Sacramento Bee
(All Bee articles used by permission,
copy right policy)


2000 1999 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993

2000


FOREST SERVICE ACTIONS SCRUTINIZED FEINSTEIN, OTHER LAWMAKERS QUESTION HANDLING OF QUINCY LIBRARY PLAN

Published on 02/15/2000, Page B8, 526 words.

Two senators have formed a strange-bedfellows alliance to rip-saw the U.S. Forest Service's handling of a high-stakes Sierra Nevada
forest plan. California Democrat Dianne Feinstein and Idaho Republican Larry Craig once famously feuded about gun control. But now the two are teaming up to criticize the Forest Service for its handling of the Quincy Library Group plan in Plumas County.


1999


NEWS DIGEST

Published on 10/03/1999, Page N2, 396 words.

Meeting to be held

The Sierra Economic Development District board of directors plans to discuss the Quincy Library Group Plan at its meeting Wednesday in Loyalton.


LETTERS

Published on 09/19/1999, Page I4, 1232 words.

Implementing the Quincy plan

I have been watching with interest as Sen. Dianne Feinstein took the time and energy to learn about the unique features of Northern California in general and the need for improved forest management practices in particular. She has traveled to the areas in question and interviewed the professionals and the local citizens, who are most concerned about maintaining healthy forests, viable wildlife habitat and clean water. She then co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Wally Herger


THE QUINCY DECISION CAN SIERRA FOREST PLAN SAVE OWLS AND PREVENT FIRES?

Published on 09/07/1999, Page B6, 447 words.

The U.S. Forest Service has made a reasoned decision about how to implement a logging strategy for three national forests in the Sierra devised by the consensus-building effort known as the Quincy Library Group. Congress in 1998 mandated that the Forest Service adopt the group's five-year logging plan, giving the agency less than a year to get ready. That's not much time to thoroughly analyze all the environmental impacts of the Quincy plan, to propose and review possible alternatives and to ultimately se


CONTENTIOUS 5-YEAR FOREST PLAN SIGNED

Published on 08/21/1999, Page A1, 605 words.

U.S. Forest Service officials announced a five-year forest management plan Friday that allows twice the current level of logging on 2.4 million acres of the Plumas, Lassen and Tahoe national forests in the northern Sierra Nevada.  To protect spotted owls and other wildlife, the plan prohibits logging on around 420,000 acres proposed by the Quincy Library Group until the agency establishes guidelines for protecting owls and their habitat, said Mark Madrid, Plumas National Forest supervisor.


FOREST POLICY REVIEW EXTENDED

Published on 08/19/1999, Page B2, 150 words.

U.S. Department of Justice officials continued a closed-door review Wednesday of a U.S. Forest Service decision about how to manage three national forests in the northern Sierra Nevada over the next five years. Forest Service officials now expect to sign and make public a final decision Friday, three days beyond the Tuesday deadline set by Congress, said Lee Anne Schramel Taylor, a Plumas National Forest spokeswoman.


SIGNING OF SIERRA NEVADA FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN IS DELAYED

Published on 08/18/1999, Page B3, 383 words.

U.S. Forest Service officials delayed signing on Tuesday a final document stating how they will implement a controversial forest management plan developed by a grass-roots coalition.  The legal deadline was midnight on Tuesday but agency officials may not make a final decision until 2 p.m. today, said Lee Anne Schramel Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Plumas National Forest. The plan involves 2.5 million acres of federal land in the northern Sierra Nevada.


SIERRA FOREST PLAN GETS BIG RESPONSE

Published on 07/27/1999, Page B2, 184 words.

A pilot project for managing three national forests in the northern Sierra Nevada stimulated more than 6,000 comments by late afternoon Monday, the deadline to mail reactions to the plan developed by the Quincy Library Group. The U.S. Forest Service has been receiving about 300 comments a day, ranging from handwritten letters to electronic mail messages, said Lee Anne Schramel Taylor, a Forest Service spokeswoman.


