Quick facts.
In July 2022, the U.S. Forest Service announced the “Ecological Restoration” Project, a misnamed and poorly-planned proposal to clear vegetation and wildlife habitat across more than 235,000 acres (368 square miles) of Los Padres National Forest in Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and southwestern Kern counties.
For comparison, that’s nearly 8 times the size of the city of San Francisco. This project represents the largest mechanical alteration of land in the history of Los Padres National Forest, and one of the largest projects proposed for any national forest in the country.
Here are the facts:
1
Most areas will be cleared using heavy industrial equipment, chainsaws, masticators (giant tractors with a large arm and rotating blade), and mowers, with only a small amount of prescribed fire and livestock grazing.
2
The project targets all vegetation types, including conifer forests, hardwood forests (such as oak woodlands and riparian forests), chaparral, and grassland.
3
Trees of all sizes will be logged. A 24-inch diameter limit only applies to 20% of the project. For the vast majority of forest land, this restriction will not apply. The Forest Service has only pledged to leave “some” trees standing.
4
Out-of-state consultants in Montana are preparing the barest minimum study of the plan’s environmental impacts. Officials do not plan to prepare a robust and thorough Environmental Impact Statement, and the consultants seem unfamiliar with local conditions on the ground.
5
The environmental assessment is funded by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), an investor-owned utility responsible for some of our state’s largest and deadliest wildfires. The utility has recently pled guilty to several felonies including manslaughter.
6
This general forest-wide plan is the only opportunity for the public to weigh in. Officials will not prepare any site-specific environmental assessments for the life of the project, which could span decades.
7
The plan will cost taxpayers dearly. By the Forest Service’s own estimate, clearing this much vegetation will cost $235,000,000 — approximately $1,000 per acre.
8
More than one thousand sites of cultural and spiritual importance to Native Americans occur in the proposed clearance areas. Tribal leaders were not consulted in the early development stages of this project.
9
The project targets lands that are set aside for protection such as botanical areas, critical biological zones, roadless areas, and critical habitat for endangered and threatened plants and wildlife. It also targets lands and rivers in a long-term conservation initiative crafted by local stakeholders over the last decade.
10
The proposed clearance areas include trails, campgrounds, backcountry campsites, day use areas, and scenic routes. Several segments of the proposed Condor National Scenic Trail are targeted.
11
The plan would increase fire risk through the spread of highly flammable invasive weeds. Cleared areas open up fertile ground that promotes infestations of non-native grasses.
12
The plan would drastically expand the size of several controversial logging projects including ones on Pine Mountain and Mt. Pinos.
13
The best way to protect our communities is to focus on the home outward. Home hardening, removing flammable materials near structures, creating defensible space, planting firewise landscaping, and reducing ignitions all provide the most effective risk reduction. Clearing huge swaths of land far from homes puts us at greater risk by creating a false sense of security and taking attention away from proven science-based solutions.
14
Protecting forests protects our climate. Trees—when left standing—are essential to removing pollution from the atmosphere, storing carbon, and regulating our climate.