Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Federal Judge Denies Environmentalists' Bid to Stop Sierra Fire Prevention Projects
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 3 years ago on
June 2, 2021

Share

Update: U.S. District Court Judge Dale A. Drozd ruled on Friday, May 28, against three environmental groups trying to block planned fire protection projects in the Sierra and Sequoia National Forests.

Drozd denied a preliminary injunction sought by the environmentalists seeking to stop the U.S. Forest Service from activating 31 different projects.

The groups, led by Unite the Parks, are seeking to shut down logging, chipping, burning, and hazard tree felling, saying the projects violate the Endangered Species Act.

Original Story Published April 23, 2021:

A relative of minks and otters, the Pacific fisher is a medium-size carnivorous mammal – about the size of a house cat – that once roamed the West Coast from British Columbia to Southern California.

The Trump administration in May of 2020 denied Endangered Species Act protection to the Pacific fisher across most of its West Coast range, except for a dwindling population in California’s southern Sierra.

Three environmental groups say plans by the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for logging and vegetation management won’t provide proper protection of Pacific fisher habitat.

The lawsuit targets the Sierra, Sequoia, and Stanislaus National Forests.

Lawsuit Targets 45 Projects

Unite the Parks, Sequoia Forestkeeper, and Earth Island have sued in the Eastern District Court of California in Fresno to stop 45 planned projects ranging from logging, chipping, burning, and hazard tree felling.

Many of the planned projects are in the Sierra National Forest, which was the site of the Creek Fire — the single largest wildfire in California history at 379,895 acres before being contained on Dec. 24, 2020.

“The purpose is to protect the Pacific fisher,” says René Voss, attorney for Sequoia ForestKeeper. Voss says the forest service is seeking to take out trees larger than 10 inches in diameter starting as early as June of this year. Voss points to science he says shows that thinning and logging aren’t the answer to preventing large fires.

“The purpose is to protect the Pacific fisher.” – René Voss, attorney for Sequoia ForestKeeper 

Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig, whose district encompasses a large part of the Creek Fire burn area, says seeing the devastation firsthand gives him a different perspective.

“All you have to do is look at the devastation and damage that the Creek fire caused in areas that were un-managed and look at those areas that were managed,” said Magsig.

The supervisor said that the managed areas suffered much less damage: “That is your evidence.”

Debating Best Methods to Prevent Large Wildfires

portrait of Nathan Magsig

“Any studies that rely on theory, I don’t have much time for those in practice.” – Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig

Voss says current wildland fire models are flawed because they don’t account for atmospheric effects that result from the removal of ladder fuels and fuel reduction thinning. Those practices lead to increased windspeeds, fire spread, and fire intensity, he said.

“The thinning and the fuel reduction work that they’re doing out there, supposedly to reduce fire risks, actually make things worse,” says Voss.

For example, Voss said, when the forest service thins out areas underneath old-growth trees, it’s easier for wind to flow through the forest’s under-canopy and amplify the flames.

“The three main ingredients of a fire are ignition, fuel, and oxygen,” Voss said. Forest management and thinning don’t account for the oxygen component, he said.

Voss says when ladder fuels are removed, ground-level wind speed and turbulent mixing increase, leading to faster fire spread and greater oxygen-transport efficiency; this, in turn, results in increased fire intensity. He points to a study by atmospheric physicist Dr. Joseph Warne (Unite the Parks v. U.S. Forest Service) that he says proves this out.

Magsig says anyone citing these types of studies to negate the positive impact of forest management needs to go to the Shaver Lake area and explain that to people that lost everything in the Creek Fire.

“Any studies that rely on theory, I don’t have much time for those in practice,” says Magsig. “You will see that those areas where there was appropriate thinning, and ladder fuels were taken out, the fires were not as devastating.”

But Voss points to a study done by Dr. Chad Hanson that shows that the most heavily-managed areas in the Creek Fire burned with the greatest amounts of high severity, and the most protected or least managed areas burned with the least amount of high severity.

“The Hanson study simply reports the data; this isn’t theoretical,” says Voss.

Photo of a firefighter
In this Sept. 7, 2020, photo, a firefighter battles the Creek Fire as it threatens homes in the Cascadel Woods neighborhood of Madera County. (AP File Photo/Noah Berger)

Environmental Groups’ Stance on Forest Management

Voss says the interests he represents aren’t totally opposed to forest management.

“What we’re saying is they shouldn’t they shouldn’t be logging in anything larger than say what they need to be able to reintroduce fire,” said Voss, adding that nothing larger than 10 inches in diameter should be taken out of the forest. “So the management proposal that we do support is prescribed burning in the appropriate time of the year and a much larger scale.”

Voss says the Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks have been doing widespread prescribed burning for decades. He says his research shows that fires in the parks don’t burn as intensely as opposed to the National Forests, where widespread prescribed burning hasn’t been done.