FOREST PLAN EXPECTED TO INCREASE LOGGING

Published on 07/22/1999, Page N1, 417 words.

A long-awaited compromise will increase logging in national forests, some Nevada County environmentalists say. 'The U.S. Forest Service's attempt to triple logging should come as a great shock to Nevada County,' Erin Noel, attorney for the Sierra Nevada Protection Campaign, said about the Quincy Library Group Act. The campaign includes more than 30 grass-roots groups, including the South Yuba River Citizens League and the Forest Issues Group in Nevada County.


SIERRA TIMBER BATTLE FESTERS FOREST SERVICE DECISION DUE SOON

Published on 07/12/1999, Page B1, 828 words.

The community leaders who formed the Quincy Library Group have been trying for seven years to hold a dialogue with U.S. Forest Service officials over management of three national forests in the northern Sierra Nevada. They finally got to exchange ideas Thursday night -- six weeks before the federal agency is scheduled to decide how much logging should be allowed in the area over the next five years.


LETTERS

Published on 07/01/1999, Page B8, 1226 words.

Forest logging

Re ''Logging options trigger conflict,'' June 11: When the Quincy Library Group presented a plan to Congress to rewrite forest management in the entire northern Sierra, the U.S. Forest Service helped secure passage of the bill by assuring members of Congress that there would be no increase in logging under the Quincy plan.


GROUPS TO URGE LEGAL SHIELD FOR CALIFORNIA SPOTTED OWL

Published on 06/23/1999, Page A1, 766 words.

Two conservation groups say they will seek formal protection for the California spotted owl under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, a move likely to escalate the struggle over California's Sierra Nevada forests.  The announcement comes at a critical time -- as the U.S. Forest Service, the largest landowner in the mountain range, overhauls its strategy across the entire Sierra Nevada and as it readjusts its approach in the Quincy area, home of a pioneering community forest planning effort called the Qu


THE QUINCY TRADEOFFS WHY LESS LOGGING MEANS MORE ROADS

Published on 06/23/1999, Page B8, 485 words.

The U.S. Forest Service has outlined some intriguing tradeoffs in a menu of logging options for the Lassen, Plumas and Tahoe national forests. This menu, in the form of a draft environmental impact statement, is a tangible result of Congress' passage of a logging strategy forwarded by a coalition of loggers and environmentalists known as the Quincy Library Group. What is clear from this menu is that it is far from clear what the appropriate mix and intensity of logging activities is.


MEETINGS ON FOREST PLAN

Published on 06/22/1999, Page B2, 186 words.

The U.S. Forest Service will conduct a series of meetings this week to provide information and assist the public in making comments
about a forest management plan developed by the Quincy Library Group.  Agency officials selected two strategies for further evaluation after studying the environmental impacts of the experimental Quincy plan, adopted as a five-year demonstration project by federal legislation approved last year.


LOGGING OPTIONS TRIGGER CONFLICT FOREST SERVICE PICKS 2 STRATEGIES

Published on 06/11/1999, Page B1, 682 words.

A controversial forest management plan developed by the Quincy Library Group continued to spark conflict Thursday with release of tentative strategies to put it to work.  In an unusual move, the U.S. Forest Service selected not one but two strategies for managing 2.5 million acres of national forest land in the northern Sierra.


OPEN HOUSE PLANNED

Published on 05/11/1999, Page B2, 101 words.

The U.S. Forest Service will hold an informal open house Wednesday to answer questions about a project developed by the Quincy Library Group to manage land in the Plumas, Lassen and Tahoe national forests.  Members of the Forest Service interdisciplinary team will provide new information about the five possibilities being analyzed in the environmental review process.


FOREST WORKSHOP PLANNED

Published on 04/24/1999, Page B2, 134 words.

A public workshop is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today in the Holiday Inn to review maps for a national forest management plan developed by the Quincy Library Group.  The session, sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, will focus on Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project maps, plotting old-growth forests that are the most important habitat for forest carnivores, said Lee Anne Schramel Taylor, Plumas National Forest spokeswoman.


