Opinion ID: 217548
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The 2004 Framework

Text: In January 2001, the U.S. Forest Service completed the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment and an accompanying Rule of Decision (collectively the 2001 Framework), the conclusion of a 10-year comprehensive review process. The 2001 Framework significantly altered guidelines for management of 10 national forests and one management unit, which collectively include 11.5 million acres in the Sierra Nevada region of California. The 2001 Framework restricted logging based on overlapping guidelines concerning tree size, canopy closure and the presence of sensitive species including the California spotted owl, the northern goshawk (a bird of prey), the Pacific fisher (a small carnivorous mammal), the pine marten (another small carnivorous mammal), the willow flycatcher (a small bird) and the Yosemite toad. Less than a year later, the Forest Service began a review of the 2001 Framework to address six new policy priorities: fuel treatments, compatibility with the National Fire Plan, implementation of pilot projects outlined in the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act, 16 U.S.C. § 2104 note (HFQLG Act), impact on grazing permit holders, impact on recreational users and impact on local communities. In 2003, the Forest Service released a draft SEIS explaining proposed changes to the 2001 Framework. The Forest Service sought internal review from both its Watershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air and Rare Plants staff and a science consistency review team, as well as interagency review from the Environmental Protection Agency and Fish and Wildlife Service. The State of California also submitted comments on the draft SEIS. The Forest Service received over 50,000 public comments, including approximately 1,300 individual letters. Numerous experts presented vigorous critiques of the plan for its lack of emphasis on species preservation and purported assumptions concerning fire ecology. In 2004, the Forest Service released the 2004 Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment and final SEIS. The 2004 Framework significantly liberalizes management restrictions, most notably by emphasizing mechanical thinning over controlled burns and increasing the maximum size of trees subject to logging from either six or 20 inches diameter at breast height to 30 inches, subject to minimum canopy retention levels and maintenance of specified percentages of existing tree volume. The 2004 Framework maintains specific protections for California spotted owls both in protected activity centers around nests and in home range core areas. On the other hand, the 2004 Framework permits broad implementation of the HFQLG Act, which loosens logging restrictions in specified areas in order to experiment with fire suppression techniques such as Community Defense Zones and Defensible Fuel Profile Zones. Finally, the 2004 Framework alters grazing limitations to permit pasture use outside of breeding periods in areas known to contain willow flycatchersa small birdand Yosemite toads and would allow for site-specific waivers of any limitation subject to development of local management plans. The SEIS included over 130 pages of responses to public comments. After the Regional Forester decided to select the 2004 Framework, members of the public submitted 6,241 administrative appeals. The Chief of the Forest Service denied the appeals, with instructions that the regional forester provide supplemental information concerning adaptive monitoring, a system under which the Forest Service will continuously assess the effects of management on sensitive species and adjust practices accordingly. The Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment affirmed the appeal decision a few months later.