The Forest Service (FS) is proposing a massive “restoration” project in the Cube Cove area of the Kootznoo Wilderness in Alaska. Much of the 23,000-acre area was logged and roaded prior to the FS purchasing it in several acquisitions over the years. The land is recovering on its own, however the FS is proposing the following actions over two to five years—using heavy equipment, chainsaws, helicopters, and motor vehicles:
- 500 acres of tree cutting and removal along streams
- 700 acres of tree cutting and removal along lakes
- A temporary bridge for heavy equipment
- Removal of three bridges, culverts, and roads in 50 places
- Placing large woody debris in three stream stretches
- Likely other work since there was no time to complete a survey before this final public comment period.
Cube Cove is healing from the damage caused by past logging, roads, and associated impacts, and the agency’s massive “restoration” program using heavy equipment is inappropriate for Wilderness. The agency failed to even consider any wilderness-compatible solutions to restoring more natural conditions at Cube Cove, including allowing nature to continue to reclaim the area over time. Additionally, the FS has effectively shortened public comment opportunities by issuing a combined scoping document proposed action that is essentially the same pre-scoping information, leaving many unanswered questions, including what alternatives, if any, will be analyzed, and the legal and policy background of the lands in question.
Please speak up for the Kootznoowoo Wilderness by this Friday, July 22. If given enough time, the land will recover on its own, at its own pace and through natural processes. The Forest Service should allow that to happen. Comments need to be submitted online: https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//CommentInput?Project=59913 |
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Please write in your own words, but consider the following points:
- Cube Cove is healing from the damage caused by past logging, roads, and associated impacts, and the Forest Service’s massive “restoration” program using heavy equipment is inappropriate for the Kootznoowoo Wilderness.
- The FS’s plan violates the letter and spirit of the Wilderness Act—through its extensive use of chainsaws, helicopters, motor vehicles, and other motorized equipment, plus tree cutting, placing woody debris in riparian areas, and other proposed actions.
- Ideally, the area should be allowed to fully recover on its own by allowing time and natural processes to heal past damage. At the least, the Forest Service needs to analyze a wilderness-compatible plan if it chooses active restoration, such as one that uses non-motorized hand tools rather than chainsaws and heavy equipment.
- Reclaimed roads should not be converted to trails. If the agency does convert them, though, it must mitigate the impacts on wildlife from increased human use.
Thank you! |
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