Here's another news release that I'd like to add to this collection. It's from the San Juan Citizens Alliance along with the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council and Rocky Mountain Wild, it's an update to the SJCA news article of last November that's featured in the preceding blogpost.
Friends of Wolf Creek:
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Forest Service ignores objections to land exchange at Wolf Creek Pass
http://sanjuancitizens.org/forest-service-ignores-objections-to-land-exchange-at-wolf-creek-pass/
By Erika Brown | March 31, 2015
For Immediate Release:
March 26, 2015
Matt Sandler, Attorney, Rocky Mountain Wild, matt@rockymountainwild.org
Christine Canaly, Director SLVEC slvwater@fairpoint.net
Jimbo Buickerood, San Juan Citizens Alliance jimbo@sanjuancitizens.org
Forest Service Ignores Concerns Raised in Objection to Proposed Land Exchange at Wolf Creek Pass, and Confirms that Decision Does Not Protect Lynx
Golden, CO – ... The Forest Service’s response to formal Objections filed by numerous organizations and individuals largely ignored concerns that have plagued the Forest Service for decades. However, the land exchange cannot take place until Rio Grande Forest Supervisor Dan Dallas explains why he didn’t follow existing Lynx protections in deciding to approve the land exchange. ...
(...)
There is a slim chance that the Forest Supervisor could still choose protection of public land and Lynx over the private development proposal. “This land exchange decision violates the Southern Rockies Lynx Amendment and the planned development is in the middle of a lynx corridor that connects habitat critical to lynx survival and recovery,” said Christine Canaly, Executive Director of the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council. “It will forever compromise and destroy good lynx habitat and impair the chances for this threatened species to recover to a full, secure population in Colorado. The Forest Service response confirms that the development is not compatible with the lynx, but it also gives the Forest Supervisor permission to approve the exchange after explaining why he decided to violate existing lynx protections, ” noted Canaly.
Opponents to the land exchange argue that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that provides the basis for the Forest Service decision is inadequate and incomplete. The response confirmed that the developer’s proposal is too vague and conceptual to support a full analysis of the anticipated impacts.
“How is this decision in the public interest? The Forest Service’s Record of Decision and Objection review refuses to acknowledge their legal standing to curtail this grotesque project and is relying on Mineral County to protect federal lands through zoning,” adds Jimbo Buickerood, Public Land Coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance. “Maintaining the integrity of the National Forest on Wolf Creek Pass is not just important to lynx, it is important to skiers, hunters, fishers, tourists, and residents who enjoy this unique landscape. The Forest Service is committed to accommodating the developer’s demands, even though the Forest Service admits that impact on Rocky Mountain Elk would be ‘appreciable.’”
The next step in this process will require Dan Dallas, Rio Grande National Forest Supervisor, to comply with directions given by Maribeth Gustafson, Deputy Regional Forester, who was the Reviewing officer, asking Dallas to clarify why he deviated from Lynx guidelines, then, in coming months, a final Record of Decision will be filed.
Documents obtained in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests confirm that MariBeth Gustafson also participated in the decisions under review. “The obvious conflict of having the Deputy Forester Gustafson resolve the objections on a process she oversaw confirms that the Forest Service has not provided an independent review.” Sandler acknowledges, “Many of the same problems that resulted in an Injunction last time have still not been addressed. It seems Federal Court is the only place our comments and objections will get a fair and independent review."
Two lawsuits have already been filed in Colorado Federal District Court to cure the Forest Service’s refusal to provide timely access to agency records concerning the land exchange proposal, including communications that will reveal whether the developer continues to exert undue influence through Forest Service personnel.
The Objection was submitted by Rocky Mountain Wild,
San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council,
San Juan Citizens Alliance,
Defenders of Wildlife,
Wilderness Workshop,
Colorado Mountain Club,
EcoFlight,
Great Old Broads for Wilderness,
and Rocky Mountain Recreation Initiative.
The Objection and 38 supporting exhibits can be found here.
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