Plans to thin Dixie Forest challenged

Two environmental groups are crying foul over a Dixie National Forest plan to thin 11,774 acres near a summer home community, saying it manipulates a new law to streamline the harvesting of large, mature trees.

Forest Guardians, a New Mexico-based environmental watchdog group that monitors the Four Corners region, and the Utah Environmental Congress filed an objection to the plan Wednesday under the rules of President Bush's Healthy Forest Restoration Act.

Signed in 2003, the law was des- igned to expedite the decision-making process for protecting communities from forest fires, but the environmental groups accuse forest administrators of using it to do more.

"They've misused the rule, and I'd say they're abusing it," said Bryan Bird, forest program coordinator for Forest Guardians. "They take advantage of the parts of the rule that give them the advantage and avoid the parts that give the public the advantage. They can't play that game."

Part of the controversy centers around the decision by forest administrators to include some large trees in clearing potential fuel for fires near Duck Creek Village, a cabin community about 30 miles east of Cedar City.

District Ranger Dayle Flanigan said the forest is only clearing those trees that aren't fire-resistant, and that just 5,653 acres — about half — will be subject to thinning methods that would include the felling of some large trees.

"We need to thin out this forest," he said. "It has not had the natural cycles of fire for a long time, so we're moving to reduce the landscape scale."

But Bird said he disagrees that large trees should be part of the solution, and accused administrators of throwing the big trees into the deal to "sweeten the pot" for logging companies that may do much of the clearing work.

"The large trees issue is a lightning rod for controversy," he said. "This should be about protecting communities."

Another accusation from the environmental groups is that the forest used the Healthy Forest Restoration Act to stifle public dis- cussion of the matter. They said after four years of playing by the old rules, including extensive community discussions, forest administrators decided the issue fell under the new act, which makes it easier for them to make quick decisions.

"They decided they would shuttle this one through using the president's new rules," Bird said. "And quite frankly, it's shocking to have them do this at the last second."

But Flanigan said they involved the public through the whole pro- cess, and that switching to the new rules was about doing what the law was designed to do — move the process along and protect com- munities.