FSEEE: Press Release (03)

May 10, 2000

P R E S S R E L E A S E

For more information -
Bob Dale 541/484-2692
Dean Carrier 530/ 676-2573

EMPLOYEE-CITIZEN PARTNERSHIP PUBLISHES PLAN FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA; OVER 225 EMINENT SCIENTISTS SIGN A JOINT LETTER OF SUPPORT

Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE), a unique partnership of natural resource professionals and citizens, this week released a 146-page report, Restoring Our Forest Legacy: Blueprint for Sierra Nevada National Forests. The peer-reviewed report provides a broad range of land management recommendations for the 11 national forests of the Sierra Nevada and the Modoc Plateau in California and western Nevada.

Over 225 leading American scientists, including Dr. Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University, Dr. Reed Noss, President of the Society for Conservation Biology, and noted conservation biologists, Dr. Michael Soule and Dr. Peter Brussard, have voiced their support for the report's recommendations in a joint letter to the president. The scientists' letter states: "We believe the legacy of the past requires a significant departure from current management if we are to preserve and restore the rich natural heritage of the Sierra Nevada Ö [P]lease direct the Forest Service to take a good, hard look at the recommendations offered in the FSEEE-sponsored plan."

The report's recommendations were submitted to the Forest Service for use in the government's planning process for national forests in the Sierra Nevada. They formed the basis for Alternative 3 in the agency's just-released Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

W. Dean Carrier, California Field Representative for FSEEE, stated, "The widespread support for the FSEEE plan reflects our determination to apply the best available science. We believe we have a highly credible plan for conserving the Sierra Nevada's remarkable ecological values, but you don't have to take our word for it. The scientific community has clearly spoken."

The FSEEE plan, crafted by a team of Forest Service employees, scientists, and natural resource professionals from other agencies, is centered on the restoration of natural processes such as fire, the protection of water quality, and the conservation of forests and wildlife. Its major thrust, as described in the report, is "to contribute to long-term ecological sustainability and human well-being."

Bob Dale, FSEEE's Field Director, noted, "The FSEEE team combined practicality with good science. What most distinguishes this plan is its pragmatic approach to problem solving, based on analysis of local environmental conditions."

With the Forest Service's environmental documents now available for public review, FSEEE has convened a second panel of scientists. This one will review the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and provide findings and recommendations designed to help the government reach a more informed land management decision later this year.

The FSEEE report, Restoring Our Forest Legacy: Blueprint for Sierra Nevada National Forests, is available on the web: (http://www.fseee.org/sierra-report.htm).

Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, based in Eugene, Oregon, with a satellite office located in the Sierra Nevada, is a nonprofit conservation and education organization. FSEEE works to forge a socially responsible value system within the U.S. Forest Service through a unique partnership of citizens and agency employees.