How to Comment on the Draft EIS For the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment -- Comments due by August 11, 2000
You must, of course, become informed. Obtain a copy of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and read it, or at least those portions of it that are of interest to you. The Draft EIS is available online, http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/sncf/, on compact disk (CD), and in hard-copy format. You may obtain the CD or the bound, hard copy by contacting the Forest Service at:
USDA Forest Service - CAET
Sierra Nevada Framework Project
P.O. Box 7669
Missoula, MT 59807
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE) recommends that you also review our peer-reviewed report, Restoring Our Forest Legacy: Blueprint for Sierra National Forests. This report is available online at the FSEEE web site. Or if you prefer, you may order a bound, hard copy (email contact: bobdale@fseee.org). Hard copies are complimentary to FSEEE members, $10 to non-members.
The Forest Service's Sierra Nevada web site contains additional information to help you understand the problem areas and issues addressed in the Draft EIS.
Prepare and submit written comments to the Forest Service in a timely manner. To ensure that your comments are given full consideration, submit your comments by the August 11, 2000 deadline. Comments may be submitted by mail or by email. It is recommended that you submit written comments by mail if possible.
Here are the addresses for the submission of written comments:
By mail:
USDA Forest Service - CAET
Sierra Nevada Framework Project
P.O. Box 7669
Missoula, MT 59807
By email:
Mailroom_wo_caet@fs.fed.us
Focus your comments on the problem areas that are of greatest interest to you. Try to avoid the "everything including the kitchen sink" syndrome. FSEEE suggests that your written comments highlight the following management concerns:
- The need for a watershed-based approach to land management, using ecosystem analysis at the watershed scale as the primary analysis tool
- The need for protective land designations, such as for old growth, roadless areas, and other ecologically significant areas
- The need for a variety of treatment options to restore natural disturbance regimes (e.g. management-ignited and lightning-ignited prescribed fire, thinning of dense stands, etc.)
Of the eight alternatives described and analyzed in the Draft EIS, FSEEE believes the alternative that best addresses these significant management concerns is Alternative 3. The recommendations provided in Restoring Our Forest Legacy: Blueprint for Sierra National Forests formed the basis for Alternative 3.
More than 225 leading American scientists are asking the president to give careful consideration to the recommendations included in Restoring Our Forest Legacy. See their comments here.
