What can be done about all those brown spots in the forest due to the drought? The Condor Group of the Sierra Club invites the public to hear the experts speak.

By Mary Ann Lockhart

The Sierra Club will host a welcome to meet our new Mount Pinos District Ranger, Roy Morris and two Forest Service specialists on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.

The main presentation will be by Greg Thompson, Forester for the Los Padres National Forest. Greg will talk about the effects of the drought on the forest and on current forest health issues related to the drought.

Newly appointed Mt. Pinos District Ranger Roy Morris will answer questions and, if time allows, we may discuss the maintenance of forest roads, plus the rationale for opening and closing them.

If time is not available, we can provide him with a list of our questions, interests, and concerns.

Ivana Noell, resource officer for the Mt. Pinos Ranger District, is planning to give a brief introduction to the Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA). These are proposals to enhance or maintain resource values on public lands, as well as to generate products. The public may submit proposals for various uses such as rights-of-way, land exchanges and recreational events. A necessary part of the planning for these is the environmental analysis and documentation, under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To see the SOPA yourself, enter “Los Padres National Forest SOPA” in your computer search engine.

You can also go to www.fs.usda.gov/projects/lpnf/landmanagement/projects.

This is part of the September 26, 2014 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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