Our report, “Forest projects push forward with little public process,” will continue with Part Three next week.
Meanwhile, we have heard from some community members that their attempts to contact Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) supervisor Kevin Elliott have not been successful using the email address published on page 6 of our May 24 issue.
While the Forest Service is in the process of transitioning between email domains, it is wise to use both the following addresses in your email, to ensure that your comments reach Mr. Elliott:
KBElliott@fs.fed.us ,
Kevin.B.Elliott@usda.gov
Update: On May 29, 2019 a spokesperson for the LPNF said comments on this subject should be addressed to comments-pacificsouthwest-los-padres@fs.fed.us
Please also be sure to include a cc: to Editor@MountainEnterprise.com so we have a record of your comment for printing, in case your email to LPNF gets bounced for whatever reason. We will submit the entire packet of comments we receive to LPNF in person, to confirm they have been received.
Here is the OpEd on this subject that is in the May 24, 2019 issue of The Mountain Enterprise, with the adjustment made to the email address.
_______________________________________________
OpEd: Who Makes The Decisions?
By the end of the meeting May 14 at the Frazier Park Library, one thing became clear: None of the eight U.S. Forest Service representatives in attendance could change the project decisions.
Those decision documents were signed by the Los Padres National Forest supervisor Kevin Elliott—who wasn’t at the meeting.
At this point, he’s the only person who can withdraw the decisions and direct his staff to prepare an environmental assessment for both projects. Since his contact information wasn’t provided at the meeting, we’re putting this public information here so people can share their concerns directly with him:
LPNF Supervisor Kevin Elliott
KBElliott@fs.fed.us ,
Kevin.B.Elliott@usda.gov
Los Padres National Forest, 6750 Navigator Way, Suite 150
Goleta, CA 93117
1) We urge local residents to ask Supervisor Elliott to withdraw the decisions for both projects and to direct his staff to prepare an environmental assessment (EA);
2) We urge that the EA consider an alternative with limits on removing trees with more than a 10-inch diameter;
3) We urge that they decide not to allow commercial logging; and
4) To confirm they will protect California condor roosting sites.
The community deserves to be heard, and the forest deserves meaningful environmental review.
—Bryant Baker, Conservation Director, Los Padres ForestWatch
See LPFW.org/withdraw to send a pre-formatted email
This is part of the May 31, 2019 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.
