Friday, April 20, 2007 9:49 PM
by
rick
Allow me a moment to vent about a program by the USFS to destroy our Forests and trails. The Bush administration - well hell, I don't have enough computer memory to spell out the whole list of atrocities that those criminals have laid on us - has declared war on the woods by declaring them "unsafe". Citing safety concerns - they have WMD's style - the USFS is saying that the only way to protect the forest is to cut it down! Paving paridise to put in a parking lot so to speak! Oh ya, they leave an occasional big old Pondersa just to make tree huggers happy - a tree musuem? Turns out some big logging companies spent alot of money getting the Bullshits elected. Don't laugh, it is happening here and will be happening to a trail/forest near you soon!
Why should you care? Cause the way they are doing it not only effects the environment - funny how everywhere else in the world we are condemning deforestation and worrying about Global warming - but also affects the very trails you run/ride/hike on. It seems that trailheads for recreation provide easy and cheap access to the loggers - around here every project - they call it Healthy Forests! - is happening on the very same land we recreate on! Hermosa trail, Vallecito, Log Chutes and now Animas Mountain! Seems that only these easily accessible trails/Forests are in danger, hmmm. The end result is that these trails are changed/ruined forever! Thats a long time to wreck a trail!
Well, I'm sick of it and I hope you are too. And before you blow this off and do nothing, remember that though they are not in your area now - they will be! It's like that old WWII writing - "when they came for the Jews I didn't complain, because I was not a Jew...".
So what can you do? Find out who the District Ranger is where you live, and write them a letter somewhat like this one that I sent to our Ranger - if they hear from enough people maybe they'll stop:
Dear Craig,
It goes without saying that I am opposed to your project and I have registered my concerns with Beth over the phone, but wanted to be on the record as opposed to any thinning on Animas Mountain. I am vehemently opposed to any road building, and strongly opposed to mechanical thinning which will certainly result in logging and huge environmental impacts - including erosion, trail closures and obstructions from debris that never gets cleaned up, large diameter living trees being cut, loss of much wildlife habitat, loss of shade and therefore ability to hold snow/water - all of which I saw at Vallecito! Are you willing to put in writing that no trees over 6 inches will be cut? That not one log will come off of the mountain in a logging truck? That the road will be completely erased and the trail rebuilt? That wildlife concerns will not be ignored (like the Turkey's and Osprey were at Vallecito)?
I am tired of the USFS shouting that the "sky is falling" and "we must destroy the forest to save it". All research done independent of the USFS proves this "treatment" to not only be unnecessary, but also that the "treatment" increases fire danger, see for example the brush fires in California. The result of this thinning will be loss of shade and moisture and an explosion of scrub oak - the very fuel that causes devastating and fast moving fires!
Sorry to be a cynic, but I saw what happened at Vallecito and it was NOT what the USFS said was going to happen. And I know that under the current administration your department/district gets more funds based on how many acres are "treated" thus certainly calling into question the real motivation for these projects.
Animas Mountain has survived for millions of years without our intervention, and it clearly is not a danger to the "urban interface", so I would again request that you do nothing and let nature take care of itself. Failing that, at least do a full EA rather than asking for the "exemption". Prove your case.
Sincerely,
Rick Callies