MEETINGS TO BE CLOSED

Published on 03/31/1999, Page B2, 142 words.

The Quincy Library Group, a grass-roots coalition acclaimed nationally for its open and politically diverse membership, voted Tuesday to limit public participation in its activities.  A unanimous voice vote restricted attendance at meetings of the group's committee monitoring U.S. Forest Service implementation of federal legislation designed by the Quincy Library Group to guide management of national forest land in the northern Sierra Nevada. Only members of the QLG steering committee and ''invited i


AID SOUGHT TO LOBBY ON FOREST PLAN

Published on 01/24/1999, Page N1, 716 words.

A Plumas County supervisor is asking Nevada County supervisors for $5,000 to fund efforts to "make sure that we are heard" in what she terms "an aggressive thinning and restoration program" that would include part of the Tahoe National Forest.  In a letter addressed to Nevada County Board of Supervisors Chairman Peter Van Zant, Plumas County Supervisor Fran Roudebush asks for a $5,000 check to be made payable to the Plumas County auditor on behalf of the Quincy Library Group, a coalition of environme


WORKSHOP EVALUATES PLAN FOR FORESTS

Published on 01/17/1999, Page B3, 660 words.

Local loggers, environmentalists and community leaders sat down Saturday to discuss details of a five-year plan to manage the forests that surround their northern Sierra Nevada communities.  The workshop was part of a U.S. Forest Service evaluation of the impacts of a pilot project that includes logging, an experimental system of fuel breaks to reduce the threat of wildfire, and environmental protections on 2.5 million acres in the Plumas, Lassen and Tahoe national forests.


1998


QUINCY FORESTRY PLAN GETS ITS WINGS U.S. NOTICE LAUNCHES ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY

Published on 12/22/1998, Page B1, 608 words.

After nearly six years of planning and politicking, a strategy to manage national forest land in the northern Sierra Nevada - known as the Quincy Library Group plan - became an official reality Monday.

A formal notice in the Federal Register launched an environmental study by the U.S. Forest Service that will result in a detailed outline of the action to take place in the woods.


QUINCY FORESTRY PLAN GETS ITS WINGS U.S. NOTICE LAUNCHES ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY

Published on 12/22/1998, Page B1, 608 words.

After nearly six years of planning and politicking, a strategy to manage national forest land in the northern Sierra Nevada - known as the Quincy Library Group plan - became an official reality Monday.

A formal notice in the Federal Register launched an environmental study by the U.S. Forest Service that will result in a detailed outline of the action to take place in the woods.


ON WITH QUINCY SIERRA TIMBER PLAN TO TEST ALL STAKEHOLDERS

Published on 11/04/1998, Page B6, 451 words.

It certainly wasn't pretty, but it finally happened. A Sierra logging plan backed by local environmentalists and loggers for three national forests, after sailing through the House of Representatives and hitting a months-long political roadblock in the Senate, finally passed when it became attached to the federal budget for the 1998-99 fiscal year.

For the local coalition known as the Quincy Library Group, the feat is the rarest of political achievements. How often does a small band of rural residen


FOREST PROJECT FUNDED

Published on 10/23/1998, Page B2, 155 words.

President Clinton's signature Wednesday on a $500 billion omnibus appropriations bill authorizes a controversial forest experiment developed by a local alliance of environmentalists, timber industry and civic leaders.

The federal spending bill, approved earlier by the House and Senate, includes the Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery and Economic Stability Act. The legislation, authored by Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, and sponsored by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., directs the U.S. Forest Serv


FOREST PLAN IS ALIVE- SO FAR QUINCY PROPOSAL KEPT IN BUDGET BILL

Published on 10/17/1998, Page B1, 785 words.

When negotiations over a $500 billion omnibus appropriations bill ended Friday with a proposal by the Quincy Library Group still attached and intact, members of the grass-roots coalition appeared more stunned than exhilarated.

