Agreement reached over National Forest road development

David Danielski

Several environmental groups and the U.S. Forest Service have agreed to settle a lawsuit with an accord that conservationists say will better protect nearly a million acres in the four national forests in Southern California from road construction and other forms of development.

The deal calls for increased environmental reviews of proposed road projects, the establishment of an advisory panel, and a commitment to examine where roads can be closed and the land restored for habitat.

It pertains to the Angeles, Los Padres, Cleveland and San Bernardino national forests, all of which abut urban areas.

"This was a big win for the environment," sad Ileene Anderson, a biologist for the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity, one of seven environmental groups that had sued the Forest Service in 2008 over its land-use planning process.

Forest Service spokesman John Heil said the agency is pleased with the agreement. He said he could not comment further because the settlement still must be recorded in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The agreement must be approved by Judge Marilyn Hall Patel.

Environmental groups took issue with Forest Service plans that in 2005 designated more than 900,000 roadless acres for possible road building or other development, the groups say in a statement released this week.

The groups also contended the service did not do proper environmental reviews and ignored an alternative that would have better protected plant and animal life.

The agreement now calls for federal and state agencies, conservationists and off-road vehicle users to work together to improve and protect the roadless areas and have input on other planned road development, Anderson said.

The four national forests in Southern California include more than 3.5 million acres of public land from Big Sur to the Mexican border.

The forests host a high diversity of ecosystems, including chaparral, oak woodlands, savannas, deserts and alpine areas and are among the last haven for sensitive wildlife near rapidly developing urban areas, the groups say.

The plaintiff included Earthjustice, Los Padres ForestWatch, the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, California Native Plant Society, California Wilderness Coalition and The Wilderness Society.

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Source: http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_forest17.40d6680.html

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