Petition to Protect Watersheds on the Nez Perce National Forest
- by: Michelle Hazen
- recipient: Bruce Bernhardt, Supervisor, Nez Perce National Forest; Bruce Berhardt, Supervisor, Nez Perce National Forest
Current water quality standards in the Nez Perce National Forest protect water quality on these Forest Service lands. Recently the Forest Service has made efforts to lower these standards to allow logging. Logging is not necessary for a healthy forest or protecting homes from fires as the FS suggests.
We, the undersigned, oppose the efforts by the US Forest Service to weaken water quality standards on the Nez Perce National Forest. Currently, water quality is below what it should be in much of the South Fork Clearwater River system, an area with critical salmon, bull trout and steelhead habitat.
Under the guise of bug control and fire prevention, the US Forest Service, bowing to political pressure, may dramatically increase roadbuilding and logging, particularly in the South Fork river system. We ask the US Forest Service to maintain water quality and watersheds protections and to continue its cooperative program with homeowners in the area to protect homes. This successful effort has used the latest science, been non-commercial and taken place within 40 meters of the home.