After a bruising, yearlong battle with national environmental groups over their plan to manage 2.5 million acres of national forest in the northern Sierra Nevada, the group's loggers and environmentalists, union and civic leader members were not quite ready to celebrate.


QUINCY LIBRARY GROUP URGES ACTION ON PLAN

Published on 10/10/1998, Page B7, 567 words.

Those of us concerned with the well-being of Sierra Nevada forests are puzzled by The Bee's recent silence on the subject of the Quincy Library Group's now-blocked federal legislation.

Late in 1997, when an identical predecessor bill enjoyed a 429-1 bipartisan vote in the House, The Bee was praiseworthy. Now, however, with Sen. Barbara Boxer split sharply with her fellow Californian, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, The Bee's voice has been stilled. As this congressional session comes to a close, the legislati


MIXED GROUP HACKS THROUGH FOREST CONCERNS

Published on 10/04/1998, Page N1, 1000 words.

The first ground rule posted on the wall was "no hitting."

At a Wednesday night meeting on national forest management, which drew about three dozen entrenched area environmentalists as well as several out-of-towners involved in forest-related issues, the only hits were at the outline of topics to be discussed.


LETTERS

Published on 09/14/1998, Page B4, 1222 words.

Boxer Fong Debate

As a member of the Quincy Library Group (QLG) I am pleased that candidates Barbara Boxer and Matt Fong are debating environmental issues that affect all Californians. But I would like to refute a very deceptive statement by Boxer.


NEW RULES BUT FAMILIAR ISSUES THIS ELECTION ENVIRONMENT A KEY ISSUE IN U.S. SENATE RACE

Published on 05/25/1998, Page A1, 1289 words.

As U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer's Republican opponents slug it out for the right to challenge her in the general election, the Democratic incumbent is enjoying a free pat on the back from the Sierra Club.

The environmental group is running a series of cable television and radio ads in the Monterey Bay and Orange County areas thanking Boxer for protecting the California coast from pollution and offshore oil drilling.


PROTEST IN S.F. TARGETS BOXER PLUMAS GROUP URGES VOTE ON FOREST PLAN

Published on 05/21/1998, Page B1, 396 words.

Upset over U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer's opposition to their proposed legislation, members of the Quincy Library Group vented their frustration on Boxer's doorstep Wednesday in an hourlong demonstration in front of her San Francisco office.

Carrying signs that read "Science not Slander" and "Let the QLG Bill Go," about 50 Plumas County residents shouted slogans aimed at persuading the California Democrat to allow the Senate to vote on their management plan for three national forests in the northern Sierr


BOXER BLOCKS BILL ON SIERRA FOREST PROJECT

Published on 05/05/1998, Page B1, 589 words.

A controversial proposal to manage 2.5 million acres of national forest land north of Lake Tahoe faces a forbidding new obstacle thrown in its path by U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

The California Democrat, who co-sponsored the Quincy Library Group bill when it was introduced to the Senate last year, has now blocked the legislation from going to a full vote of the Senate. The hold she placed on the bill late last week came five months after she removed her name as its co-sponsor.


LETTERS

Published on 01/31/1998, Page B8, 2173 words.

Forestry vs. fund raising

Critics of the Quincy Library Group ("Undoing the Quincy deal," letters, Jan 10) charge that the QLG bill would increase logging. The QLG bill would not change any of the rules that now limit logging and protect large trees. In fact, it would prohibit any logging or new roads on hundreds of thousands of acres that would otherwise be open to those activities.


CAPITAL EYED AS CENTER OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL PLAN

Published on 01/18/1998, Page D1, 911 words.

After California's disappointing experiment with methanol as an automotive fuel, backers of another alternative fuel are proposing to use Sacramento as a statewide test site to build a supply and distribution infrastructure.

Because of Sacramento's proximity to rice fields and rice straw that can be converted to ethanol, a Rancho Cordova energy consultant has crafted a plan to concentrate a supply of ethanol in the Sacramento area, making the region a key market for the Ford Motor Co.'s introduction


LETTERS

Published on 01/10/1998, Page B6, 2498 words.

