Jack
Cohen, research scientist at the
Fire Sciences Laboratory in the
Forest Service's Rocky Mountain
Research Station, stated, “Home
ignitability, rather than wildland
fuels, is the principal cause of
home losses during wildland/urban
interface fires. Key items are
flammable roofing materials and the
presence of burnable vegetation
immediately adjacent to homes. “
Intense flame fronts (e.g. crown
fires) will not ignite wooden walls
at distances greater than 40 meters
(approx.130 feet).”
Tom
Atzet - Forest Ecologist for the
Siskiyou National Forest notes, “
Ecosystems are driven by fire - fire
is an important ecosystem process
[to maintain] Don't exchange
fire with mechanical thinning
because... a host of other
ecological factors are not
replicated by mechanical thinning.
It is not the same thing - "the
number of natural processes that
mechanical treatment equates to is
zero."
How
does Sequoia National Park
deal with
fuels?
the
Park recently released a "Hazard
Fuel Reduction for East Fork Kaweah
Developed Areas." The objectives for
this project "restoring fire to the
surrounding ecosystem and providing
for public and firefighter safety,"
are the same as those expounded by
the Forest Service for the Monument
lands. The Park described its
project as, "200-foot wide reduced
fuel zone created at strategic
locations around two developments."
They are not logging. They will hand
pile and burn fuels on the project
site. All larger trees and a number
of smaller trees will remain on
site, as will all dead and/or down
logs greater than 8" in diameter.
Re-treatment of the area every 3-15
years will be required to maintain
effectiveness."
The
Park's Decision also said, "Fire
behavior of most serious concern is
...a rapid flaming front of high
intensity. Fire behavior models
indicate that mostly smaller
diameter surface and aerial fuels
generate this fire behavior. Large
diameter woody fuels in contact with
the ground do not generally ignite
readily or create rapid rates of
fire spread. Large woody debris
provides habitat for wildlife and
without contributing a significant
amount of risk of extreme fire
behavior." "The 200 foot width was
derived from sources including
Fuelbreaks and Other Fuel
Modification for Wildland Fire
Control (USDA Forest ServiceHandbook
No. 499). The 200 foot distance
provides adequate clearance to
reduce radiant heat impacts (and
combustion) of structures, but also
provides a survivable margin of
safety for firefighters working in
the defense zone between the flaming
front and the structures at
risk."
How
does Sequoia National Forest want to
deal with fire and fuels in the
Monument?
The
Forest Service's proposed action for
the Monument is totally
unacceptable. It would log what
they call SPLAT's (Strategically
Placed Area Treatment) on the upper
two-thirds of all south and west
slopes. This is in addition to
thinning trees up to 11" in diameter
in wide swathes around private
property and roads. And, Sequoia
National forest isn't waiting for a
final Monument Plan before approving
and implementing such projects.
Recently,
one such project was in the Tule
District near Camp Nelson. It was
not supposed to treat any trees or
fuels over 11" in diameter. The mess
resulting from having no guidelines
and poor monitoring is evidenced in
the photo. Another Tule District
project will thin in this manner on
over 20,000 acres. Project approval
is slated for May.
In
our opinion, a sound, final Monument
Plan should be in place before any
non-emergency projects are approved.
The Monument Plan should limit tree
removal to small fuels under 8" in
diameter only within 200' of
structures. As recommended by
science, prescribed fire should be
the primary management tool across
the rest of the forest. Clearly, all
projects on any public lands should
be carried out as specified in the
Decisions that approve them. Sloppy
implementation should not be
tolerated.
STUMPS
GALORE
Photo: The
recent Fuels reduction project in
the Tule District was supposed to
leave any tree over 11" in diameter,
dead or not, in place, but they
didn't follow their own rules.
Downed large logs pose little fire
threat and are needed for soil
stabilization and wildlife habitat.
These projects must be redone every
3-15 years. Such 'treatment' is
proposed forthousands of
acres.
Anti-Proclamation
Projects
The
Proclamation specifically took all
Monument lands out of commercial
timber production and changed
management objectives from logging
to restoration and protection. But,
Sequoia National Forest is
continuing to treat its artificially
created tree plantations as if they
are someday going to market. They
see only 'seedling survival and tree
production" as their
mandate.
For
example, use of strychnine in
formerly logged areas continues.
Tons of strychnine are used to
"reduce gopher populations in
plantations so seedlings can become
established." Those seedlings are
artificially planted and are often a
different species than occurred
naturally. Poisoning gophers harms
the myriad of creatures (also
protected by the Proclamation) that
feed on gophers. Rodent populations
have a vital role in forest recovery
after damage. They aerate the soil
and spread mycorhizae which assist
root hairs in the uptake of
nutrients. The public should not
have to worry about deadly poison
routinely used in their new
Monument.
Precommerical
thinning continues in what are
supposedly former plantations; this
is not the same as restoration
(removal of pine planted in former
red fir stands or fuels reduction in
flammable even-aged pine
plantations). This is the old tree
farm activity of thinning out
"undesirable trees" (crooked, wrong
species, too crowded trees) so the
remaining evenly spaced trees can
grow into a good tree crop. This
isn't about ecosystems but about
'business as usual," forgetting that
the Monument exists.
