Changes in the way the Forest
Service does business are on their way. In northern spotted owl territory, time-consuming
field requirements to “survey and manage” a whole list of species. such as
snails and amphibians, are likely to be folded into the sensitive or special species
program. In addition, changes in the Aquatic Conservation Strategy are anticipated to be
approved next week.
Last week, the Klamath PAC (Province Advisory Committee) discussed
the Healthy Forest Initiative (HFI) and the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA.) See http://www.fs.fed.us/
The HFI is an “executive” program. This means that the
President has been implementing it internally through federal land management agencies. It
includes the Categorical Exemptions previously mentioned in my November 20, 2003 column; a
faster, less cumbersome process of appeal; and
an accelerated endangered species act review.
HFRA, (H.R.
1904,) is a law passed last fall by Congress to make it easier for Forest communities to
reduce hazardous fuels in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI or woo-ee). The law favors the
removal of small diameter trees and the retention of larger trees. Title I gives priority
to:
·
Watersheds where there are
municipal water systems;
·
“At risk communities.”
(All of the communities near the Klamath National Forest are listed at risk;)
·
Communities and community
Fire Safe Councils that have worked with the Forest Service on creating a community
wildfire protection plan and collaborative implementation plan;
·
Areas where catastrophic
events like disease, epidemics, blowdown or storm damage has occurred; and
·
Areas with endangered
species habitat.
The USFS must
consider a no action plan with their proposed action. Also, it must consider any
alternative plan submitted by a local community Fire Safe Council. Otherwise, it does not have to develop a wide range
of alternatives. The law also allows for pre-decisional objection. After a decision has
been made, the previous lengthy appeal processes have been short cutted so that further objections go directly to local
judicial review. The Court is now required to weigh the short and long-term effects of
doing nothing with the benefits to be obtained through the project.
75,000 acres have been proposed for fuels treatment in California
prior to October 2004. Senator Boxer has requested that a substantial number of those
acres be allocated to the Tahoe National
Forest. Funds may be expended for projects
on private lands of willing participants that
qualify as an action under a Community Wildfire Reduction Plan. Although money for HFRA has been
authorized on paper, no actual new funds have been appropriated. Unless appropriated,
funds for HFRA will have to be shifted from already reduced existing allocations.
·
Title II of the Act proposes research to overcome
present barriers to the use of biomass.
·
Title III
encourages watershed scale, cost-shared community-based forest management, conservation
and water quality projects. This includes projects on private
non-industrial forest land.
·
Title IV proposes research and experimental treatments
for insect and disease- effected stands.
·
Title V establishes a special reserve program with a
cost share agreement for private lands adjacent to the Forest to
promote biodiversity and to protect endangered species.
The PAC also discussed the barriers in getting a steady
dependable stream of product from the Forest that would sustain a biomass or small diameter tree
utilization operation. It was pointed out that
about $115 per acre is now allotted to fuel reduction projects on the Klamath, but in some
areas it takes all of the $115 just to do the required studies. A machine or hand
treatment can cost from $500-$1,700 per acre, but, if there is a market, there can be a
resultant merchantable biomass product that can offset the costs. Burning is often the
least expensive alternative, but there is no by-product to sell.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) representative, Phil
Detrich, talked about the Garden Gulch sale in Salmon River. Fuels had built up in about 900 acres of a Late Seral
Reserve, The Forest Service, USFWS and the
local environmental community worked together to design the project with the USFWS
contributing $70,000 to the preparation. There were a lot of 8-10 inch diameter to be cut
and the project involved expensive helicopter logging. It was not attractive or profitable
to commercial buyers and no one bid on the sale. Now it will require some sort of
alternative funding source to be accomplished.
Many folks are now working at various levels to put
pieces together to create new infrastructure, new industries, new guidelines and plans
that will match local community interests with
management of local federally managed Forests. The sparks of creativity, opportunity,
entrepreneurial spirit and collaboration are being ignited in District 5 communities. But,
this will not happen without the identification and removal of barriers, such as
litigation or impracticality. |