The Dec. 19 editorial "Boxer caves," blasting Sen. Barbara Boxer for withdrawing her support for the Quincy bill, makes the same mistake environmentalists are accused of: ignoring recent information.

A mapping overlay by Dr. Jerry Franklin, one of the nation's premier experts on ancient forests, shows that nearly a quarter-million acres of the land the Quincy measure would open for logging falls within areas suggested as potential places to manage in order to maximize old-growth qualities. These maps


1997


LETTERS

Published on 11/18/1997, Page B6, 970 words.

The circus is in town

At last, it is here! It's come to town! Brought to all of us (whether we want it or not) by the news media. Be careful where you step when following their horses and elephants.


FALLOUT FROM A LOGGING CONSENSUS IN THE SIERRA

Published on 11/09/1997, Page FO1, 2125 words.

1995, Michael Jackson, a long-time environmental activist and Sierra Club member, grew so tired of fighting the timber industry that he voted in a club election to end all commercial logging in national forests.

Yet at the same time he was joining Sierra Club members to push the organization in a more radical direction, Jackson, as a community leader and citizen, was busy seeking common ground between environmentalists and the loggers. In an effort that has since gained national attention, he had be


LETTERS

Published on 11/05/1997, Page B8, 975 words.

Forest and Forest Service

Re "A compromise in Sierra," editorial, Oct. 17: I could not agree more that the Forest Service "should be the key player."


A COMPROMISE IN SIERRA FUTURE TIMBER DEBATES SHOULD AVOID CONGRESS

Published on 10/17/1997, Page B6, 464 words.

In 1993, a small group of Sierra environmentalists, loggers and local politicians opted for compromise rather than combat after years of fighting over how to manage the Plumas National Forest. They met at the Quincy library, where no one could shout. It didn't take long to reach agreement, largely along the lines of a moderate proposal by environmentalists back in the clear-cut 1980s. What has taken much longer is to get the plan enacted.

Frustrated by the slow pace of change, the Quincy Library Gro


FOREST BILL MIRRORS PLAN SOUGHT BY QUINCY GROUP

Published on 07/18/1997, Page B1, 282 words.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation Thursday to develop an alternative management plan for three national forests in the northern Sierra.

The Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery and Economic Stability Act of 1997 is nearly identical to legislation sponsored by Rep. Wally Herger, R-Marysville, which sailed through the House on a 429-1 vote July 9.


FORESTRY CLEANUP APPROVED IN HOUSE TIMBER REMOVAL PROJECT AIMS TO REDUCE FIRE RISK

Published on 07/10/1997, Page B1, 562 words.

Federal legislation that grew out of a compromise between local environmentalists and the timber industry sailed through the House Wednesday on a 429-1 vote, reflecting a similar spirit of collaboration between pro-industry and pro-environment lawmakers.

The bill, modeled after a 1993 forest management plan developed by the Quincy Library Group, directs the U.S. Forest Service to conduct a five-year pilot project designed to reduce the threat of fire and improve the condition of watersheds and mount


RISKY PRECEDENT FEARED FROM QUINCY FOREST BILL

Published on 07/05/1997, Page B1, 996 words.

When the Quincy Library Group launched its 1993 plan to manage 2.5 million acres of three national forests, it was hailed from the Sierra forests to congressional offices as a win-win solution for the ecosystem and the local economy.

Recently, however, legislation designed to make proposals developed by the group a federal law has provoked furious opposition, and the debate has grown far beyond the fate of the land managed by the alliance of environmental ists, timber industry and local officials.


1996


QUINCY ALLIANCE SPAWNS FOREST BILL

Published on 09/19/1996, Page B1 , 574 words.

Federal legislation introduced Wednesday aims to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire in northern Sierra Nevada forests by using management innovations developed by the Quincy Library Group.

The measure would establish a five-year pilot project on three national forests to test a "common-sense plan" by the alli ance of environmentalists, timber industry and local officials, said Rep. Wally Herger, R-Marysville.


