California attorney general sues (bush admin.) over Giant Sequoia plan

[Kadie]

Posted on Thu, Mar. 03, 2005


California attorney general sues over Giant Sequoia plan

DON THOMPSON

Associated Press


SACRAMENTO - California's attorney general sued the Bush administration Thursday over its plans for the Giant Sequoia National Monument, home to two-thirds of the world's largest trees.

The U.S. Forest Service plan would illegally allow commercial logging in the monument, alleges the suit filed in San Francisco federal court.

It argues former President Clinton's April 2000 proclamation creating the reserve south of Sequoia National Park bans logging unless it is "clearly needed" for public or environmental protection, which it says isn't the case under the management plan adopted in December.

The service adhered closely to Clinton's proclamation, responded spokesman Matt Mathes. The timber cuts are needed for fire protection, he said, to safeguard sequoia groves that have been threatened before by wildfires.

While sequoias evolved with fire, the forest around them is now too unnaturally dense, he said.

more...
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/11043664.htm

[0007]

1. The people around junior is now too unnaturally dense and they

gotta be thinned out. Starting with junior.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Good answer!

[Bo]

3. Must they destroy everything sacred....?

What and who are they? From what level of hell did they come?

[gaia_gardener]

4. While I do believe selective thinning can be a good thing

especially in areas where fire has been unnaturally suppressed or logging of desired species has already occurred, this never happens with commercial logging.

I worked for the forest service "restoring" a forest to its original makeup. We did, for the most part, stick to that plan, marking fir and pine to be cut out, leaving spruce (which had been logged almost completely out 30 years before). But, in order to sell the contract, we had to throw in quite a few spruce and open up a previously unlogged, oldgrowth area. I refused to mark a single tree in the unlogged area and registered my complaint with my boss. My marking in that area consisted solely of blue paint - blue painted trees could not be touched by the loggers and if they were, they were fined.

And, then you have the secondary problem of logging. Loggers are notorious for refusing to clean up their slash. This means that there are tons of limbs left on the ground to be fuel for the next fire.

IF (huge IF) the logging consists solely of removing a set amount of trees, with no preference shown for a more desirable species and IF the loggers clean up their slash, this could be an okay thing. BUT, only if they will then allow firest to burn through. Without fires, it will simply be overcrowded again in short order.

[Wilms]

5. Thanks for your post.

And for that itchy (spray-can) trigger finger.

[AP]

6. Give the guy credit: name's Bill Lockyer, and he'll be running for gov vs

Arnold, probably.

The article doesn't mention his name in the first 4 paragraphs, it looks.

Probably BECAUSE he'll be running for governor against Arnold.

[Kadie]

8. You are right.

Sorry I missed that. Thanks for mentioning his name.

[Maine-ah]

7. the FOREST

IS "TOO UNNATURALLY DENSE" WTF? I can think of a few people in this administration that are "unnaturally dense". All that coke fried all of *'s brain cells.

[despairing optimist]

9. A $5000 contribution to the RNC gets you a redwood deck furniture set!

Only the best for those * calls his base.