Latest Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 4, 2008
CONTACT:
Craig Thomas, Sierra Forest Legacy
530-622-8718 /craig@sierraforestlegacy.org
Conservation Organizations Appeal Forest Service's Species Monitoring Amendment
Sacramento-- Several conservation oraganizations including Sierra Forest Legacy, Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, Forest Issues Group, Sierra Foothills Audubon Society and the Center for Biological Diversity have filed an appeal of the Forest Service’s recent decision to significantly weaken their forest monitoring requirements by reducing the management indicator species (MIS) lists that are tracked across all Sierra Nevada national forests.
"This decision dramatically reduces the number of wildlife species that will be monitored on national forests in the Sierra Nevada, significantly increasing the risk that management activities will adversely affect these species and their habitat," said Craig Thomas, Executive Director of Sierra Forest Legacy.
An astonishing 75% (44 of 58) of existing MIS would be removed from the monitoring list. The Record of Decision (ROD) lacks any details regarding how MIS will be monitored, and fails to establish management objectives and mitigation measures for the MIS, contrary to requirements set forth in the agency’s planning regulations. The decision also eliminates the requirement in Appendix E of the Sierra Nevada Framework, as confirmed by the courts, that population monitoring data must be obtained for MIS prior to plan implementation. The decision also fails to establish any specific monitoring requirements for the new MIS, such as the frequency, duration, or location of planned monitoring.
"This decision turns back the clock on species protection in the Sierra Nevada and reduces our ability to hold land managers accountable for the impacts of their decisions on at-risk wildlife," said Don Rivenes of the Sierra Foothills Audubon Society.
The Forest Service in Region 5 through this decision is attempting to sidestep one of the most important tools the public has for gauging management impacts and environmental health. The monitoring of wildlife species including sensitive species and MIS is one of the few ways land managers can be held accountable for the effects of their decisions. Monitoring has long been the under-funded “step-child” of the forest planning process until recently when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of environmental plaintiffs on two key cases in California. The Red Star Fire Salvage and the Power and Fred’s Fire Salvage cases affirm that forest plan monitoring for habitat and population trends is the law. The appellants to this decision have requested that the Forest Service’s decision be overturned and reconsidered consistent with all legal requirements.
For more information on the proposed amendment or to read the appeal and its sup[porting documents visist the MIS page on this website.