FIRE PLAN STRIKES FEAR IN TINY TOWN PROPOSAL TO LOG, BURN UNDERBRUSH IN LASSEN FOREST CRITICIZED

Published on 09/15/1996, Page B1, 748 words.

A U.S. Forest Service proposal to defend this rural community against wildfire has sparked a controversy over logging and controlled burning planned in the surrounding forest.

Instead of protecting the Tehama County town of 70 year-round residents, homeowners fear the agency's plan could burn them out, said Gabriele Brown, a 49-year resident of Mineral.


FOREST SERVICE CANCELS SALE OF SCORCHED TREES, CITES "PUBLIC CONCERNS'

Published on 04/03/1996, Page B3, 494 words.

The U.S. Forest Service has canceled a controversial timber sale in a decision that is being celebrated by environmentalists and community partnership groups.

Lynn Sprague, Forest Service regional forester in San Francisco, cited "escalating public concerns" for his decision Tuesday to drop the Barkley timber auction today.


POLITICAL FIRESTORM OVER TIMBER SALE

Published on 03/31/1996, Page B1, 827 words.

The 2,000 trees marked to be cut near Deer Creek in Tehama County are part of a routine timber sale - not even a large one by U.S. Forest Service standards.

But the planned sale of timber near Barkley Mountain east of Red Bluff has sparked a political controversy involving two congressmen and threatens to gut cooperative partnerships built by local landowners, environmentalists and timber industry representatives.


1995


PROGRESS IN QUINCY

Published on 11/28/1995, Page B6, 461 words.

An unusual coalition of Plumas County loggers and environmentalists got some tangible and much deserved support the other day from the federal government. It came in the form of a promise - of $4.7 million - to help implement some of the cooperative solutions that the group has proposed to end the environment-vs.-jobs deadlock that has divided many communities in the rural West.

The solutions - which call for selective logging, stream restoration and more aggressive fire prevention efforts - rep


U.S. GRANTS $4.7 MILLION FOR AREA FOREST PROJECTS

Published on 11/16/1995, Page B3, 439 words.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman on Wednesday pledged $4.7 million for four experimental forest projects developed by a coalition of community, timber industry and environmental leaders.

The collaborative approach used by the coalition, the Quincy Library Group, is a model for the West and the entire nation, Glickman said.


FEDERAL FOREST PROJECTS GET FUNDS PLAN CALLED VICTORY FOR QUINCY COALITION

Published on 11/15/1995, Page B1, 635 words.

The federal government has decided to fund several experimental forest projects for the Plumas, Lassen and Tahoe national forests.

The projects, developed by a coalition of community, timber industry and environmental leaders, are aimed at returning the forests to a more natural state, reducing fire risk and improving the watershed while still providing for logging.


PLUMAS REJECTS AID PLEA IN FOREST CASE GROUP SOUGHT EARLIER GRANT'S TOTAL: $15,000

Published on 05/10/1995, Page B4, 499 words.

The Plumas County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a request for $15,000 from a community group that had challenged the legality of a similar allocation to the Quincy Library Group, a coalition of loggers, environmentalists and officials from three rural counties.

Jean E. Walters, chairwoman of the Citizens for Better Government, said the supervisors set a precedent in February when they gave $15,000 to the Quincy Library Group to fight a U.S. Forest Service plan that would reduce logging


TIMBER PLAN STIRS COALITION NORTH STATE COUNTY GROUP VOWS TO FIGHT PROPOSAL

Published on 02/22/1995, Page B1, 646 words.

Angered by a U.S. Forest Service draft plan to dramatically reduce logging on federal land, leaders from three counties on Tuesday vowed to fight the cutback, saying it endangers both forests and local communities.

The leaders, organized as the Quincy Library Group, aim to raise $100,000 over the next several months to fight a Forest Service recommendation to reduce logging by 60 percent on national forests from the Oregon border to south of Fresno.


