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ALERT - December 4, 2006: Protect Our Woods joins allies to submit a response to the Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the German Ridge Restoration Project in Hoosier National Forest23. RecreationOne only has to visit the German Ridge Project area to see that this is a special place for recreation. It is special because 1) It is a relatively isolated area that gives one the sense of solitude, 2) This sense of solitude can be captured in an area that is very close to highly populated areas, such as Louisville, KY, and 3) The trails and camping are very accessible for the young and the elderly, with very gentle grades that yet provide beautiful vistas of the surrounding hills of the Ohio River Valley.Here is what the German Ridge FEIS has to say about the effects of the “Restoration” Project on this recreation area:FEIS p. 183“Burn scars on large trees within 50 feet of the trail would have a negative effect on visual quality in theshort term. In the long term, the forest next to the German Ridge Trail would have greater visual penetration and thus tend to be more visually pleasing. Proposed vegetation treatments, including prescribed burns, are consistent with Forest Plan visual quality objectives.” The above statement shows very clearly that the Forest Service is completely out of touch with the needs and desires of its constituents. Hoosiers have “visual penetration” pretty much everywhere they go. The reason Hoosiers treasure the Hoosier National Forest is because they can escape “visual penetration” and see a beautiful, contiguous, multilayered forest, not because they want to see another variety of their city park. FEIS p. 183“Timber harvest activities associated with Alternatives A or C would change the visual character of thearea in the short term. These created temporary openings would appear in sharp contrast to undisturbed areas. Thinning areas would be left between the harvest and shelterwood cut areas to limit the size of openings to 10 acres.” German Ridge DSFEIS, p. 51“The timeframe considered for visuals is 20 years to allow for canopy development. The timeframe forrecreation and public safety is 10 years because proposed activities would not extend beyond that time, and any effects of the treatments on recreation and safety would have subsided to background levels.” German Ridge FEIS p. 182:“Even after implementation of mitigation measures, portions of the treatment area would appear as aheavily disturbed landscape at first, but would blend in during subsequent growing seasons”. “The scale and intensity of the prescribed burn areas would dominate the viewshed and may persist longer in areas that burn the hottest and where rehabilitation treatments may not be as effective. A vegetative pattern that includes many green sprouts and seedlings would emerge in the next growing season after the prescribed burn. Plantings, with an emphasis on native oak and hickory species, are expected to occur in areas not regenerating naturally.” In the VQO (Visual Objectives) system, “ the most highly valued landscapes for scenic quality have a rating of Retention, and those with the least sensitivity have a rating of Modification. Within the German Ridge Project Area, the objectives range from Modification (least restrictive), to Partial Retention, to Retention (most restrictive). The vast majority of the 8,690-acre project area is mapped for modification of the landscape.” The fact that the Forest Service wants to take one of the most important recreation sites in southern Indiana and map it for “modification” is completely contrary to what Hoosiers expect to see when visited this highly treasured part of the Hoosier National Forest. The moribund “analysis” of recreation in the EIS’s does not give the reader a sense of the beauty of this area and the importance of this area to generations of Hoosiers who depend on the area for recreation. From the German Ridge FEIS, Page 43:“The German Ridge area offers a 24-mile multiple-use trail, a 1.5-mile hiking trail, a 20-unit campground,and a beach. It also provides day use parking at six trailheads. The Forest has not completed specific use studies for this area. Some conclusions can be derived from visual observations and fee receipts (horse and mountain bike riders and campground users). Visual observations by Forest Service staff indicate the project area is used primarily, but only seasonally, by deer hunters and mushroom gatherers.” Why hasn’t the Forest Service completed specific use studies for this area? In our section on roadless areas, we state what Forest Service researchers have been saying for decades: the highest value of Forest Service lands is its recreation value. This is becoming even more so due to the scarcity of other recreation opportunities nearby, and the growth of the Louisville Metropolitan area. More from the German Ridge DEIS:“Approximately 3 miles of the German Ridge multiple-use trail pass through or are adjacent to sevenproposed timber harvest areas. This portion of the trail is used by hikers, horse riders, and mountain bikers.” It is unbelievable that the Forest Service would even consider logging and burning on trails! What will be the effect on people who have been using this area all their lives? Many will not see this forest return to any state of decency in the remaining years of their lives. Hunters will not be able to return to their favorite hunting area. Mushroomers will not recognize their favorite hunting ground. What will they think of this? Why haven’t their needs and the value of their activities been considered? More:“The Forest has judged use on the German Ridge trail to be moderate based on four factors: 1) a trail patrol ranger observed 65 users during 10 patrols of the trail in 2004 (USDA USFS 2004e), 2) 20 percent of recreation fee demonstration projects receipts originated in the Tell City Ranger District of the Forest (Strout 2004), 3) a low level of trail impacts such as litter or tread damage are evident (Wadzinski 1998), and 4) 2004 camping receipts indicate approximately 950 users camped at the German Ridge campground location. These numbers do not include an estimation of users who did not comply with the camping fee system. In addition, there are at least three selected waters that are managed for fisheries by INDNR: Deer Pond, Deer Creek Lake, and German Ridge Pond (USDA FS 1994a).” Is this supposed to be a scientific analysis? And then:“The Hoosier will avoid using trails as skid trails if alternate corridors are available. Whenever possible, skidding across trails will occur at approximately a 90-degree angle. Trails will be returned to the same or better condition as prior to logging activities. Any new ruts will be erased, and the trail tread texture will approximate the same condition as prior to logging.” The above paragraph shows very clearly how the Forest Service views the most valuable activity on public land: they simply don’t care. Using recreation trails as skid trails? How will the public be guaranteed that the trails will be in better condition after logging? Is walking on a clearcut a better condition? From the FEIS, Page 183:“If harvesting would affect a primary recreational activity, a suitable setting could be found within a few miles of the original site.’ The Forest Service knows that this is simply not the case. People get attached to particular places on the National Forest. They do not simply find a “suitable setting” somewhere else. Places are not transferable. Click here for Part 24. Forests and Climate ChangeProtect Our Woods
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