We found out just minutes ago that the U.S. Forest Service has approved an Emergency Authorization to approve what we’re calling the “Community Destruction Project,” industrial logging and applying $30 million of highly toxic herbicides to more than 217,000 acres in the Plumas National Forest (PNF), including mature and old growth forest. They essentially want to convert wild public forests into private tree farms, pretending that these tree farms will somehow protect communities when research has shown that nothing done beyond 100 feet of a home makes any difference whatsoever in whether a home survives a wildfire.
This plan would endanger human, animal, and plant communities by worsening wildfire conditions and exacerbating the climate crisis that is the main cause of recent extreme wildfires in California. This plan is likely one of many resource extraction projects to come (including in National Parks) which are planned to feed into the new “wood pellet as renewable energy” business with large wood pellet factories planned for Lassen and Tuolomne Counties.
You can access and download the US Forest Service Central and West Slope project documents here. This impacts the Mohawk Valley, Portola, Strawberry Valley areas and beyond.
The USFS Eastside project documents are available here. This project affects forest to the west of Janesville and Milford and is currently within the 30 day comment period (which ends November 4th). Please comment even briefly by e-mailing comments-pacificsouthwest-plumas@usda.gov and cc: ryan.bauer@usda.gov
Though the Central and West Slope plan is the largest logging project ever approved for the PNF, and the plan involves major Forest Plan Amendments that would strip Spotted Owl protections, the Forest Service refused to hold a single public meeting and the plan was not debated in public or covered by the local media.
How are we going to respond to this attack on the wild? We are calling for an emergency mobilization to stop the destruction of wild forest lands. Come to Plumas County, join us if you are already here. We need your help!
Please watch our video call to action above, read our letter to the editor that kicked off the debate about this ill-conceived plan, and read our recent Where I Stand article in the Plumas News that provides links to the science, particularly useful if you are new to this issue. Also consider reading Chad Hanson’s Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate which is a great summary of the issue from one scientist working to save our forests (and is available at Plumas County Library).
What you can do:
1. Donate. We need funds to get the word out, organize, and hold the Forest Service accountable. Your donation will go directly to direct costs.
2. Contact us with questions or to volunteer: we need help flyering, spreading word on social media, etc. etc.
3. Sign up for our updates and spread the word.
4. Come to Plumas County, CA. It is lovely in the fall, there is free and low cost camping available, it is uncrowded and we have clean air and beautiful forests that need protecting.
5. Speak out at local government meetings and write letters to local editors (including the Sierra Booster, Mountain Messenger, and Plumas Sun)
Thank you for your support. Please spread this extremely troubling news far and wide! Click on the image below to download our latest flyer in pdf.
Plumas county has an agenda to destroy their own watershed, wildlands, and wildlife. There must be money in it for someone, likely the timber companies who give kick backs to Forest Service employees. The BOS lets it happen because both contribute to their political campaigns. And on it goes until they destroy every living thing on this earth. Pathetic.
This June I had the opportunity to walk in both the Dixie fire scar near Old House Meadow and the clear cut along side Freeman Meadow. The fire scar is only 2 years old. The clear cut is maybe 7 years old. The fire scar looked really good. Yes, there were many many dead charred standing trees but the under story is coming on strong with an abundance of flowering diversity. Old House creek was flowing clear and the banks were intact. The clear cut was clearly a disaster. Even after 7 years there is very little under story returning and still orange oily water in the ruts left by the loggers. Go compare for yourself! And take some action. It is only collectively that we can stop this project and save Plumas National Forest via sane forestry practices.
This is Biden’s Lawless Fire Hysteria Logging Rider just like Clinton’s lawless logging rider of 1995 to 2000 using the same “emergency” lies to destroy the last ancient forests within our national forest across the west. Secretary Vilsack enacted the Emergency Authority (Section 40807 of the Biden’s Infrastructure Act) in early 2023 to “expedite” (eliminate) environmental laws like the ESA and NEPA upon 45 million acres of national forests to get the cut out for big timber like the Koch (Boise Corp) along with western timber barons across the west. Now the Forest Service is kicking down the door (environmental laws) which protected our national forests from rampant destruction for greed and self promotion. Defund the Forest Service!