Projects That Could Be Impacted by Lawsuit

Sequoia National Forest

1. Eshom Ecological Restoration Project
2. Hazard Tree Slash Cleanup Project
3. Road 25S15 Hazard Tree Project
4. Summit Healthy Forest
5. Big Stump/Redwood Mountain Fuels Restoration Project
6. Long Meadow Restoration Project
7. Trail of 100 Giants Hazard Tree Mitigation Project
8. Plateau Roads Hazard Tree
9. Rough Plantation Maintenance and Restoration

Sierra National Forest

1. Musick Vegetation Project
2. Whisky Ridge Ecological Restoration Project
3. French Fire Recovery and Reforestation Project
4. Blue Rush Restoration Project
5. Aspen Restoration Project
6. Ferguson Fire Roadside Hazard Project
7. Cedar Valley Fuels Reduction Project
8. Greys Mountain Ecological Restoration
9. Sonny Meadows Pinegrove Restoration Project10. Sky Ranch Road System Hazard Tree Abatement Project
11. Madera and Mariposa County Road Hazard Abatement Project
12. Upper Chiquito Creek Bridge Replacement
13. FY19 Joint Chiefs Fuelbreak Project

Stanislaus National Forest

1. Rim Fire Recovery and Reforestation

Copy of Court Filing

Click here to view the entire court filing.

[activecampaign form=25]

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Merced’s Iconic Laura Fountain Returns to Splendor With $300K Restoration

DON'T MISS

If You Thought Trump Wasn’t Serious About Deportations, Look at His First Appointments

DON'T MISS

Biden EPA to Charge First-Ever ‘Methane Fee’ for Emissions Waste by Oil and Gas Companies

DON'T MISS

Trump Picks Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to Be Ambassador to Israel

DON'T MISS

At the Pandemic’s Start, Americans Began Drinking More. They Still Are.

DON'T MISS

Last GOP Congressman Anchored in Democratic LA County Concedes in Race Against Former NASA Exec

DON'T MISS

Aid Groups Say Israel Misses US Deadline to Boost Humanitarian Aid Entering Gaza

DON'T MISS

Speaker Mike Johnson Says Republicans Are ‘Ready to Deliver’ on Trump’s Agenda

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Slips as the Trump Trade Cools

DON'T MISS

49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan Says Players’ Sideline Spat Has Been ‘Squashed’

UP NEXT

‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,’ a Christian Comedy, Scores With Audience in Fresno Premiere

UP NEXT

Clovis Serves Up a Special Day for Veterans and Community

UP NEXT

Dust Storm Knocks Out Power in Fresno Area, Causes Massive Pile-Up in Madera

UP NEXT

Free Sandwiches in Fresno. No Strings Attached, Says Marijuana-Themed Deli.

UP NEXT

How Many Drivers Did Fresno PD Nab in Latest DUI Checkoint?

UP NEXT

US Regulators Investigating Whether Engines on 1.4 Million Hondas Might Fail

UP NEXT

Thousands of Merced County 2024 Election Ballots Still Left to Count Amid Tight Races

UP NEXT

What’s the 112-Year-Old Clovis Tradition That’s Ending?

UP NEXT

Madera County Project Aims to Curb Groundwater Pull by Paying Farmers for New Land Uses

UP NEXT

When to Catch the Last Supermoon of the Year

Trump Picks Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to Be Ambassador to Israel

42 mins ago

At the Pandemic’s Start, Americans Began Drinking More. They Still Are.

1 hour ago

Last GOP Congressman Anchored in Democratic LA County Concedes in Race Against Former NASA Exec

1 hour ago

Aid Groups Say Israel Misses US Deadline to Boost Humanitarian Aid Entering Gaza

2 hours ago

Speaker Mike Johnson Says Republicans Are ‘Ready to Deliver’ on Trump’s Agenda

2 hours ago

Wall Street Slips as the Trump Trade Cools

2 hours ago

49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan Says Players’ Sideline Spat Has Been ‘Squashed’

2 hours ago

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Will Have Season-Ending Surgery on Torn Hamstring

2 hours ago

Judge Delays Ruling on Whether to Scrap Trump’s Conviction in Hush Money Case

2 hours ago

Songwriters Hall of Fame Unveils Star-Studded 2025 Nominees, From Eminem to Janet Jackson

2 hours ago

Merced’s Iconic Laura Fountain Returns to Splendor With $300K Restoration

A landmark from days of old when Merced was known as “Fountain City” is back, fully restored for new generations to appreciate. ...

28 mins ago

28 mins ago

Merced’s Iconic Laura Fountain Returns to Splendor With $300K Restoration

33 mins ago

If You Thought Trump Wasn’t Serious About Deportations, Look at His First Appointments

41 mins ago

Biden EPA to Charge First-Ever ‘Methane Fee’ for Emissions Waste by Oil and Gas Companies

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump talks with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee during a roundtable at the Drexelbrook Catering & Event Center, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Drexel Hill, Pa. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
42 mins ago

Trump Picks Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to Be Ambassador to Israel

1 hour ago

At the Pandemic’s Start, Americans Began Drinking More. They Still Are.

1 hour ago

Last GOP Congressman Anchored in Democratic LA County Concedes in Race Against Former NASA Exec

2 hours ago

Aid Groups Say Israel Misses US Deadline to Boost Humanitarian Aid Entering Gaza

2 hours ago

Speaker Mike Johnson Says Republicans Are ‘Ready to Deliver’ on Trump’s Agenda

Search

Send this to a friend