Forest Plan: Let It Be

LOS ANGELES TIMES Editorial, January 5, 2002 -- In a flip-flop that is either a sign of blatant cynicism by the Bush administration or one boneheaded career move, a U.S. Forest Service bureaucrat has launched a "broad review" of a landmark plan for the forests of the Sierra Nevada--just days after his boss at the Department of Agriculture approved it.

The Sierra Nevada framework is a sound approach to the long-range management of more than 11 million acres of national forest on behalf of the forests' owners, the people of the United States. it is the product of 10 years of intense scientific study, analysis and public comment. the goal is to manage the forest to protect old-growth areas that endangered and threatened species call home and to guard the Sierra against further damage by logging and livestock grazing. The plan would reduce commercial logging by as much as 80%, which is one reason why timber interests vehemently protested it.

Now it appears that the Forest Service is once against selling out to the tree cutters as well as to ranchers and off-road vehicle groups. But these are the people's forests and should be managed with a broader view of the legacy that will be left to future generations.

© 2005 Los Angeles Times