danny Rhynes Training Center
4121 Quail Canyon Road
San Bernardino, CA
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

February 27 (Thursday)
Pine Springs Ranch
58000 Apple Canyon Road
Garner Valley, CA
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

March 4 (Tuesday)
Rick Novack Community Center
Assembly Room 2
13558 Palm Street
Hesperia, CA
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Southern California Forest Plan Revision Comments

The below is provided by Carla Boucher, Legislative Advocate for
United Four Wheel Drive Associations.


**********************************

Letters from everyone will be helpful, regardless of where you live or play.

The following information is also available on the United website at
<http://www.ufwda.org>http://www.ufwda.org

Scroll down to the bottom of the home page and click on the "Alert".
A form letter is available there also.

**********************************

Hello. The Southern California Forest Plan Revision process
continues to move forward. The plan revisions pertain to the
Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernardino National Forests.

Six preliminary alternatives have been drafted. The issue that deals
with recreation, including road and trail access, is called "Public
Uses and Values". Following is the list of alternatives and how they
would impact road and motorized trail access:

Alternative 1: "No Action" alternative - access would remain the same

Alternative 2: Expect MINOR REDUCTION of roads and trails.

Alternative 3: Emphasizes MINIMAL ROAD SYSTEM.

Alternative 4: SLIGHTLY INCREASED road system , strong emphasis on
public uses.

Alternative 5: SLIGHTLY INCREASED road system, accommodate demand
for motorized uses in more areas, emphasis on public uses and access.

Alternative 6: Emphasize TRAIL ELIMINATION and identify ROADS FOR REMOVAL.

Alternative 5 appears to be the most favorable alternative to
motorized recreation but receives less emphasis on biodiversity and
therefore will likely face opposition from Green Advocacy Groups on
several issues. Alternative 4 is also encouraging, however it
reduces commodity uses and therefore has the potential to pit
recreation against the access needs of the timber and mining
industry. In determining which alternative to support keep in mind
there are other issues considered with each alternative including
commodity uses, biodiversity, etc.

When writing your comments in support of, or opposition to, an
alternative considering requesting that issues from various
alternatives be combined.

Open house meetings are being held at all four National Forests.
Contact your local office for times, dates, and locations.
Information is also available electronically at:

<http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/sccs/>http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/sccs/

Angeles National Forest: (626) 574-1613
Cleveland National Forest: (858) 673-6180
Los Padres National Forest: (805) 968-6640
San Bernardino National Forest: (909) 383-5588

Thank you for taking time to comment now while we can still make a difference.


Contact Info.:

Forest Planning Team
10845 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92127-2107
(866) 252-8846
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]


*************************

[FORM LETTER]

Southern California Forest Plan Revisions
Forest Planning Team
10845 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92127-2107

e-mail: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]


February 19, 2003


Dear Planning Team,

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the
forest plan revision for the Southern California National Forests. I
have reviewed the preliminary alternatives and request that you
consider blending several of the alternatives for the various issues.

SPECIAL AREA DESIGNATIONS: Use the language of preliminary
alternative 2 and add an emphasis on recreation. It is possible to
focus on protection of species while utilizing special designations
that emphasize recreation, the two concepts are NOT mutually
exclusive.

COMMODITY USES & VALUES: Use the language of preliminary alternative
5, emphasizing that commodity production would be done within the
capability of Forest resources as mandated by the Multiple-Use
Sustained-Yield Act.

PUBLIC USES AND VALUES: Use the language of preliminary alternative 5.

ECOSYSTEM ELEMENTS & FUNCTIONS: Use the language of preliminary
alternative 4 to manage by placing emphasis on habitat improvement in
key wildlife areas.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND FOREST HABITAT LINKAGES: Use the language of
preliminary alternatives 2 and 4.


Blending the emphasis of various preliminary alternatives
into one alternative will offer the public and the planning team a
balanced and well-rounded approach for the future of our forests. If
the team is unable to study this as a 7th alternative, please replace
these suggestions for the preliminary alternative 4.


Thank you for considering my comments and adopting them
into the record.