The
Science Advisory Board should have
helped Sequoia National Forest form
a strategy to deal with old logged
areas. Direction should be included
in the Monument Plan. Restoration of
former tree farms must be allowed,
whether by nature or by conservative
restoration projects.
Photo: Looking
over Jordan Peak down the Tule River
toward Springville
The
Plantation/Road
Connection
Some
members of the public fear that our
recommendation to have certain roads
'put to bed' will restrict access to
the Monument. Most folks are unaware
that there are over a thousand miles
of roads in the Monument, and most
of them are currently impassible by
vehicles. In this aerial photo of
the Tule River Drainage, the once
contiguous forest is now a patchwork
quilt of logged areas and struggling
plantations. These plantations must
be allowed to restore. There is more
to the problem, however, because
every one of the logged openings in
this photo is connected by a
deteriorating logging road which, in
many cases, is pouring sediment into
our streams.
Road
Survey
Just
last month, Sequoia National Forest
sent out a Road Survey to get public
input on Monument roads. This survey
contained questions that could
threaten the Monument. The
Proclamation said "no new road
construction," yet the survey asks
people if they want more roads. The
future of Monument roads should not
be based on a popularity contest.
Whether or not you received a
survey, please send a letter to
Sequoia National Forest
saying:
1.
NO NEW ROADS IN THE
MONUMENT
2.
Keep major Forest Roads to
Trailheads, campgrounds, resorts and
interpretive areas and maintain
them.
3.
Survey all other existing roads:
Roads that lead no-where and which
are currently blocked to the public
year-round or roads that are causing
resource damage should be
obliterated and
renaturalized.
Send
your input to: Marianne Emmendorfer,
Road Analysis Leader, Hume
RangerStation, 35860 Kings Canyon
Road, Dunlap, CA 93621
Sierra
Club Recommendations for the
Monument
The
following is a summary; write or
visit our website for the full text:
<http://california.sierraclub.org/sequoia/plan/>
1.
Giant Sequoia National Monument is
to be managed for the protection of
all the ecological, geological and
historical objects within the
boundary, not just Sequoia
groves.
2.
The management of the entire
Monument should be partitioned into
only two management zones: 1/ The
Human Interface Zone focuses on
developed and interpretive areas.
Portions of some Sequoia groves are
in this zone. This Zone could have
mechanical treatment for fuels
reduction within 200 feet of
structures. 2/ The General Forest
Zone focuses on the natural
environment and restoration of
ecosystem processes, variability,
and functions. The majority of the
Monument lands are in the General
Forest Zone. The use of prescribed
fire should be the primary
restoration tool.
3.
There should be NO trees removed
from the Monument without proof that
there are no other alternatives for
accomplishing specific restoration
or safety goals.
4.
Service contracts, not timber sales,
should be the primary way to
implement any tree removal projects
to ensure that the economics of
logging does not drive management
actions.
5.
The Monument Plan must be self
sufficient. The Proclamation states
that "the National Monument shall be
the dominant reservation."
Regardless of other Plans, such as
the changeable Sierra Nevada
Framework, the Proclamation is
unchangeable and takes precedence.
6.
The groves should not be considered
a separate management area. Prior to
human intervention, the landscape
evolved over thousands of years into
a mosaic that can not be reflected
by subdividing the forest into
multiple zones for varying
management schemes.
7.
Recreation: Historical
non-mechanized recreational uses of
the forest should be encouraged.
These uses include: hiking,
picnicking, camping, fishing,
hunting, climbing, recreational
stock use (horses, mules, donkeys,
etc), nature study, photography,
cross-country skiing, spiritual
renewal, snow shoeing, caving, river
rafting, and interpretive and
disabled access trails. These uses
may be dispersed across the General
Forest Zone. Non-motorized
mechanized (bicycle) recreation
should be encouraged but limited to:
1/ trails specifically designated
for their use, and 2/ roads.
Motorized Vehicles including
motorcycles and snowmobiles shall be
encouraged but limited to forest
roads designated for their use. In
Winter, some forest roads should be
designated exclusively for
non-motorized winter recreation such
as crosscountry skiing and
snowshoeing. Other forest roads may
be designated for snowmobiles. There
should be an equitable allocation
for motorized and non-mechanized
winter recreation.
8.
The natural wilderness qualities and
unroaded nature of roadless areas
should be maintained.
Advancing
southward the giants become more and
more irrepressibly exuberant,
heaving their massive crowns into
the sky from every ridge and slope.
- John Muir
YES!
I WANT TO HELP
___I
have written a letter to the USFS
and to my
Congresspersons.
___Continue
to send me "Standing Tall" and other
Sequoia Alerts!
___Please
send newsletters to the list of
people I am sending you
___I
am going to copy this newsletter and
mail it to others.
___I
want to plan a field trip/outing
into Sequoia Monument.
If you wish, you may make a
tax-deductible
contribution.
Check payable to Sierra Club
Foundation, Sequoia Campaign.
Silver Creek Grove: Moses Roadless
Area- Tule River
Giant
Sequoia National Monument
