Comment by July 31 on Huge Logging Proposal

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest recently came out with a draft environmental impact statement for an 8 to 12-year program called the “Spruce Beetle Epidemic Aspen Decline Management Response” (SBEADMR). It could involve logging, prescribed fires and other treatments on up to 120,000 acres.Sheep Mountain Alliance has worked with other conservation nonprofits to analyze the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. You can view our Draft Comments here, or see below for some talking points, so you can send your own letter.Here's what the Forest Service says about SBEADMR. You can find the draft Environmental Impact Statement at the Forest Service website. And here's a great one-page information sheet from Western Colorado Congress.As some background, in 2014 Sheep Mountain Alliance, along with other regional conservation groups, rallied to pressure U.S. Forest Service staff to slow down and allow up-to-date forest ecology and management practices to inform this process. We are not trying to stop this program. We believe that with management guided by current science, the program can address threats to life, communities and infrastructure effectively and help the regional economy, both recreation and small forest products businesses, while achieving long-term ecological benefits.To keep appraised of issues like this, you can join our email list here. We typically only send out 1-2 emails per month. Remember to add leighATsheepmountainalliance.org to your contacts list, so the emails don't end up in your spam folder.SBEADMR Talking PointsBasic concerns about this proposal are:

  • Size and scale. 120,000 acres is more area than needs to be treated for public safety.
  • Public process. Although the Forest Service has laid out a plan for public involvement throughout the life of the project through an “adaptive management” framework, only one Environmental Impact Statement will be done for the whole project. The Forest Service either needs to add specific triggers and adaptive management options to provide accountability or they'll need to conduct project-specific NEPA.
  • Scientific basis. The science behind forest health and tree regeneration in the face of epidemics and climate change is still being developed. SBEADMR needs to incorporate the best and most up-to-date information.
  • The project should focus on protecting public health and safety first. With its limited dollars, the Forest Service needs to prioritize treating areas that pose a fire and safety threat to Western Slope communities.

Send in your comments by the end of the day on July 31:Online:  http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/SBEADMR_commentsVia email:  scottwilliams@fs.fed.usHard copy:  Scott Armentrout, Forest Supervisor, Attn: SBEADMR, 2250 Highway 50, Delta, CO 81416

Fax: 970-874-6698

Other Forest Health ProjectsSMA partnered with the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado State Forest Service in the summer of 2013 to host a forest health workshop aimed at educating the community and encouraging homeowners in the “wildland-urban interface” to mitigate wildfire proactively. Homeowners in Ski Ranches, Mountain Village and other communities that border national forests were encouraged to establish species diversity and “firewise” their property.

Forest Health, PUBLIC LANDSLexi