Sincerely yours,


[Name]

[Address]


--
John Stewart
Director, Environmental Affairs, UFWDA, http://www.ufwda.org
Recreation Access and Conservation Editor, http://www.4x4wire.com

A fundamental law of public land access is:

Increased habitat designation for threatened and endangered species
is directly proportional to loss of access to public lands.

Public persues forest options (CA)

Public persues forest options (CA)


http://www.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,207%7E12026%7E1240305,00.html


Public peruses forest options
Some concerned access will be cut
By Lisa Faught, Staff Writer

PASADENA -- Faced with a growing number of visitors and an uptick of
endangered species,
the Forest Service is updating its guidelines for how to govern the
nearly 700,000 acres in the
Angeles National Forest.

On Wednesday evening, about 70 people attended an open house at the
Pasadena Conference
Center to view maps outlining six options for planning the future of the
forest. The options range
from closing off large tracts of land as wilderness to ramping up
recreation with more trails and
roads.

Many of the visitors zeroed in on land proposed as wilderness zones,
deemed the most
restrictive of the land uses. Wilderness zones, which must be approved
by Congress, is limited
to all but hikers and backpackers in favor of keeping the land pristine.

Three swaths of land are already zoned for wilderness on the east side
of the forest --36,118
acres in San Gabriel Wilderness, 41,200 acres in Sheep Mountain
Wilderness and 4,400 acres
in Cucamonga Wilderness, which straddles and Angeles and San Bernardino
national forests.

Of the six options, three propose expanding the wilderness zones, a
worrisome prospect for
Frank Curtis , of Pasadena.

Curtis, who snowboards with his son at Mount Waterman, favored keeping
the forest as is over
trying to restore already disturbed land.

"I'm a city person who found (the forest) because of my son. It's a
fountain of youth," Curtis
said. "I don't want to wake up one day and say, "Oh my god, they closed
the mountain.' "

One option, known as alternative six, is based on a 400-page report by
the Center for
Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club early on in the planning
process.

The option calls for designating about 30 percent of the forest as
wilderness, compared to the
about 12 percent now protected, said John Monsen , chair of the forest
task force for the Sierra
Club Angeles Chapter.

The aim is to preserve wilderness, protect the watershed, restore land
for imperiled species and
encourage passive recreation, such as hiking, Monsen said.

"What's the difference between an urban park and a national forest? A
national forest is a place
where you want the natural world protected so you can go appreciate it,"
Monsen said. "Our
orientation is preservation, keeping as much natural as possible."

But some of the wilderness zones proposed in several of the options
block access to trails
frequented by mountain bikers, such as Condor Peak, Devil's Punchbowl,
Fish Canyon and
Strawberry Peak.

Dorothy Wong of Altadena said the strict guidelines for the wilderness
areas lump mountain
bikers with off-highway vehicles and cars.

"I'm here to help preserve the environment, but at the same time,
they're closing access to some
of my favorite places," Wong said. "It doesn't allow me to get on my
bike and enjoy nature."

Options four and five open the forest up to much more recreation by
zoning primarily for back
country allowing motorized vehicles, with few new wilderness zones
proposed. Option one
keeps the forest as is.

But all the options stress fuel management to prevent wildfires, a
threat throughout the western
United States, said Ronald Pugh , Forest Service program manager for
Southern California
forest plan revisions.

"We've been suppressing fires for the last 100 years or so. The natural
role of fire has not been
occurring," Pugh said. "It's not something you can throw a big pot of
money on and fix. It's going
to take years of effective management."

In the last year, the Forest Service has been seeking public input on
how to plan the future of
four national forests in Southern California -- the Angeles, Cleveland,
Los Padres and San
Bernardino.

Once the public comment on the preliminary options is received by March
31, the Forest
Service will prepare a draft environmental statement detailing the
options for each of the four
national forests.

The draft statement is due out in fall, followed by a public comment
period. The final result will
likely be a hybrid of all the choices, Pugh said.

Lisa Faught can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496, or by e-mail at

[email protected].

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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