Eco-Integrity Alliance

Evidence from U.S. Forest Service Study: Forest “Thinned” for “Fuel Reduction” Burned SEVERELY in Wildfire, Adjacent Unlogged Forest DIDN’T BURN AT ALL

Evidence in a study funded by U.S. Forest Service, and co-authored by Colorado Forest Restoration Institute and the Colorado Field Office for The Nature Conservancy, shows that 122 acres of public forest outside Nederland “thinned” in 2015 in the name of “wildfire fuel reduction” burned at “high severity” during the 2016 Cold Springs Fire, destroying five homes, while the unlogged forest feet away didn’t burn at all.

Videos and photos taken in October within the Cold Springs Fire area in the Boulder Ranger District of Roosevelt National Forest show a sparsely treed landscape with blackened stumps directly behind a U.S. Forest Service sign, which, despite Forest Service replanting in 2018, has still not recovered. Meanwhile, the adjacent unlogged forest on private land, remains lush, green, and completely intact.

Comment Period Opens for Largest Logging Sale in Colorado History

The U.S. Forest Service has opened its public comment period until December 4 for the largest logging operation in Colorado history, the “Lower North South Vegetation Management” in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest in the Front Range mountains of Jefferson and Douglas Counties.

The 116,000 acres of scientifically-contested “wildfire fuel reduction” logging includes 18,500 acres in protected Colorado Roadless Areas, with clearcuts up to 40 acres in size. Despite multiple press releases sent to every media outlet in the Front Range since February, not a single article has informed the public as to the existence of this project.

NEW STUDY: Fast Moving, Wind Driven Wildfires Most Dangerous

Fast moving fires are the most deadly, according to a new study out of University of Colorado Boulder, published in the journal Science.

These findings dovetail with other peer reviewed studies showing how “wildfire fuel reduction” logging opens forests to wind which can spread flames more rapidly to communities.

VIDEO: Colorado State Representative: “Parks Are Being Devastated” in the name of Wildfire “Fuels” Logging

Colorado State Rep. Tammy Story admits that Jefferson County Parks are being “devastated” in the name of “Wildfire Fuels” Logging (clip from Save JeffCo Parks! Public Forum on October 10 in Evergreen, Colorado.)

Standing Room Only Crowd at Public Forum Opposes Wildfire Pretense Logging in Colorado

A standing room only crowd of around eighty local residents attended the “Save JeffCo Parks!” public forum at Evergreen Library on Thursday evening to oppose the aggressive logging decimating Jefferson County Open Space Parks.

Video of audience segment and presentations.

New Science Challenges Assumptions That Utah “Fuel Reduction” Logging Will Protect Communities from Wildfire

Outdated land management practices in Utah’s Salt Lake and Summit Counties ignore a large and growing body of peer-reviewed scientific papers disputing claims that “thinning” trees protects communities from wildfires.

Green Root Podcast #71: Public Parks On the Chopping Block (with Darrell Luebbe, former Park Patroller)

On episode 71 of the Green Root Podcast—the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance—host Josh Schlossberg talks with Darrell Luebbe, former Park Patroller for Jefferson County Open Space in Colorado, about the logging decimating his beloved parks under the guise of so-called “wildfire mitigation.”

Advocates in Eight Western States Call on Congress to Fund Prevention of Human-Caused Wildfires

Eco-Integrity Alliance, a national advocacy group with organizing members in Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, Idaho, and Montana, calls on elected officials to allocate additional funds and updated guidance to federal, state, and county agencies to better prevent human-caused wildfires, instead of wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on ineffective and destructive “fuel reduction” logging.

ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT #2: “Leger Fernandez says Forest service made ‘outrageous’ errors in northern New Mexico fires” by Ollie Reed, Jr., Albuquerque Journal

“Leger Fernandez says Forest service made ‘outrageous’ errors in northern New Mexico fires”

Albuquerque Journal by Ollie Reed, Jr., July 8, 2024

SYNOPSIS

New Mexico Rep. Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) cites a U.S. Government Accountability Office report blaming the U.S. Forest Service practice of “prescribed burning” for starting the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire wildfire in 2022, the state’s largest and most destructive in recorded history.

New Mexico Conservation Groups Challenge “Emergency Action” Logging in Carson National Forest

New Mexico-based conservation organizations are challenging the Taos Canyon Forest and Watershed Restoration Project proposed for the Carson National Forest, which includes 54,731 acres of commercial logging and other tree cutting, and 83,265 acres of prescribed burns.