By Marcy Axness, TME

A key criticism of the “Mount Pinos Forest Health and Fuels Reduction” project proposed by the U.S. Forest Service is its use of a controversial administrative loophole known as a “categorical exclusion.”

This fast-track to approval curtails the public’s ability to voice concerns. It bypasses the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) mandate to study potential impacts to the area’s ecosystems and to consider less damaging alternatives.

It cannot, however, bypass Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires consultation with tribal groups if the project’s historical areas hold…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

Left: Dolphin Dancers from Chumash, Chalon and Chukchansi tribes gathered at a June 2010 Summer Solstice ceremony on Mount Pinos, which is the sacred ‘Center of the Universe’ to these indigenous people.

Mount Pinos is a place of sacred ceremony for this family’s ancestral line: Left: Vicenta Victoria
Olivera (born 1872 in Bakersfield) is grandmother to (above, right) Carmelita Castro
Estrada, pictured at a 2013 Mt. Pinos Summer Solstice ceremony between her great-grandchildren, Aubrey and Cameron Garcia; Above left: Arianne Chow-Garcia (with son Cameron in 2017) is Carmelita’s grand-daughter, mother of Aubrey and Cameron.

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This is part of the May 7, 2021 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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