Forest plan looks locally and across the entire Sierra

U.S. Forest Service is taking a comprehensive look at the Sierra Nevada's future along with planning the forest specifically in the Carson Ranger District.

Across the 11 national forests from far Northern California to Bakersfield, the Forest Service seeks the best way for animals, plants and fire to coexist.

Locally, the Forest Service plan deals with the "habitat for one species, that's homo sapiens," said Dave Loomis, forest planner for the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

Loomis and range program manager Steve Bishop presented overviews Monday of the two draft environmental impact statements for the Sierra Framework and the Northern Sierra Plan Amendment. Within a half hour, they boiled down 8-inches of text into a handful of basic themes.

For the Sierra as a whole, the statement tackles fire primary problems:

- protect old forest ecosystems.

- protect aquatic, riparian and meadow ecosystems.

- manage fire and fuels to reduce the threat of catastrophic fires.

- control the spread of noxious weeds - "We haven't found anybody to support the spread of noxious weeds," Loomis said.

- protect hardwood ecosystems on the Sierra's west slope.

"There has been a recognition that the Forest Service can't manage the forest by itself," Loomis said. "It needs to be a collaborative effort with the people in the Sierra."

Those are just the words Dick Young of Glenbrook wanted to hear.

"Local government should have an input in what the Forest Service does with public lands because local cities can have a better understanding of the activities that happen in our lands," Young said.

Elsie Dupree, the newly elected president of the Nevada Wildlife Federation, was encouraged with the draft plan and amendment.

"Keep the public lands public," Dupree said. "The Forest Service is more proactive talking about recreation and habitat."

Recreation, tourism, scenic beauty and urban wildland interface are the primary components of the Northern Sierra draft EIS, which covers the 100-mile stretch of eastern Sierra from Sonora Pass to Hallelujah Junction north of Reno.

"We've heard more about recreation and access than any other issue," Loomis said.

In the broadest sense, public comments seem most concerned about smoke from prescribed fire for the overall Sierra plan and winter recreation within the Northern Sierra.

The open houses this week in Carson City, Minden, Markleeville and Reno serve as a way to provide information about the EISs. Subsequent meetings July 24-26 will seek public ideas to improve the proposed actions.

The second Carson City workshop will be from 1 to 3 p.m. July 24 at the Carson City Library. The comment period for the Sierra Network plan closes Aug. 11 and the comment period for the Northern Sierra Amendment closes Aug. 31.

The Northern Sierra Amendment has five alternatives with differing balances of motorized and non-motorized recreation, wilderness management and scenery management. The preferred alternative calls for motorized recreation over 46 percent of the planning area.

The Sierra Network plan has eight alternatives dealing with restoring habitats for wildlife and reducing timber by a mix of controlled fires or logging. The two preferred alternatives calls for management of old growth trees and using prescribed burns to manage fire fuels.

The Sierra Network plan also has a series of proposals for grazing. The two preferred alternatives take opposite approaches to grazing: either setting the same standards for the entire Sierra or let each national forest set its own standards, Bishop said.

One alternative stops grazing on 7,000 acres during the breeding season of the willow flycatcher from June 1 to Aug. 20, while the other preferred alternative allows no grazing at all on 29,000 acres of national forest land that the flycatcher has occupied since 1982.

Comments may be sent to Northern Sierra Planning Team, 1536 S. Carson St., Carson City 89701 or Sierra Nevada Framework Project, P.O. Box 7669, Missoula, Mont. 59807.