The U.S. Forest Service has announced a massive burning project for the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests in California that covers 2.4 million acres—including all 842,448 acres of Wildernesses in both national forests!
Your help is needed by November 20 to tell the Forest Service to spare the designated Wilderness areas there from this extensive burning and habitat manipulation project.
The so-called "Sequoia and Sierra National Forests Prescribed Fire Project" is out for "scoping" now. This is the first step of the environmental review process, so by speaking out now, the public has a better chance of influencing the burning proposal covering the entirety of both national forests—3,750 square miles in all.
The Forest Service has announced that all Wildernesses on these two national forests—over 842,000 acres of Wilderness in total—are subject to the proposed burn plan. Some of America’s most loved Wilderness areas are at stake, including the Ansel Adams, Dinkey Lakes, John Muir, Kaiser, Kiavah, Monarch, South Sierra, Dome Land, Jennie Lakes, and Golden Trout Wildernesses.
While we recognize that fire has played, and continues to play, an important ecological role in these Wildernesses, the Forest Service proposal represents a huge human-driven manipulation of Wilderness that is inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the 1964 Wilderness Act. From a wilderness perspective, it is far better to allow natural, lightning-caused fire to play its role, rather than to invade Wilderness to cut down "undesirable" trees and burn forests based on human wishes and desires.
Please take a couple of minutes and submit your comments to the Forest Service by November 20. Urge the agency to spare these crown jewels of the National Wilderness Preservation System from its misguided burning and cutting plans. |
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Use your own words, but try to include the following points: - The Forest Service should exclude all of the designated Wildernesses from its proposed burning plans for the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests in order to comply with the Wilderness Act. Some of America's most loved Wilderness areas are at stake, including the Ansel Adams, Dinkey Lakes, John Muir, Kaiser, Kiavah, Monarch, South Sierra, Dome Land, Jennie Lakes, and Golden Trout Wildernesses.
- The agency should instead allow natural, lightning-caused fire to play its ecological role in Wilderness on the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests.
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Help us protect Wilderness around the country. A generous member has pledged to DOUBLE all first-time donations up to $30,000 this year. |
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