FOREST PLAN SPARKS DEBATE PROTECTING CONDOR, WILDERNESS AMONG CONCERNS.Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer VENTURA - Facing controversy over oil drilling, roads in wilderness areas and heightened brush fire concerns, the U.S. Forest Service is revising plans for the Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a forest located in southern and central California, which includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,831 feet. in Ventura County. Because the Los Padres
Not to be confused with San Diego Padres. is home to the California condor condor, common name for certain American vultures, found in the high peaks of the Andes of South America and the Coast Range of S California. Condors are the largest of the living birds, nearly 50 in. , the plans are of particular interest to environmentalists who say protecting the endangered bird should be a top priority. Some say they are concerned that Forest Service officials are using growing fears about brush fires in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, as an excuse for building roads in what should be wilderness areas. Forest Service officials scheduled an open house for Monday in Ventura to help people learn about their recently completed land management plan for the Los Padres area, including ideas for protecting housing developments near the forest from catastrophic wildfires. Environmental groups and political leaders, including members of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors The examples and perspective in this article or section may represent an unduly geographically limited view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. The Board of Supervisors is the body governing counties in the U.S. , have voiced opposition recently to Forest Service plans to expand oil drilling in the Los Padres area, and a lawsuit was filed this month to block wilderness road Wilderness Road, principal avenue of westward migration for U.S. pioneers from c.1790 to 1840, blazed in 1775 by the American frontiersman Daniel Boone and an advance party of the Transylvania Company. Feeders from the east (Richmond, Va. construction nationwide. Although the oil drilling proposal and lawsuit over road building are separate from the new Los Padres plan, they all relate to the same issues regarding how the forest will be used. Kathy Good, a spokeswoman for the Los Padres forest said new plans for all Southern California forests have been under development since 2001 and the open houses this month will give the public a chance to learn about and discuss the conclusions. ``These are the final plans. These plans will provide for over-arching strategic guidance for the next 10 to 15 years,'' Good said. ``The oil and gas study was a separate study. It began about 10 yers ago and concluded this year. The oil and gas decision is an amendment to our existing forest plan and it will be rolled over into the new forest plan.'' There are now about 4,900 acres leased for oil and gas development in the Los Padres National Forest, and under a decision this summer by Los Padres Supervisor Gloria Brown an additional 52,000 acres of the forest would be open to oil and gas development. But the new surface drilling, power lines and roads would be limited to 4,000 acres, and the remaining 48,000 would be open only for underground directional or slant drilling. Even if all the new acres are leased, only about 21 acres would be disturbed through the construction of well pads, drills, access roads and pipelines, Forest Service officials said. ``I reached this decision after a great deal of thought and careful consideration of public input,'' Brown said. ``I feel that it provides for the protection of ecological values that are so important to the American public, while still offering a portion of our oil and gas potential to the nation.'' She said the disturbance would decrease over time and the land would be rehabilitated when the oil and gas activities cease. But environmentalists are skeptical and oppose new oil and gas development, particularly near the sanctuary areas for the endangered California condor. The new areas open to oil and gas leasing are primarily hills to the north of the Santa Clara River Valley The Santa Clara River Valley is a rural region of eastern Ventura County, California and northwest Los Angeles County, California that is named for the Santa Clara River which winds through the valley before emptying into the Pacific Ocean between the cities of Oxnard and Ventura. and in the Sierra Madre Sierra Madre, city, United States Sierra Madre (sēĕr`ə mä`drā), residential city (1990 pop. 10,762), Los Angeles co., S Calif., at the foot of Mt. Wilson; inc. 1907. There is some light manufacturing. foothills south of Cuyama, where the Sisquoc Condor Sanctuary was once used as a site for releasing the birds back into the wild. Defenders of Wildlife Defenders of Wildlife is non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1947 out of concern for perceived cruelties of the use of steel-jawed leghold traps for trapping fur-bearing animals. , Los Padres ForestWatch of Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , and the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity combines conservation biology with litigation, policy advocacy, and an innovative strategic vision to secure a future for animals and plants hovering on the brink of extinction, for the wilderness they need to survive, and by extension for the filed the appeal. They say forest officials relied on outdated reports to assess the potential harm to the environment from more oil development. The three conservation groups said forest drilling would threaten pristine creeks, spoil scenic vistas and harm wildlife. ``The agency's plan requires a vast network of roads, pipelines and transmission wires that will cut through the heart of some of the most sensitive areas of the forest, including key habitat for the critically endangered California condor,'' said Defenders of Wildlife spokeswoman Kim Delfino. Good said the Los Padres National Forest, extending from the Big Sur Big Sur Scenic region along the Pacific coast of California, U.S. It comprises a ruggedly beautiful stretch of seacoast 100 mi (160 km) long. Popular with tourists and naturalists, it extends southward from Carmel to the Hearst Castle at San Simeon. coast down to the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County line, contains about 1.76 million acres. She said Forest Service officials would not endanger the California condor with any of their new plans, which stress the endangered bird's protection and protection of urban areas from wildfires. ``Protecting the condors is very, very high on our list of priorities, and we work very closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make sure the condors and other endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. are protected,'' she said. The plan recommends that many areas be restricted from motorized mo·tor·ize tr.v. mo·tor·ized, mo·tor·iz·ing, mo·tor·iz·es 1. To equip with a motor. 2. To supply with motor-driven vehicles. 3. To provide with automobiles. access, but officials also want to maintain their options for accessing parts of the forest to prevent catastrophic wildfires, they said. ``We may need to have road access, but the emphasis would be on temporary access. We don't anticipate any aggressive road building in any of the forests,'' Good said. Jeff Kuyper, executive director of Los Padres Forest Watch, said the new Forest Service plan does not provide for enough new wilderness areas. ``We see the Forest Service using public fear surrounding fire as a scapegoat scapegoat In the Old Testament, a goat that was symbolically burdened with the sins of the people and then killed on Yom Kippur to rid Jerusalem of its iniquities. Similar rituals were held elsewhere in the ancient world to transfer guilt or blame. instead of providing true wilderness protection,'' Kuyper said. ``I think it is important for people concerned about our forest to attend these open houses. We were hoping that with the new plan the forests would have been better protected, but it appears the Forest Service is going in the opposite direction.'' The group's biggest criticism is it sees the new forest plans as vague, failing to set clear guidelines. Members believe it will be difficult for the Forest Service to follow the plan and difficult for the public to determine whether the agency is following it. ``We were hoping the new plan would provide more protection for the condor,'' Kuyper said. ``It remains to be seen how the new plan will affect the condor, but the agency fell far short of our expectations. Protection of the condor habitat should be the utmost priority. Instead it's taking the back seat to oil drilling and other activities.'' The Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. contributed to this story. Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602 eric.leach(at)dailynews.com IF YOU GO Open houses to provide information on the new long-range plan for the Los Padres National Forest are scheduled at the following locations: -- Ventura: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Monday at the Avenue Adult Center, 550 N. Ventura Ave. -- Goleta: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Los Padres National Forest headquarters conference room, 6755 Hollister Ave., Raytheon Building, Suite 150. -- Frazier Park: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at the Community Center, 300 Park Drive. The plan can be viewed at www.fs.fed.us/r5/scfpr. CAPTION(S): box Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
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