Author Archives: Shawn E. Bell

California, Off Roading, OHV

Invitation to Participate: Review and Comment on the Coyote Flat OHV Draft Environmental Assessment from May 18 to June 17

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Inyo National Forest has announced the release of the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Coyote Flat Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Enhancement Project.

A 30-day public comment period is open from May 18 to June 17, 2024. To access the EA, go HERE and navigate to the “Project Documents” Box folder widget. Follow the instructions to access the “EA Comment Period” folder to access the EA document.

The proposed action is a step towards addressing motorized trail management and safety concerns in the Coyote Flat area. It’s a chance to address sustainable recreation opportunities for various user groups and OHV green sticker vehicles. This aligns with the goals and objectives outlined in the Forest’s 2019 Land Management Plan, offering a hopeful future for the area.

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California, National Forests, U.S. Forest Service, Wildfire

Nearly $500 Million Headed to the Wildfire Crisis Strategy

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell
The Forest Service is getting nearly $500 million to help fight the wildfire crisis. Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the investment this week, aimed at expanding the agency’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy before catastrophic fires reach communities bordering national forest land.
 
The agency will spend roughly $400 million – funded through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – on the 21 priority landscapes it has already identified across the West as the places most likely to burn hot and burn hard. Another $100 million funds something newer: the Collaborative Wildfire Risk Reduction Program, which brings tribes, local communities, and partner organizations into the planning process across 24 states before the work begins.

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Activities, Conservation, Outdoors

82 Million Americans Still Hunt and Fish – And the Land Depends on Them

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Hunting and fishing get treated like relics some years and political footballs in others. What they actually are is one of the oldest working relationships between people and land still standing.

Eighty-two million Americans hunt or fish, according to the Forest Service, and most of them didn’t come to it as a hobby – they came to it as a family tradition, a way to put food on the table, or both. Whatever the reason, hunters and anglers end up paying closer attention to the health of the land and water than almost anyone else, because their success depends on it.

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California, Conservation, Outdoors, Wildfire

When the Forests Burn, the Smoke Doesn’t Stay Local

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Wildfire smoke doesn’t respect state lines. Smoke from a fire in the Sierra can shut down flights in Seattle.

That happened during recent brutal fire seasons in the West – smoke from blazes stretching from California to British Columbia delayed air traffic hundreds of miles away and triggered health warnings for healthy adults to stay indoors. The fires themselves are only half the story. The people who never see the flames, who live downwind and breathe the aftermath, carry part of the cost too.

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Conservation, National Forests

National Forests Are the Country’s Largest Source of Drinking Water

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

More than 60 million Americans turn on the tap and get water that started as snowmelt on national forest land.

]The National Forest System is the single largest source of drinking water in the country, according to the Forest Service. Many national forests sit directly over the source areas for major rivers and aquifers, which makes the health of the forest and the health of the water supply the same question. Cut down the trees, degrade the watershed, and the water quality downstream goes with it.

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