Input sought on proposed Rim Fire reforestation plan

Guy McCarthy

The Union Democrat – March 2, 2015 

A proposal to replant and thin about 42,000 acres on the Stanislaus National Forest impacted by the 2013 Rim Fire is available online, and a 45-day period has begun for people to submit written comments to the Forest Service.

The deadline to submit comments is 11:50 p.m. Monday, April 13.

The proposal and comment period are steps in a process that will include a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.  The earliest the first trees in the reforestation proposed action can be planted will be spring 2017, said Georgia Dempsey of the forest’s Rim Fire Recovery Team.

By that time, more than three years will have passed since the giant forest fire blew up east of Sonora.  Between August, 2013 and October 2013, the Rim Fire burned 257,314 acres, including 154,530 acres in the Stanislaus National Forest and 77,254 acres in Yosemite National Park.

Salvage logging in the burn area had to happen first, and work on the proposed action for reforestation began in late October 2014, Dempsey said.

When the public comment period closes in April, a team of Forest Service resource specialists and scientists will review the comments to see if there’s anything they can include in the draft EIS, Dempsey said.  They hope to have the draft ready by late this year.

Multiple private groups and government agencies will take note of the proposed reforestation plan, including Yosemite-Stanislaus Solutions.  The YSS coalition has more than 30 member groups representing timber, bioenergy, mining, construction, utilities, water, agriculture, recreation, tourism, American Indian tribes, environmentalists and other interests.

“The YSS collaborative group has been eager for the Forest Service to move reforestation forward in the Rim Fire, so we are glad to see the release of a proposed plan,” said John Buckley, a co-chairman of Yosemite-Stanislaus Solutions.

“YSS looks forward to studying the details of what the agency is promoting and then submitting suggestions that may help avoid controversy and produce a final plan that has broad support,” Buckley said.  “Clearly there is a strong need for reforestation and a wide range of other restoration treatments in damaged portions of the burn area.”

The proposed reforestation plan includes possible usage of the herbicide glyphosate, Dempsey said.  Glyphosate is similar to a commercial herbicide sold at hardware stores.

“It does mention glyphosate, to help keep back competitive brush in replant areas, to allow tree seedlings to compete with the brush,” Dempsey said.  “It’s really similar to Roundup, which a lot of folks use in their backyards.  Forest Service and federal Fish and Wildlife scientists are looking at potential impacts from glyphosate.”

The Rim Fire Reforestation proposal and related documents can be found online at www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=45612.The proposal includes “reforestation, plantation thinning, wildlife habitat enhancement and noxious weed treatments on National forest System lands within the footprint of the Rim Fire,” Stanislaus national Forest officials said.

Forest Supervisor Jeanne Higgins urges people to review the proposal and share thoughts in writing.

“Written comments on the proposal are encouraged,” Higgins said.  “Knowing your thoughts, concerns and issues early on in the process is important to us.  To formally have your voice heard, it is necessary to send in your written comments during the open comment period.  Please include supporting reasons for your suggestions to help us better understand your perspective.”

Written comments can be submitted to:  Stanislaus national Forest, Attn:  Rim Reforestation, 1977 Greenley Road, Sonora, CA 95370.  Comments can be submitted by fax at 533-1890.  Comments can also be emailed with “Rim Reforestation” in the subject line to:  comments-pacificsouthwest-stanislaus@fs.fed.us.

Names of commenters will become part of the public record, according to the Forest Service.  For more information, contact Rim Reforestation Team Leader Maria Benech at 532-3671, ext. 463.