WildEarth Guardians

Friday, September 22, 2006
Forest Supervisor Rejects Appeal of Thinning Plan in Gallinas Municipal Watershed

The Forest Service is asking the citizens of Las Vegas to give up their pristine water supply to basically reduce an exaggerated risk of wildfire
Contact: John Arnold Albuquerque Journal

Santa Fe National Forest acting supervisor Martin Chavez has rejected an appeal by environmentalists who are fighting a controversial forest-thinning project near Las Vegas, N.M.

The decision, based on recommendations from a Forest Service reviewing officer, means that long-debated plans to thin about 8,200 acres in the Gallinas Municipal Watershed could begin as early as next month, although environmentalists who appealed the plan say they will likely pursue a federal lawsuit.

More than 90 percent of Las Vegas' domestic water supply comes from the Gallinas Watershed, and forest officials fear that a large, high-intensity wildfire could interrupt the city's water supply.

Forest managers in the Pecos/Las Vegas District "did a good job analyzing the alternatives and working with the community to create a project that will reduce the risk of crown fires in some of the more vulnerable areas in the watershed," Chavez said in a news release.

But environmentalists argue that the Forest Service's proposed thinning methods will harm water quality and wildlife habitat.

The Forest Service plans to use several thinning techniques on the project, including mechanical removal, prescribed burns and logging with timber sales- a particular point of contention with the environmental community.

The Forest Service is asking "the citizens of Las Vegas to give up their pristine water supply to basically reduce an exaggerated risk of wildfire," said Bryan Bird of Santa Fe-based WildEarth Guardians, one of nine groups and individuals who appealed the plan.

Bird said that fire danger in the Gallinas Watershed can be reduced without any logging and timber sales. He and other environmentalists advocate "light-touch" hand-thinning techniques, similar to those used in the Santa Fe Watershed.

"We've never understood why the citizens of Las Vegas don't deserve the same special, careful treatment that Santa Fe got in its watershed," Bird said.

District ranger Joe Reddan said that under the Gallinas plan, logging will occur in an area that has been previously logged and where roads already exist.

The Gallinas project could take between five and 10 years to complete, he said.

Reddan first approved a thinning plan in 2004. But after environmentalists and citizens groups appealed it, a reviewing officer found that the district would have to further analyze potential wildlife impacts in the area before the project could move forward.

He issued the revised plan in June.

Copyright 2006 Albuquerque Journal - Reprinted with permission