Post by Lester on Jun 3, 2004 22:52:07 GMT -8
Forest Service unveils 5 plans for next decade
www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~2191440,00.html
By Marianne Love , Staff Writer
U.S. Forest Service officials presented five alternative plans Thursday for how the forest will best be used by visitors over the next decade.
The proposed plans focus on maintaining, protecting and restoring biological diversity, ecological integrity and recreation uses such as biking, camping, hiking and motorized vehicles in the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino forests.
Officials prefer plan No. 4.
It calls for more prescribed burns to reduce the threat of major wildfires. Permanent bathroom facilities are recommended that would encourage visitors to quit urinating and defecating on the forest floor and in creeks and bushes. More trash bins would be supplied to keep refuse from finding its way into the streams.
"Every plan addresses the expected 15 to 20 percent increase in visitors. Alternative No. 4 does the best job,' said Gloria Silva, a planner with the Cleveland National Forest.
Silva said forest officials want a plan that welcomes forest visitors and manages their impact on natural resources and the wildlife.
T he Angeles National Forest has 3.5 million visitors each year.
The land-use plan is updated every 10 to 15 years.
In the preferred plan, the forest could be rezoned for an additional 12,300 acres of wilderness and an additional 51,000 acres where motorized vehicles would be allowed.
The public comment period ends Aug. 11.
Forest officials are expected to review all comments and issue a final report next summer.
"We must hear from people. If they don't make a comment, it means they don't have the right to appeal as an individual,' said forest spokeswoman Kathy Peterson.
Azusa resident and environmentalist Mark Martin said he's most concerned with expansion of motorized vehicles in the forest.
"I want to see less off-road, or at least no expansion. They go in the riverbeds and watershed areas and if oil or fuel leaks, it gets into the groundwater and can pollute the water for years,' Martin, 39, said. "That's our drinking water. There are alternatives places for them, like in the desert.'
Off-road enthusiast Mike Bishop said if the forest is rezoned to allow for more acres where motorized vehicles are allowed, then those people must become stewards of the land.
"If off-roaders get additional acreage, then we as off-roaders need to be held accountable and take ownership of the forest, because the Forest Service can't do it. We can't destroy the beauty as we go through it,' Bishop said.
The next local open house is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday i n the Campus Center Lounge of the Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena.
-- Marianne Love can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2108, or by e-mail at marianne.love@sgvn.com .
www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~2191440,00.html
By Marianne Love , Staff Writer
U.S. Forest Service officials presented five alternative plans Thursday for how the forest will best be used by visitors over the next decade.
The proposed plans focus on maintaining, protecting and restoring biological diversity, ecological integrity and recreation uses such as biking, camping, hiking and motorized vehicles in the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino forests.
Officials prefer plan No. 4.
It calls for more prescribed burns to reduce the threat of major wildfires. Permanent bathroom facilities are recommended that would encourage visitors to quit urinating and defecating on the forest floor and in creeks and bushes. More trash bins would be supplied to keep refuse from finding its way into the streams.
"Every plan addresses the expected 15 to 20 percent increase in visitors. Alternative No. 4 does the best job,' said Gloria Silva, a planner with the Cleveland National Forest.
Silva said forest officials want a plan that welcomes forest visitors and manages their impact on natural resources and the wildlife.
T he Angeles National Forest has 3.5 million visitors each year.
The land-use plan is updated every 10 to 15 years.
In the preferred plan, the forest could be rezoned for an additional 12,300 acres of wilderness and an additional 51,000 acres where motorized vehicles would be allowed.
The public comment period ends Aug. 11.
Forest officials are expected to review all comments and issue a final report next summer.
"We must hear from people. If they don't make a comment, it means they don't have the right to appeal as an individual,' said forest spokeswoman Kathy Peterson.
Azusa resident and environmentalist Mark Martin said he's most concerned with expansion of motorized vehicles in the forest.
"I want to see less off-road, or at least no expansion. They go in the riverbeds and watershed areas and if oil or fuel leaks, it gets into the groundwater and can pollute the water for years,' Martin, 39, said. "That's our drinking water. There are alternatives places for them, like in the desert.'
Off-road enthusiast Mike Bishop said if the forest is rezoned to allow for more acres where motorized vehicles are allowed, then those people must become stewards of the land.
"If off-roaders get additional acreage, then we as off-roaders need to be held accountable and take ownership of the forest, because the Forest Service can't do it. We can't destroy the beauty as we go through it,' Bishop said.
The next local open house is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday i n the Campus Center Lounge of the Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena.
-- Marianne Love can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2108, or by e-mail at marianne.love@sgvn.com .