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Forest Service Violated Roadless Rules and Public Participation Laws Santa Fe, NM - Tree cutting and burning on nearly 2,000 acres adjacent to the Santa Fe Watershed and along Hyde Park Road has been set back until the Forest Service complies with environmental and public participation laws. On May 25, Gilbert Zepeda, the Santa Fe National Forest Supervisor, agreed with an appeal of the project decision filed by a coalition of private citizens and conservation groups. The Forest Supervisor supported claims that the Española Ranger District had not followed legal requirements for collaboration and protection of roadless areas. “I applaud Supervisor Zepeda's overturning the Española Ranger District's decision to thin and burn trees in the Hyde Park area.” Said Dr. Ann McCampbell, MD. “This was the responsible action to take since a proper analysis was not done to evaluate potential environmental and health impacts to humans and wildlife.” The Hyde Park Wildland Urban Interface Thinning and Prescribed Fire Project had been planned for the forests between the ski basin road and the northern boundary of the municipal watershed and is part of a vast plan by the Forest Service to cut and burn the forests above Santa Fe, Tesuque, and Chupadero. Portions of the project are in inventoried roadless areas and would contaminate the ongoing research on the effects of the municipal watershed thinning program. Members of the public were never informed of the potential impacts on the roadless areas and were concerned about the changes in the watershed research program. “The forests along Hyde Park road are a critical asset to Santa Fe and deserve very careful planning in accordance to our nation’s law.” Said Bryan Bird, Forest Program Director with WildEarth Guardians. “The President’s forest policies require greater public participation consistent with our nation’s democracy and this project simply shut the door on citizens.” In his appeal decision, the forest supervisor stated: “It was uncertain whether the proposed action might have a significant effect upon the environment including resource conditions that may lead to a finding of extraordinary circumstances such as the Class 1 Pecos Wilderness Airshed, and the Inventoried Roadless Area within the project area. Impacts to the Santa Fe municipal watershed monitoring sites were not clear. This information was not publicly available during scoping or the 30-day notice and comment period.” “The analysis in the record did not support the use of Categorical Exclusion #10. This category was developed under the Healthy Forest Initiative and applicable projects are to be identified through a collaborative framework. Local collaboration may have resolved some of the public concerns, issues, and alternatives to the project that surfaced during the public involvement process.” The coalition that challenged the project does not oppose some thinning and burning to accomplish restoration or community protection, but does believe that the public deserves a fair chance to shape any future proposals. The Santa Fe National Forest has plans to apply Bush’s new forest policies to thousandsof acres north of Santa Fe and this planning should be accomplished with full participation of the citizens most affected. “If the Espanola Ranger District wishes to pursue this project in the future, I encourage the District to work in collaboration with the community in jointly developing plans for the project, paying particular attention to the need to protect people with chemical sensitivities, asthma, and other respiratory conditions from exposure to smoke.” Said Dr. McCampbell. The appeal decisions can be found at: www.fs.fed.us/r3/appeals/forest_santafe/06-sfe-fuels-ce-hyde-park-hitt-reverse.pdf www.fs.fed.us/r3/appeals/forest_santafe/06-sfe-fuels-ce-hyde-park-mccampbell-reverse.pdf Additional Contact: Dr. Ann McCampbell, MD, DrAnnMcC@aol.com |
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