NEC Comments on NCIP

EcoNews Staff

We wholeheartedly agree with Abigail on the importance of engaging in this process. When the Bureau of Land Management was formed it was tasked by Congress with “a mandate of managing public lands for a variety of uses such as energy development, livestock grazing, recreation, and timber harvesting while ensuring natural, cultural, and historic resources are maintained for present and future use.” This focus on energy development, grazing and timber harvesting led to the nickname “the Bureau of Logging and Mining.” The fact that the current leadership of the agency is undertaking an update to the Northwest California Integrated Management Plan that includes protections for Wild and Scenic Rivers, designation of Areas of Environmental Concern (ACECs) and Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs), as well as positive implications for addressing climate change .

As strong advocates for the Environment who emphasize preservation of what’s left of our natural environment we support any update that prioritizes emphasizing habitat connectivity and resilience, and designates the most area to be managed for protecting wilderness characteristics as a priority over other uses.

In our comments to the BLM, we emphasized that fire resiliency is a very important outcome that should be strived for in whatever alternative is adopted. It’s important that the use of fire as a management tool incorporates Indigenous knowledge and cultural burning tactics. We also believe strongly in continued work on fuel reduction without sacrificing shaded canopy. Specifically fuels work in conifer dominated forests should not reduce the canopy cover below 60 percent at the minimum. This does not include areas where the focus is oak woodland restoration or range enhancement. In all management tactics we would like to see an emphasis on small-scale and mosaic management plans that are specific to an area’s ecology, rather than applying blanket management tactics to large-acreage areas.

We appreciated BLM’s commitments stated in Chapter 1 of the NCIP EIS, most notably “[m]anaging for diverse, ecologically resilient landscapes and healthy forests will be central to adapting to a changing climate.” In order to meet these commitments we would like to see the NCIP adopt research and monitoring plans emphasizing conservation. In particular we would like to see the development of fire ecology studies within the BLM areas, in order to ensure that the RMP is meeting management goals. As stated in chapter 1.4, monitoring and evaluation are essential for an adaptive management approach that will ensure an effective RMP into the future. As ecosystems are forced to evolve to a changing climate, we would like to see public land agencies such as BLM be leading forces in developing and incorporating studies that ensure the most adaptive management tactics are being utilized. This should include consulting conservation and/or ecology specialists when developing management and fire resiliency plans.