4FRI DEIS Released!

4friHere’re the FS documents, below is a press release from
4FRI.

The 4FRI Stakeholder Group is in the process of reviewing this draft decision. We have worked closely with the U.S. Forest Service in this planning effort, which began in 2012. It is the largest Environmental Impact Statement for forest restoration in the country,” stated Diane Vosick, current co-chair of the 4FRI stakeholder group and Director of Policy and Partnerships for the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University, adding “while we are currently undergoing review of the decision details, we are unified in our support of restoring our northern Arizona National Forests.”

“This plan will help guarantee a supply of wood for the businesses who are investing in wood manufacturing, as well as create much-needed jobs,” said Steve Gatewood, the other co-chair of the stakeholder group and a longstanding member of the Greater Flagstaff Forest Partnership. “It is the first of at least two large plans that will eventually encompass 2.4 million acres of northern Arizona forests.”

The 4FRI landscape has been broken into two planning areas: this first plan encompasses much of the Coconino and South Kaibab forests (nearly one million acres), and the second plan, currently in the pre-planning stages, will incorporate 1.4 million acres of eastern Arizona pine forests on the Apache-Sitgreaves and the Tonto.

This draft decision summarizes the types of treatments that are intended to restore forests to a condition that protects communities and watersheds from unnatural catastrophic fire events; improve forest health; enhance wildlife habitat; and restore the beneficial role of managed and natural low-intensity ground fires. For more information on 4FRI, please visit www.4fri.org.

1 thought on “4FRI DEIS Released!”

  1. The EIS calls for logging 160 MMBF/year for ten years. Last year the Coconino and Kaibab “harvested” 15 MMBF (this doesn’t include personal use firewood). Somebody better start building sawmills…on a massive scale. The DEIS is not cause for celebration. Planning for planning sake is no victory…except to planners. The celebration will come when they break ground on a few “large” mills. (remember a few years ago when the “no oil refinery has been built in 30 years in the U.S.” was making the rounds…I can’t remember when the last new sawmill was built). The next step will be when we see if the EIS is appealed. If not, then that’s a pretty good guarantee of supply…but who wants to bet that it will, just to keep the litigation door open when the dirt starts flying.
    In all the kumbya “can’t we all just get along” atmosphere of the 4FRI…it seems everyone assumed the capitalist pigs were gonna knock the door down for this vast resource. I would have to say there has been little of a “welcoming attitude” towards industry. More of a “well…if we have to have industry do it I suppose that’s OK…but we’re suspicious of capitalist pigs and we’re gonna be watching you!” Nevada fell all over themselves offering tax credits to Tesla. Intel never has to pay property tax for 20 years when they promise to build a new factory. Instead the 4FRI got two bids, from two amateurs, and now a deep pocketed third party who doesn’t seem to know what to do with all this wood. We’ll see if they can attract a half dozen decent size sawmills. (nobody really buys into the bio-fuel scheme do they?)

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