Lawsuit challenges clear-cutting in Sierra
By Margo Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times
Will clear-cutting forests increase global warming? That’s a contentious issue as California, which is seeking to slash its carbon footprint, wrestles over rules to manage the state’s private forests.
(Thursday) the Center for Biological Diversity, a Tucson-based environmental group, filed lawsuits against the California Department of Forestry in seven California counties to halt logging plans for 5,000 acres across the Sierra Nevada and Cascade regions. The group contends that the agency approved the projects without properly analyzing carbon emissions and climate consequences under the California Environmental Quality Act. “Clear-cutting is an abysmal practice that should have been banned long ago due to its impacts on wildlife and water quality,” said Brian Nowicki, CBD’s California climate policy director. “Now, in an era when all land-management decisions need to be fully carbon-conscious, there is no excuse to continue to allow clear-cutting.”