1994


LETTERS

Published on 12/25/1994, Page FO2 , 1594 words.

FEEDING THE FLAMES The Nov. 27-Dec. 1 series "Feeding the flames," on the threat of catastrophic forest fires, largely ignored the fact that a unique, collaborative effort is under way to address this very serious situation. An interagency fire strategy team - comprising public officials and industry, environmental and community representatives - was created earlier this year for the specific purpose of addressing those problems outlined by The Bee. Led by the California Resources Agency and the U.S. For


PLUMAS DECLARES CRISIS, AIMS AT FOREST SERVICE {BYLINE} JANE BRAXTON LITTLE BEE

CORRESPONDENT

Published on 08/17/1994, Page B1, 537 words.

Frustration with U.S. Forest Service "foot-dragging" and fear of a major forest fire propelled the Plumas County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to declare a countywide state of fire emergency. The action puts the Forest Service on notice that the supervisors intend to hold the federal agency responsible for any loss of life or property through fire. "We hold them responsible for ignoring a dangerous situation, despite strong suggestions from the community," said Plumas County Supervisor Bill Coates. "De


DECADES OF FIRE SUPPRESSION EXPECTED TO FAN SIERRA FLAMES {BYLINE} CHRIS BOWMAN

BEE STAFF WRITER

Published on 06/26/1994, Page A1, 1424 words.

With disaster on the doorstep, California forest officials are only now laying plans for thinning the thickets of fir and throngs of bug-killed trees that have clogged the Sierra Nevada and turned it into a giant tinderbox. The phenomenal fuel buildup - the legacy of 20th century fire suppression - and seven years of drought have set the stage this summer for a blitzkrieg of super-hot, runaway fires that would leave little of the forest or range for regeneration. "It scares me to death," said Fred Kruege


QUINCY GROUP ASKS PRESIDENT TO STEP IN, AID FOREST PLAN {BYLINE} JANE BRAXTON LITTLE BEE CORRESPONDENT

Published on 05/03/1994, Page B1, 608 words.

Calling for an end to "business as usual," a coalition of rural environmentalists and loggers vowed to go straight to the top of the federal government hierarchy to win funding for an experimental forest management plan. Bolstered by broad community support at a town hall meeting Sunday night, the Quincy Library Group launched a campaign to bypass the U.S. Forest Service to secure approximately $12.5 million for the plan to protect local jobs and the environment. The strategy includes congressional heari


FOREST SERVICE CALLED SLUGGISH {BYLINE} JANE BRAXTON LITTLE BEE CORRESPONDENT

Published on 04/29/1994, Page B1, 633 words.

Plumas County's storybook tale of environmentalists and loggers working side by side to save their community now has a purported villain: the U.S. Forest Service. The threat to timber-dependent communities in Plumas, Lassen and Sierra counties led to the creation of the Quincy Library Group, a coalition of environmentalists and loggers, more than a year ago. The group was hailed as a national model in Washington, D.C., but it now says it's the federal government - the Forest Service, in particular - that


LOCALS-ONLY LOG MILLING RESTRICTION SOUGHT {BYLINE} CHRIS BOWMAN BEE STAFF

WRITER

Published on 03/03/1994, Page A1, 857 words.

Fearing economic doom for their timber-dependent towns, residents on both sides of the northern Sierra Nevada logging battles are together asking the Clinton administration to prevent all but local operators from milling the bulk of federal trees felled in the region.

Such a monopolistic deal would run counter to national policy requiring federal timber to be auctioned competitively on the open market to ensure the highest return to the public.


1993


A MEETING OF MINDS ON FORESTS ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY FUEL COMPROMISE PLAN

Published on 10/27/1993, Page B1 , 433 words.

Could consensus be contagious? That's the question state senators are asking after longtime enemies agreed on a proposal to manage 2.5 million acres of national forest land.

The proposal - hammered out over nine months by loggers, environmentalists and other traditional enemies - was explained in a two-hour presentation to state Senate Natural Resources Committee meeting in Plumas County.