USFS planting trees in the Angeles NF without considering negative impacts (4/11/11).
We have learned from reliable sources within the USFS that major concerns raised by USFS staff about a tree planting project in the Angeles National Forest have been ignored due to agency pressure to “plant trees.” It also appears as if trees are being planted based on seedling availability, grants, and institutional inertia rather than sound ecological planning. This is not how public lands should be managed.
Santa Barbara County to reconsider "Brushing" ordinance (3/12/11).
We are deeply concerned over the unnecessary removal of native chaparral habitat in the Santa Ynez Mountains above Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors will be examining this issue shortly. Here's our letter. You can help by sending the Board an email with the following message:
Dear Supervisors,
Chaparral is being cleared from the Santa Ynez Mountains at an alarming rate, posing erosion and flooding threats and eliminating habitat for numerous rare species, some found nowhere else on Earth. Please amend the Brushing Ordinance to make it enforceable and direct staff to bring back additional amendments to better protect our watersheds from chaparral clear-cuts.
Victory! San Diego County issues document stating that there will be no significant environmental impacts caused by their dead tree removal project (7/1/10). We convinced the County to back away from this erroneous conclusion and to conduct a full environmental impact report.
Victory! Monterey County CWPP (Community Wildfire Protection Plan) (5/21/10). We were able to convince the County to remove the most egregious language and misconceptions about chaparral from the document that would have led to the unnecessary destruction of the region's native shrublands.
Helping US Marine from losing home (4/9/10) - continuing
Joseph Diliberti, a noted artist and independent thinker, may lose his home due to a $63,000 lien placed on his property as a result of a bungled weed abatement action. Please see our Help Joseph Diliberti page for more details.
Mt. Laguna/Pine Valley Vegetation Clearing Project (3/31/10) - continuing We sent comments to the U.S. Forest Service calling for changes to its proposed vegetation treatment/fuels reduction project in the Cleveland National Forest in order to improve public wildfire safety and protect forest and chaparral ecology.
Victory! San Diego County Clearance Project (3/30/10) On 3/4/10 the Superior Court ruled in our favor that the county violated state laws by exempting its tree removal project from public/environmental review. More more detail, please see our SD County Slash and Burn page.
Victory! Merriam Mountains Development Project (3/24/10) The poorly planned Merriam Mountains development proposed for the northern part of San Diego County that would have destroyed more than 2,000 acres of chaparral, was rejected by the SD County Board of Supervisors on a 3-2 vote.
Lake Hodges Community Fire Protection Plan (3/5/10) - continuing On of the few CWPPs that we have seen that addresses the entire fire risk reduction equation rather than just focusingon the removal of native vegetation.
Victory! Huge clearance project on the Los Padres NF (12/15/09) We filed a lawsuit to increase public participation in national forest decisions and challenge a proposed 19,300 acre clearance project on the Los Padres National Forest. The project was dropped shortly after our court filing.