Category Archives: National Forests

National Forests, National Parks, News, Wildfire

Legal posturing begins in Rim Fire aftermath

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Both sides are girding their loins over the Rim Fire case.

Keith Matthew Emerald, a 32 year old man and resident of Columbia, a town in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, is accused in a four-count indictment or starting the Rim Fire when he lost control of an illegal campfire on August 17,2013.  In August of this year he pled not guilty to the charges.

The Rim Fire burned 400 square miles of land in California, including parts of Sequoia National Forest and Yosemite National Park over the course of two months.  The fire destroyed 11 homes and cost $125 million to fight.

In August a grand jury returned the four-count indictment against Emerald, alleging that he started an illegal campfire on August 17, 2013 in an area where such fires were prohibited and that the fire spread beyond his control.

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Conservation, National Forests, News

Rally to oppose National Monument designation of the San Gabriel & San Bernardino Mountains

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Rally will be Monday, October 6, at 2PM in Pasadena

On Monday, the field office of Congresswoman Judy Chu will hear from a growing movement of citizens and elected officials against her lobbying efforts to have 620,000 acres of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains designated as a national monument.

They will deliver letters of opposition to Representative Chu on Monday October 6, 2014 at 2pm. Local groups will speak out against the plan and hold a media event outside Rep Chu’s office at 527 S. Lake Ave, Pasadena CA 91101.

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Conservation, National Forests, News

Public Officials raise concerns about fast-tracked National Monument plan

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Congresswoman Judy Chu currently has a bill, HR4858, being reviewed by a Congressional committee to designate the San Gabriel Mountains as a National Recreation Area, however she hopes to bypass the legislative process and have President Obama declare the mountains a National Monument with an executive order as early as this month without proper studies or public input.

San Bernardino County supervisors unanimously expressed serious concern for the impact of Rep. Chu’s plan on their county. Several Los Angeles County supervisors have also expressed concern over Chu’s legislation. Residents and public officials have created a grassroots movement against Chu’s campaign for further federalization of local lands.

Elected officials independently opposing the National Monument designation are City Council members from the municipalities of Arcadia, Bradbury, Claremont, Diamond Bar, Glendora, La Verne, Monrovia, Rosemead and West Covina.

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National Forests, National Parks

2015 National Park Free Entrance Days

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Mark your calendar for these entrance fee waived* dates in 2015:

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day – January 19
  • Presidents Day weekend – February 14-16
  • Opening weekend of National Park Week – April 18-19
  • National Park Service Birthday – August 25
  • National Public Lands Day – September 26
  • Veterans Day – November 11

Remember: out of 401 national parks only 133 of them charge an entrance fee.  Get outside!

*Fee waiver includes: entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise (per NPS).

National Forests

Scoping begins on revised forest plans for Inyo, Sequoia & Sierra National Forests

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Scoping workshops this month, comments due by September 29

The U.S. Forest Service today announced a 30-day public scoping period to start the National Environmental Policy Act process for revising forest plans on the Inyo, Sequoia and Sierra National Forests. The scoping period begins August 29, 2014 with the publishing of the Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register.

The Inyo, Sequoia and Sierra are three of eight national forests selected as “early adopters,” meaning they will be the first forests to revise their land management plans under the 2012 Forest Service Planning Rule.  The planning rule provides the framework for Forest Service land management plans on national forests across the nation.

These three forest plan revisions will be completed through the development of one environmental impact statement (EIS). The final EIS will result in three separate Records of Decision and three separate forest plans.  Forest Supervisors are the responsible officials for making decisions on their specific forest plans.

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