Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment DSEIS
P.O. Box 221090
Salt Lake City, UT 84122-1090

RE: Logging plan would weaken forest and wildlife protection!

Dear Forest Service,

Thank you for considering my comments on the Forest Service logging plan for the Sierra Nevada forests. As a very concerned U.S. citizen and taxpayer, I strongly oppose the new plan because it would substantially weaken the Sierra Nevada Framework by greatly increasing logging and reducing protection for old-growth forests and wildlife in the Sierra Nevada.

The Bush Administration proposal would eliminate protection for old-growth groves and would allow widespread logging of medium and large trees from within these areas. I urge that the Forest Service fully maintain existing protection for old-growth groves and Old Forest Emphasis Areas. Also, the proposed plan would triple commercial logging throughout the Sierra Nevada by sanctioning logging to address so-called "forest health" problems. Instead, logging should be prohibited except as a tool for reducing the risk to lives and property from wildfire.

The proposal would substantially weaken protections for the California spotted owl's habitat. For example, the proposal would allow logging of trees up to 30" in diameter throughout the Sierra. I urge instead that the Forest Service maintain existing protection for California spotted owl habitat, particularly standards that protect medium and large trees, forest canopy cover, owl home range core areas, and protected activity centers.

The Pacific fisher is a rare mammal that lives in dense, old forests. Logging has contributed to the fisher's disappearance from most of the Sierra Nevada, except for a small isolated patch in the southern Sierra, where the population is unlikely to survive without habitat protection and restoration. The Bush proposal would allow significant further degradation of fisher habitat. Instead, the Forest Service should retain and strengthen the Framework's protection for the southern Sierra fisher conservation area.

The Bush proposal would also significantly weaken limitations on grazing. It is vital that the Forest Service retain and strengthen protection for the willow flycatcher, Yosemite toad, and other imperiled species and maintain protection for meadows and aquatic ecosystems.

Finally, the Bush Administration proposal would require full implementation of the Quincy Library Group (QLG) plan which would devastate national forests in the northern Sierra by allowing tens of thousands of acres of small clearcuts. The Sierra Nevada Framework limits the QLG plan because of its adverse environmental impacts, particularly on the California spotted owl. I urge that the Forest Service fully maintain the Framework's restrictions on implementation of the QLG plan.

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